As has happened to them too often this season, the Alouettes shot each other in the foot in the Eastern semifinals and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats took the measure of the Montreal football club 23-12 in front of 21,892 spectators at the Tim Hortons Field.
Khari Jones’ squad came up against an alert defense, which turned the tide with three turnovers leading to 13 points in the second quarter.
Still, the venerable Trevor Harris had a good game overall, amassing over 300 yards in the air. But both lines of the Alouettes, on offense and defense, had a difficult game.
On the offense, Harris was joined six times behind his line of scrimmage, four of which resulted in fumbles – three recoveries and two leading to points by the Tiger-Cats, who will visit the Toronto Argonauts in the final of East next week.
The defensive line was unable to apply pressure on Jeremiah Masoli in the first half. She was barely more effective in the second half of the game, but it was not enough to really annoy the quarterback.
The Tiger-Cats’ defensive front, however, was very effective, limiting William Stanback to just 29 yards on 12 carries, depriving the Alouettes of their most valuable asset.
Seven minutes from hell
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ offense was going nowhere and the Montreal Alouettes seemed poised to add to their 3-0 lead when the sky fell on the Montreal team.
In the space of seven minutes, the Alouettes made three turnovers that led to 13 points for the Tiger-Cats.
Ted Laurent initially caused a fumble after a Dylan Wynn sack as Harris and the Montreal attack were stationed at the locals’ 34 line. Julian Howsare recovered the ball before bringing it back 45 yards. After a two-yard run from Papi White, Jeremiah Masoli joined Brandon Banks on a 20-yard play to put the Tiger-Cats forward and turn the tide.
On their next possession, the Ti-Cats started in Alouettes territory and rushed 48 yards in six games, topped off with a six-yard run from Don Jackson for the middle finger.
The Tiger-Cats defense then caused two more costly turnovers for the Sparrows. Ja’Gared Davis caused a fumble by joining Harris behind his line of scrimmage and Wynn recovered the ball. Michael Domagolo managed a field goal a few games later to make it 17-3.
The Ti-Cats added three more points after Stavros Kansantonis intercepted late in the second quarter, which led to Domagolo’s second goal at the very end of the quarter.
In less than seven minutes, the Tiger-Cats managed three turnovers for 13 points and forged a 17-point lead at halftime. The Alouettes never got over it.
Harris orchestrated a 93-yard push topped off by a superb Eugene Lewis catch on a 28-yard play to bring the Alouettes closer to 10 points, but the offense no longer came close to the game’s end zone. .
Domagolo completed the scoring with his third field goal of the game, on 17 yards, with less than three minutes to go, their only points in the second half.
The Alouettes are thus eliminated in the Eastern semifinals for the second consecutive season after a fourth loss in their last five outings. A defeat which will raise several questions during the balance sheet of the club in a few days.