On Thursday night at TD Place, the Montreal Alouettes took on the Ottawa Redblacks, looking to keep pace with the Toronto Argonauts in the East Division. Meanwhile, Ottawa was still looking for its first win of the season.
Ottawa dominated the first quarter. On the second Redblacks possession, quarterback Caleb Evans took off running for six yards and was taken down by Montreal’s Antoine Marc-Dequoy on a horse collar tackle, giving Ottawa an extra 15 yards.
Then, Caleb Evans threw a 42-yard pass to Jaelon Acklin, and running back, William Powell rushed for five yards to get them to the 15-yard line. Finally, Caleb Evan dumped the ball to Darvin Adams, who took care of the rest for a 15-yard touchdown, putting them up 7-0 with 7:43 left.
On Ottawa’s next possession, they reached the Alouettes’ 33-yard line, but Lewis Ward missed a 40-yard field goal, and the ball went out of bounds into the back of the endzone for a single, 8-0 with 3:51 left. The Redblacks had the ball to begin the second quarter up 8-0.
In the second quarter, the roles were reversed. First, Ottawa kicker Lewis Ward made a 15-yard field goal, extending their lead 11-0 with 12:53 left. Montreal’s offense woke up on their next possession.
Quarterback Trevor Harris threw a 69-yard pass to Hergy Mayala, reaching Ottawa’s one-yard line. Backup quarterback Dominique Davis came in and scored the touchdown with a quarterback sneak. Montreal went for a two-point conversion and got it, trailing 11-8 with 11:11 left in the second quarter.
The Redblacks made some progress on their next drive but punted the ball away. They almost got the ball after returner Chandler Worthy fumbled it, but Montreal recovered.
During the Alouettes’ drive, running back Jeshrun Antwi made a couple of nice moves and sprinted for 55 yards before being tackled at the Redblacks’ 19-yard line. Four plays later, Trevor Harris scrambled out of the pocket and threw the ball to a diving Hergy Mayala for a four-yard touchdown, putting Montreal up 15-11 with 3:14 left in the second quarter.
For the rest of the second quarter, Alouettes’ kicker David Cote made a 49-yard field goal, and Redblacks’ kicker Lewis Ward made a 13-yard field goal, and the score was 18-14 Montreal at halftime.
Ottawa got the ball to start the third quarter. Two costly penalties, a kickoff out of bounds, and pass interference on Najee Murray led Ottawa to reach Montreal’s 30-yard line before Lewis Ward made a 37-yard field goal, cutting Montreal’s lead to one, 18-17, with 11:44 left.
On Montreal’s next possession, Trevor Harris threw three long passes, twice to Kaion Julien-Grant (22 yards, 13 yards) and a 17-yard pass to Reggie White Jr. to get them to Ottawa’s two-yard line. Then, backup quarterback Dominique Davis rushed in for his second touchdown, making it 25-17 with 7:02 left in the third quarter.
After Ottawa went two-and-out on their next series, they punted the ball to Montreal’s Chandler Worthy. Worthy ran backward and was tackled in the endzone for a safety, making it 25-19 with 5:47 left. You sometimes need to take what yards you can get and not try to get cute. That play gave a spark to Ottawa.
Ottawa went down the field on their next drive led by running back William Powell and a couple of passes by Caleb Evans, reaching Montreal’s one-yard line. Then, Caleb Evans took it in for the touchdown and a 26-25 lead with 2:11 left in the third quarter. Montreal had the ball to start the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Montreal quarterback Trevor Harris threw three long passes and a couple of short-yard runs by running back Jeshrun Antwi got the Alouettes to the Redblacks’ two-yard line. Montreal backup quarterback Dominique Davis scored his third touchdown of the game with a quarterback sneak, making it 33-26 with 8:34 left.
On Ottawa’s next drive, Caleb Evans threw a Nathaniel Behar, and Montreal defensive back Najee Murray knocked the ball out of his hands, and Micah Awe recovered the ball and took it for 68 yards down to Ottawa’s three-yard line. Trevor Harris dropped back from the pocket and threw a touchdown to Eugene Lewis, extending Montreal’s lead 40-26 with 4:45 left.
Ottawa’s next drive saw Caleb Evans airing the ball out, making three long passes to reach Montreal’s one-yard line. Evans took it in for the touchdown to make it a seven-point game 40-33 with 2:24 left.
Ottawa got the ball for the final plays with under a minute left. On 3rd and 19, Caleb Evans’s pass to Nathaniel Behar was incomplete, and Montreal went into victory formation, coming away with a 40-33 win. Montreal is now 2-4 on the season, while the Redblacks are now 0-6.
Montreal quarterback Trevor Harris went 25/31 for 341 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and one carry for four yards. Running back, Jeshrun Antwi had seven carries for 79 yards, while Hergy Mayala had five catches for 102 yards and one touchdown. The defense allowed 482 yards, 60 tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble, three pass breakups, and one fumble recovery. Montreal plays the Hamilton Tiger-Cats next Thursday at 7:30 pm on ESPN+.
Ottawa quarterback Caleb Evans went 25/40 for 297 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, eight carries for 52 yards, and two touchdowns. Running back, William Powell led the rushers with 17 carries for 79 yards, while Jaelon Acklin had five catches for 133 yards. Ottawa’s defense allowed 441 yards, 47 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, one pass breakup, and two fumble recoveries. Ottawa visits the Toronto Argonauts next Sunday at 5 pm on ESPN+.
