On Saturday afternoon at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, the Montreal Alouettes took on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in their second meeting of the season. In their first game on June 28th, the Tiger-Cats beat the Alouettes 24-17 at Tim Hortons Field.
Early in the first quarter, Montreal was in striking distance from taking the lead until Kameron Kelly intercepted quarterback Trevor Harris’s pass.
The first points of the game went to Hamilton late in the first quarter when quarterback Matthew Shiltz dropped back from the pocket and threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Tim White. White had to fight off a Montreal player to get into the endzone for a 7-0 lead with 1:01 left. Montreal had the ball and faced a 2nd and 6 to start the second quarter.
Montreal’s offense got to the Ticats 18-yard line before David Cote made a 26-yard field goal, cutting Hamilton’s lead 7-3 with 10:10 left. Hamilton quarterback Matthew Shiltz threw a couple of passes for 34 yards before the drive stalled. Ticats kicker Seth Small attempted a 43-yard field goal, but he missed it wide left and went out of bounds, getting a single point, 8-3, with 7:46 left.
On the next Montreal drive, Trevor Harris threw a couple of passes for 35 yards, and running back Walter Fletcher ran for 12 yards to get the Alouettes down to the Ticats 23-yard line. Then, Trevor Harris threw the ball to Eugene Lewis, who came back to catch the ball before running in for a 23-yard touchdown.
Montreal went for a two-point conversion and got it for an 11-8 lead with 4:29 left. Then, just before halftime, Hamilton kicker Seth Small made a 13-yard field goal, tying the game 11-11 at halftime, and Hamilton got the ball to start the third quarter.
In the third quarter, Montreal set up a hitch screen when Trevor Harris quickly threw a pass to Kaion Julien-Grant, who followed his blockers and took off for a 54-yard touchdown, putting Montreal back on top 18-11 with 10:54 left.
On the next Hamilton drive, Montreal’s defense initially stopped them, but a roughing the kicker penalty gave Hamilton a fresh set of downs. Later, Montreal would get called for a defensive pass interference, placing the ball on their one-yard line. Then, Hamilton backup quarterback Jaime Newman scored the touchdown with a quarterback sneak, tying the game 18-18 with 4:17 left.
Just before the third quarter ended, Hamilton quarterback Matthew Shiltz scrambled out of the pocket before throwing a 64-yard touchdown to Tim White for a 25-18 lead with 1:22 left. Montreal had the ball and faced a 2nd and 26 to start the fourth quarter.
Montreal was unable to move the ball and punted it back to Hamilton. After stopping Hamilton on four plays, Montreal’s offense was back on the field. They reached Hamilton’s 52-yard line before punting the ball that went into the endzone for a single point, 25-19, with 10:14 left in the game.
Late in the fourth quarter, Montreal quarterback Trevor Harris got great protection from his offensive line and threw a 45-yard touchdown pass down the middle to Reggie White Jr. for a 26-25 lead with 2:18 left.
Hamilton had one more opportunity to win the game. They caught a big break when quarterback Matthew Shiltz was tackled by the horse collar on third down. A penalty was called on Montreal. Hamilton kicker Seth Small made a 51-yard field goal to give the Tiger-Cats a 28-26 lead with 42-seconds left.
Montreal quickly got down to Hamilton’s 40-yard line with eight seconds left, and kicker David Cote made a game-winning 48-yard field goal for a 29-28 win. Montreal improves to 4-6, while Hamilton drops to 3-7.
Montreal quarterback Trevor Harris went 24/31 for 382 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and one carry for seven yards. Running back, Walter Fletcher had six carries for 28 yards, and wide receiver Eugene Lewis had seven catches for 99 yards and one touchdown. Montreal’s defense allowed 371 yards, 49 tackles, one sack, and three pass breakups. Montreal is off next week.
Hamilton quarterback Matthew Shiltz went 27/39 for 303 yards, two touchdowns, and one carry for two yards. Running back, Don Jackson had ten carries for 41 yards, while wide receiver Tim White had 11 catches for 145 yards and two touchdowns. Hamilton’s defense allowed 425 yards, 39 tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble, one pass breakup, and one interception. Hamilton visits Toronto next Friday at 7:30 pm on ESPN+.
