The new-look Montreal Alouettes (1-0) hosted the Ottawa Redblacks (0-1) on Saturday night from Percival Molson Memorial Stadium. Coming into this game, the Redblacks had won 10 of their last 11 meetings in Montreal. Ottawa dealt with a ton of injuries and as a result, played a lot of backup players including quarterback Nick Arbuckle.
Montreal got off to a fast start in the first quarter. Quarterback Cody Fajardo made his Montreal debut by completing a 61-yard pass to Austin Mack inside Ottawa’s three-yard line. Two plays later, Fajardo took it in for a one-yard touchdown. It was 7-0 with 12:30 left.
That was the only touchdown scored in this game. For the rest of the game, it was all field goals. Both kickers were a perfect 4-4 on field goals.
On Ottawa’s first possession of the game, quarterback Nick Arbuckle’s pass was intercepted by Ciante Evans. Later, Montreal looked to have scored a touchdown on a punt return by Chandler Worthy but it was called back on an offsides penalty and Ottawa kept the ball. However, a bad snap gave Montreal a terrific field position inside the red zone.
However, Ottawa’s defense stood tall and prevented Montreal from scoring a touchdown and the Alouettes settled for a 31-yard field goal by David Cote. It was 10-0 Montreal with 6:13 left. Montreal led 10-0 after one quarter. In the second quarter, Ottawa kicker Lewis Ward made two field goals, cutting Montreal’s lead to 10-6 at halftime.
The two kickers continued to score points for their teams in the second half. In the third quarter, quarterback Nick Arbuckle threw a 41-yard pass to Quan Bray, leading to Ottawa kicker Lewis Ward making his third field goal of the night for 30 yards that made it 10-9. Then, Montreal wide receiver Kaion Julien-Grant had a big gain for 51 yards, leading to kicker David Cote’s 46-yard field goal that made it 13-9 with 3:45 left. Montreal led 13-9 after three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, the two teams traded field goals. First, Ottawa kicker Lewis Ward made a 45-yard field goal that made it a one-point game 13-12 with 10:01 left, followed by two David Cote field goals for a 19-12 lead with 1:02 left. Montreal defeated Ottawa by the final score of 19-12.
The defense was the name of the game. If you like a defensive game, this was for you. Otherwise, it was not a good game for those who enjoy high-scoring games. Ottawa’s defense allowed 264 yards with 45 tackles, two forced fumbles, and six sacks. For Montreal, they allowed 220 yards with 45 tackles, five forced fumbles, and one sack.
Montreal quarterback Cody Fajardo had a decent debut completing 14 of 21 passes (67%) for 261 yards, five carries for 15 yards, and one touchdown. Running back William Stanback had 16 carries for 42 yards, and wide receiver Austin Mack had four catches for 120 yards.
On the other side, Ottawa quarterback Nick Arbuckle had a rough game. He completed 19 of 35 passes (54.3%) for 176 yards, three interceptions, and three carries for 15 yards. Running back Devonte Williams had 11 carries for 36 yards and four catches for 15 yards. Wide receiver Quan Bray led the receivers with three catches for 58 yards.
Both teams are going to need to play better the next time around. It’s understandable for Ottawa to struggle without a lot of their starts. For the guys who are playing, this is their chance to make a case to be a starter and some of them did not step up. Hopefully, once Ottawa gets their starters back, they will show better results.
Meanwhile, Montreal was missing their three starting wide receivers Greg Ellingson, Tyson Philpot, and Reggie White Jr. as those players were placed on the six-game injured list. Their receivers did a nice job in this game, combining with ten catches for 182 yards.
Next Thursday, the Ottawa Redblacks host the Calgary Stampeders at 7:30 pm on CFL+, while the Montreal will have the week off. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
