The Montreal Alouettes (4-3) visited Tim Hortons Field for the second time on Saturday night against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (3-5) in their second meeting of the year. The teams first met on June 23rd in Hamilton where Montreal won 38-12.
Turnovers dominated the first quarter. With 13:54 left, Hamilton quarterback Taylor Powell scrambled out of the pocket looking for someone wide open. However, Shawn Lemon chased him from behind and knocked the ball out of Powell’s hand and it was recovered by Tyrice Beverette.
Montreal running back William Stanback had a couple of carries for 14 yards. However, on the next play, quarterback Cody Fajardo went to throw the ball to Hergy Mayala but he slipped cutting to his right side and Will Sunderland was there for the interception and returned it for nine yards. Hamilton was unable to take advantage of the turnover.
On the second play for Montreal, Cody Fajardo completed a short pass to Austin Mack and he ran it for 58 yards. The Alouettes reached the Ticats’ 31-yard line before kicker David Cote missed a 38-yard field goal and Tyreik McAllister returned it for 47 yards.
Moving ahead in the first quarter, Montreal quarterback Cody Fajardo tried to throw the ball to Hergy Mayala but overthrew him and Richard Leonard intercepted it and returned it for five yards. The Ticats had the ball on the Alouettes’ 33-yard line to begin the second quarter.
The Ticats made it to the Alouettes’ four-yard line in the second quarter before James Butler ran up the middle for a touchdown. The offensive line cleared room in the middle for Butler to score the touchdown. It was 7-0 with 12:07 left.
Later in the second quarter, Hamilton had the ball again on the Alouettes’ 50-yard line. Quarterback Taylor Powell was looking to throw the ball toward Terry Godwin but J.R. Reed read the coverage perfectly and made the interception for a 14-yard return.
Montreal took advantage of the turnover when David Cote converted a 34-yard field goal to make it 7-3 with 2:28 left. On Hamilton’s next possession, kicker Marc Liegghio made a 44-yard field goal for a 10-3 lead with 1:41 left.
Hamilton had a chance to add three more points in the closing seconds of the second quarter but Marc Liegghio missed it from 51 yards. Chandler Worthy tried to take the ball out of the endzone but was tackled for a single point. The Ticats led the Alouettes 11-3 at halftime.
Hamilton had 238 yards on offense. Quarterback Taylor Powell completed 15 of 22 passes (68.2%) for 169 yards, one interception, and two carries for 14 yards. Running back James Butler had six carries for 46 yards, and one touchdown, and wide receiver Terry Godwin had five catches for 82 yards.
Montreal had 204 yards on offense. Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 7 of 11 passes (63.6%) for 141 yards, two interceptions, and one carry for 13 yards. Running back William Stanback had eight carries for 41 yards. Wide receiver Austin Mack had two catches for 77 yards, and wide receiver Tyler Snead had one catch for 53 yards.
The game picked up in the third quarter. Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio kicked a 13-yard field goal which made it 14-3 with 10:48 left. Then, Montreal kicker David Cote made two field goals, one for 15 yards, and the other for 51 yards. It was now 14-9 with 53 seconds left. Hamilton faced third down to begin the fourth quarter.
Hamilton punted the ball to begin the fourth quarter. Montreal quarterback Cody Fajardo completed two passes for 53 yards, followed by a William Stanback five-yard run plus a defensive pass interference penalty on Hamilton put them on the Ticats’ one-yard line. Montreal backup quarterback Caleb Evans came in and scored a touchdown with a quarterback sneak to give Montreal its first lead of the game 15-14. They went for a two-point conversion and got it for a 17-14 lead with 12:03 left.
The momentum had shifted in favor of the Alouettes. When Hamilton got the ball back, Taylor Powell’s pass was intercepted by Shawn Lemon. The turnover would lead to a 38-yard field goal by David Cote for a 20-14 lead with 9:57 left.
Later in the fourth quarter, Hamilton’s defense forgot to cover tight end Regis Cibasu and he was wide open when Fajardo threw the ball to him for a 37-yard touchdown. Hamilton’s defense fell apart in the second half. It was now 27-14 with 6:16 left.
Montreal’s defense made quick work against the Ticats’ offense and Montreal’s offense killed the clock to go home with a 27-14 win. The Alouettes scored 18 points in the fourth quarter and outscored the Ticats 24-3.
This was a nice comeback win for Montreal. They battled back when it looked like they were out. The Alouettes had 424 yards on offense. After a bad first half, Montreal quarterback Cody Fajardo played a better second half. He finished the night completing 19 of 25 passes (76%) for 318 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and two carries for 18 yards.
Running back William Stanback had 19 carries for 106 yards. Wide receivers Austin Mack and Tyler Snead combined with nine catches for 196 yards. The defense had 39 tackles, three sacks, two interceptions, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. Montreal needs to cut down on the penalties. They committed nine penalties for 95 yards.
For Hamilton, they had 277 yards on offense. Quarterback Taylor Powell, who made his second start this year, finished the night completing 20 of 31 passes (64.5%) for 202 yards, two interceptions, and four carries for 29 yards.
Hamilton’s offense went cold in the second half. The offense could not put together drives to get points and the defense had trouble covering Montreal’s offense. They left too many guys wide open and did not put much pressure on Fajardo. It seemed like they went away from what made them successful in the first half. They failed to adjust and it led them to give up 18 unanswered points. Hamilton also committed 11 penalties for 98 yards.
Running back James Butler had nine carries for 51 yards, and one touchdown, and wide receiver Terry Godwin had six catches for 89 yards. Hamilton’s defense had 46 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Next Friday, the Montreal Alouettes host the Saskatchewan Roughriders at 7:30 pm on CFL+, while the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are on a bye week. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
