The Montreal Alouettes (6-3) visited TD Place Stadium on Saturday night against the Ottawa Redblacks (3-7) for the second time this season. The two teams met on Week 1 in Montreal with the Alouettes winning the game 19-12.
Montreal quarterback Caleb Evans got his second straight start instead of Cody Fajardo, who is still dealing with a left shoulder injury. In addition, Montreal won seven straight games in Ottawa. It was not easy but they were able to keep the streak alive on Saturday night.
In the first quarter, Montreal quarterback Caleb Evans completed three passes for 24 yards, and running back William Stanback had three carries for 17 yards to get inside the Redblacks’ 18-yard line. On second down, Evans was set up in a shotgun formation. He was looking to throw the ball to Austin Mack but he was double-covered. Evans threw it anyway as Mack slipped and Damon Webb intercepted it for a 70-yard return to the Alouettes’ 34-yard line.
Montreal defensive lineman Tyrell Richards sacked Dustin Crum for a loss of 11 yards. Four plays later, Crum completed a short slant pass to Shaq Evans with no one around him for a gain of 20 yards to the Alouettes’ one-yard line.
On the next play, Ottawa backup quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome scored the touchdown with a quarterback sneak for a 7-0 lead as time expired for the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Montreal quarterback Caleb Evans completed a short pass to William Stanback for a gain of 31 yards. Two plays later, Evans took off for a gain of 14 yards to the Redblacks’ eight-yard line.
On first down, Evans tried to throw the ball to Tyson Philpot but hit the post. After failing to score a touchdown, kicker David Cote kicked a 10-yard field goal which made it 7-3 Ottawa with 10:03 left.
Later in the second quarter, Caleb Evans tried to scramble with the football but Cleyon Laing stripped the ball and recovered it on the Alouettes’ 25-yard line. Two plays later, Tyrrell Pigrome scrambled from his left side before finding an opening on the right side in front of him to score a 16-yard touchdown for a 14-3 lead with 6:20 left.
With under a minute left, Ottawa kicker Lewis Ward made a 39-yard field goal and the Redblacks took a 17-3 lead at halftime.
Ottawa had 123 yards on offense. Quarterback Dustin Crum completed 6 of 7 passes (85.7%) for 55 yards, and backup quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome completed one pass for eight yards, five carries for 26 yards, and one touchdown.
Running back Devonte Williams had eight carries for 61 yards, and wide receivers Nate Behar and Shaq Evans combined with three catches logging 40 yards. The defense had two sacks and two interceptions.
Montreal had 138 yards on offense. Quarterback Caleb Evans completed 9 of 16 passes (56-3%) for 98 yards, two interceptions, and four carries for 24 yards. Running back William Stanback had six carries for 27 yards, and wide receiver Austin Mack had four catches for 33 yards. The defense recorded two sacks.
In the third quarter, Montreal started to cut down Ottawa’s lead. Quarterback Caleb Evans threw a deep pass to Austin Mack for a gain of 47 yards to the Redblacks’ eight-yard line. Two plays later, Evans found a wide-open Tyler Snead for a seven-yard touchdown. It was now 17-10 Ottawa with 10:47 left.
Ottawa put together a couple of long drives but was unable to add any points. The score remained 17-10 Ottawa after three-quarters of play.
In the fourth quarter, Ottawa quarterback Dustin Crum was looking to throw the ball to someone before taking off for a 13-yard touchdown. It was now 24-10 with 9:25 left. Later in the game, Montreal quarterback Caleb Evans completed two passes for 27 yards.
Montreal would get to the Redblacks’ 43-yard line before David Cote converted a 50-yard field goal and they were down 24-13 with 5:59 left.
Montreal’s defense stepped up on second down when Shawn Lemon sacked Dustin Crum which forced Ottawa to punt the ball. Two plays later, Caleb Evans threw to a wide-open Tyler Snead for a 20-yard touchdown. The Alouettes went for a two-point conversion but did not get it. It was now 24-19 with 2:33 left.
The Alouettes’ defense would come up big again by stopping the Redblacks twice that forced third down and Ottawa punted the ball out of bounds on the Alouettes’ 38-yard line. However, an illegal punt penalty on Ottawa moved the ball to the 28-yard line.
Montreal quarterback Caleb Evans threw a 51-yard pass to a wide-open Hergy Mayala before getting pushed out of bounds on the Redblacks’ five-yard line. After a couple of rushing plays for three yards, Montreal faced third down on the Redblacks’ two-yard line.
Caleb Evans scrambled in for a touchdown to put Montreal ahead 25-24. They went for a two-point conversion and did not get it. Ottawa had 31 seconds to get into field goal range.
On the final play of the game, Crum threw the ball in the air but it was intercepted by Reggie Stubblefield that ended the game. The Alouettes came back from 14 points down to beat the Redblack by the final score of 25-24. The win extends the Alouettes winning streak at TD Place Stadium to eight games.
This was a good comeback win by Montreal. They made the plays and their defense made crucial stops to get them this win and keep pace with Toronto in the East Division. Montreal had 390 yards on offense. Quarterback Caleb Evans did a good job completing 24 of 36 passes (66.7%) for 333 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, eight carries for 49 yards, and one touchdown.
Running back William Stanback had ten carries for 31 yards, and two catches for 36 yards. Wide receivers Austin Mack, Tyler Snead, and Hergy Mayala combined with 17 catches logging 265 yards, and two touchdowns. The defense had 45 tackles, three sacks, one interception, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Ottawa is going to be looking back at this game as they should’ve won this. They gave up too many big plays and these are the type of losses you can’t have if you want to make the playoffs.
Ottawa made great plays early in the game, but in the second half, their secondary had a ton of blown coverages which led to several Montreal players getting wide-open. Ottawa’s defensive coaches did not do a good job alerting them of the mistakes they were making and it cost them a win.
Ottawa had 279 yards on offense. Quarterback Dustin Crum completed 14 of 19 passes (73.7%) for 130 yards, one interception, four carries for 42 yards, and one touchdown. Crum did not get a lot of help in this game. He had to rely on his legs and short passes to get the offense moving.
Crum did show off his arm strength and the Redblacks need to develop plays for Crum to use his arm for longer passes. In this league, every defense is ready for the short-yard passes, and changing it up can throw them off and Ottawa might be able to win football games.
Running back Devonte Williams had nine carries for 64 yards, and wide receiver Shaq Evans had three catches for 41 yards. Ottawa’s defense had 45 tackles, four sacks, two interceptions, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. Ottawa also needs to limit the penalties. They committed eight of them for 73 yards, and Montreal took advantage of them.
Next Thursday, Montreal visits IG Field to take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at 8:30 pm on CBS Sports Network, and the Ottawa Redblacks visit Commonwealth Stadium next Sunday against the Edmonton Elks at 7 pm on CBS Sports Network. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
