The B.C. Lions (8-4) visited Percival Molson Memorial Stadium to kick off Labour Day Weekend against the Montreal Alouettes (6-5) on Saturday night. This was the second meeting of the season between these two teams. They met back in Week 5 in B.C. where the Lions won the game 35-19. Unlike their first meeting, B.C. had to earn this one in comeback fashion.
In the first quarter, Montreal running back William Stanback rushed for a gain of 14 yards. Three plays later, Cody Fajardo completed a 24-yard pass to Austin Mack before he was tackled on the Lions’ 14-yard line. The drive would lead to a David Cote 23-yard field goal that made it 3-0 Montreal with 9:17 left.
On the second play for the Lions, quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed a short pass to Keon Hatcher for a gain of 16 yards. Later in the drive, Adams took off for a gain of 17 yards before he was pushed out of bounds at the Alouettes’ six-yard line. Then, he threw the ball to a wide-open Alexander Hollins for the touchdown. The Lions led 7-3 with 4:36 left.
Late in the first quarter, Montreal kicker David Cote converted a 42-yard field goal which made it 7-6 Lions with 1:20 left. With 25 seconds left, B.C. quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. threw two passes for 26 yards to reach the Alouettes’ 34-yard line when the first quarter ended. B.C. led 7-6.
Three plays into the second quarter, B.C. kicker Sean Whyte made a 41-yard field goal for a 10-6 lead with 14:06 left. Later in the second quarter, B.C. quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. had pressure on him. He scrambled a bit before taking a huge hit throwing a deep pass to Alexander Hollins, who had two Montreal defenders on him before making the catch for a 62-yard touchdown. It was now 17-6 with 3:19 left.
For the rest of the second quarter, Montreal kicker David Cote kicked two field goals, one for 16 yards, and the other for 40 yards as time expired. The Lions led 17-12 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Montreal quarterback Cody Fajardo threw two passes for 25 yards to Tyson Philpot and Tyler Snead. On second down, Cody Fajardo got great protection from his offensive line before throwing a deep pass to Austin Mack, who made a nice diving catch with a defender on him for a 30-yard touchdown. They tried a two-point conversion but did not get it. The Alouettes led 18-17 with 11:52 left.
Later in the third quarter, Montreal quarterback Cody Fajardo threw a 22-yard pass to Austin Mack. On the next play, he completed an eight-yard pass to Tyler Snead. They would get to the Lions’ 20-yard line before David Cote missed a 28-yard field goal but did get a single point out of it. It was now 19-17 Montreal with 5:55 left.
The Lions battled back on their next drive. Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed two passes for 22 yards. Then, he threw two more passes for a gain of 23 yards. On the next play, Adams scrambled out of the pocket before throwing a 17-yard touchdown pass to Keon Hatcher. It was now 24-19 with 2:05 left.
Montreal had the ball for the rest of the third quarter. Cody Fajardo completed two passes for 19 yards to reach their 41-yard line as the third quarter ended down 24-19.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Montreal running back William Stanback got some help from the offensive line to open a hole for him and he took off for a 69-yard touchdown. Once again, they tried another two-point conversion but did not get it. It was now 25-24 Montreal with 14:17 left.
Later in the fourth quarter, B.C. kicker Sean Whyte converted a 31-yard field goal that put the Lions back on top 27-25 with 7:57 left. B.C.’s defense came up with a big play. After giving up a 63-yard run to Jeshrun Antwi, Cody Fajardo dropped back to throw a deep pass intended for Austin Mack but Quincy Mauger intercepted it in the endzone.
The Lions took advantage of the turnover when Vernon Adams Jr. pitched the ball to running back Taquan Mizzell, who rushed for a seven-yard touchdown. It was now 34-25 with 1:28 left. B.C.’s defense would seal the game when T.J. Lee intercepted Cody Fajardo’s pass. The Lions’ offense ran out the clock to come away with a 34-25 win over the Alouettes.
B.C.’s offense had 427 yards. Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 21 of 33 passes (63.6%) for 306 yards, three touchdowns, and eight carries for 54 yards. Adams kept his composure when they were down and managed to lead them to victory.
Running back Taquan Mizzell had 14 carries for 68 yards, one touchdown, and one catch for three yards. B.C.’s receivers, led by Alexander Hollins all had a good night. Hollins caught five passes for 88 yards, and two touchdowns. The rest (Lucky Whitehead, Keon Hatcher, Justin McInnis, and Jevon Cottoy) combined for 15 catches for 215 yards, and one touchdown.
B.C.’s defense struggled early in the game but put together a strong fourth quarter to help the Lions win the game. They had 41 tackles, one tackle for loss, five sacks (2 of them by Sione Teuhema), and two interceptions.
Montreal’s offense had 517 yards. Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 22 of 35 passes (62.9%) for 308 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and seven carries for 36 yards. The play-calling which led to both interceptions late in the game was not good. Fajardo continues to lack in seeing the entire field.
Despite the pressure, if he had taken just a couple of extra seconds to look elsewhere, he would’ve found Tyler Snead wide open a couple of times which would have gotten them a first down or maybe two touchdowns.
Running back William Stanback had a great night with eight carries for 102 yards, and one touchdown, and wide receiver Austin Mack had seven catches for 143 yards, and one touchdown, while Tyler Snead had seven catches for 69 yards.
Montreal’s defense had 36 tackles and six tackles for losses. They did put pressure on Vernon Adams Jr. for the majority of this game but did not record a sack. The secondary blew a lot of assignments leaving guys wide open which led the Lions scoring touchdowns.
Next Saturday, the Montreal Alouettes battle the Toronto Argonauts as part of a tripleheader at 1 pm on CFL+, while the Lions are on a bye week. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
