The Montreal Alouettes (10-7) visited Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday afternoon against the Edmonton Elks (4-13) in their first and only meeting of the season. On Friday night, the Alouettes officially clinched second place with Hamilton’s loss to the B.C. Lions. Despite this, there was still much left to prove by both teams as the season slowly comes to a close.
In the first quarter, Edmonton quarterback Tre Ford completed three passes for 40 yards. Then, Ford pitched the ball to Kyron Moore, who had two great blocks in front of him for a 13-yard touchdown that made it 7-0 Elks with 11:05 left of the first quarter.
Later in the first quarter, Montreal got on the board when Jose Carlos Maltos kicked a 50-yard field goal which made it 7-3 Elks with 8:42 left. Edmonton quarterback Tre Ford completed four passes for 46 yards, including a 31-yard pass to Gavin Cobb.
In addition, Ford ran for 12 yards to set them up on the Alouettes’ 6-yard line. On the next play, backup quarterback Taylor Cornelius rushed to his right side to score a 6-yard touchdown that made it 14-3 with 5:25 left of the second quarter.
On the last play of the first quarter, Edmonton quarterback Tre Ford ran for a gain of 9 yards with the Elks leading 14-3 heading into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, Edmonton quarterback Tre Ford threw a screen pass to Kyron Moore. Moore got a great block from Eugene Lewis to score an 18-yard touchdown which made it 21-3 with 7:03 left. Montreal started to get going on their next drive.
Montreal quarterback Cody Fajardo threw a 21-yard pass to Cole Spieker before being brought down on the Elks’ 44-yard line. Next, Fajardo threw four more passes for 39 yards. On the next play, Fajardo found Tyson Philpot for a 6-yard touchdown. It was now 21-10 Edmonton with 3:16 left of the second quarter.
The turning point of the game on Edmonton’s next drive. Montreal defensive end Lwal Uguak punched the ball out of Tre Ford’s hand before Mustafa Johnson scooped it up for a 38-yard touchdown. It was now 21-17 Edmonton with 2:40 left of the second quarter.
Turnovers continued to haunt the Elks. On the kickoff, Deontez Alexander had the ball stripped by Jake Harty with Brock Gowanlock recovering the ball. The Alouettes turned the turnover into points when Jose Carlos Maltos kicked a 24-yard field goal which made it 21-20 Edmonton with 1:34 left.
Late in the second quarter, Edmonton kicker Dean Faithfull missed a 41-yard field goal. Montreal returner James Letcher Jr. sprinted out of the endzone and got a couple of good blocks in front of him to score a 125-yard touchdown. However, Montreal kicker Jose Carlos Maltos missed the extra point. Montreal led 26-21 at halftime.
Montreal had 143 yards on offense. Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 10 of 14 passes (71.4%) for 104 yards, one touchdown, and one carry for five yards. Running back Walter Fletcher had six carries for 33 yards, and one catch for 12 yards, and wide receiver Cole Spieker made five catches for 56 yards. Montreal’s defense had three sacks and two fumble recoveries.
Edmonton had 264 yards on offense. Quarterback Tre Ford completed 14 of 17 passes (82.3%) for 176 yards, two touchdowns, and three carries for 33 yards. Running back Kevin Brown had 8 carries for 60 yards, and Eugene Lewis made four catches for 46 yards. Edmonton’s defense made one sack.
In the third quarter, Edmonton was shut out. Montreal kicker Jose Carlos Maltos kicked two field goals. The first went for 36 yards which made it 29-21 with 11:51 left, and the other went for 33 yards for a 32-21 lead with 38 seconds left of the third quarter. Montreal led 32-21 with one quarter left to play.
In the fourth quarter, Edmonton defensive back Marloshawn Franklin Jr. intercepted Cody Fajardo’s pass but the offense could not take advantage of the turnover. Late in the fourth quarter, Montreal kicker Jose Carlos Maltos kicked a 16-yard field goal which gave the Alouettes a 35-21 win over the Edmonton Elks. The Alouettes scored 32 unanswered points to win the game.
Montreal’s defense and special teams played a big part in leading the team to victory. They have one game left of the season and I think you will see plenty of backups play in their season finale in two weeks.
Montreal had 385 yards on offense. Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 23 of 29 passes (79.3%) for 258 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and six carries for 30 yards. Running back Walter Fletcher had 13 carries for 88 yards and two catches for 13 yards.
Montreal wide receiver Tyler Snead led the receivers with four catches for 69 yards. Montreal’s defense made 43 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and one touchdown.
Edmonton had 331 yards on offense. Quarterback Tre Ford completed 21 of 30 passes (70%) for 216 yards, two touchdowns, and five carries for 47 yards. Running back Kevin Brown had 10 carries for 68 yards, and wide receiver Eugene Lewis made seven catches for 61 yards. Edmonton’s defense made 48 tackles, three sacks, one interception, and two fumble recoveries.
Next week, Montreal will have their final bye week of the season, while Edmonton plays their last game of the regular season next Saturday against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at 7 pm on CFL+. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
