The Montreal Alouettes (11-7) concluded the 2023 regular season on Saturday afternoon hosting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (8-10). The Alouettes won the two previous meetings in Hamilton.
Both teams played their starters to begin the game before inserting their backups and third-strings for the rest of the game. The backups and third-string players took advantage of the playing time using this game as an audition for next year.
In the first quarter, Montreal struck first when Cody Fajardo threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Tyson Philpot for a 7-0 lead with 14:03 left. Later in the first quarter, Hamilton’s defense came up with a big play when Stavros Katsantonis hit the ball out of Montreal running back William Stanback’s arm and it was recovered by Jameer Thurman.
The turnover would turn into points when Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio converted a 29-yard field goal which cut the Alouettes lead down to 7-3 heading into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, Hamilton’s special teams put them in the lead. Montreal kicker David Cote missed a 44-yard field goal wide into the direction of Tyreik McAllister. McAllister got a couple of good blocks which led him to scoring a 122-yard touchdown. It was now 10-7 Hamilton with 13:08 left of the second quarter.
Later in the second quarter, Montreal tied the game 10-10 when kicker David Cote converted a 36-yard field goal with 6:24 left. For the rest of the second quarter, both defenses kept one another out of the endzone. The game remained tied 10-10 at halftime.
Hamilton had 69 yards on offense. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 5 of 10 passes (50%) for 53 yards, running back Sean Thomas-Erlington had four carries for 15 yards, and wide receiver Terry Godwin made one catch for 37 yards. Hamilton’s defense made three sacks.
Montreal had 114 yards on offense. Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 6 of 8 passes (75%) for 55 yards, one touchdown, and one carry for three yards. Backup quarterback Caleb Evans completed 5 of 7 passes (71.4%) for 30 yards.
Running back William Stanback had five carries for 40 yards, and wide receiver Cole Speiker made four catches for 33 yards. Montreal’s defense made one sack, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries in the first half.
In the third quarter, Montreal broke the tie when punter Joseph Zema punted the ball 69 yards into the endzone and out of bounds for a single point. It was now 11-10 Montreal with 10:35 left. Later in the third quarter, Hamilton got the lead back when kicker Marc Liegghio made a 31-yard field goal. It was now 13-11 with 4:39 left of the third quarter.
Later in the third quarter, Hamilton put together a late drive but Montreal’s defense stopped them Lwal Uguak sacked Taylor Powell forcing third down to begin the fourth quarter down 13-11.
In the fourth quarter, Hamilton punter Kaare Vedvik punted the ball 39 yards toward James Letcher Jr., who got several good blocks ahead of him using his speed to score a 99-yard touchdown. Montreal went for a two-point conversion scored by Cole Speiker which made it 19-13 with 13:57 left of the game.
Hamilton responded on their next drive. After quarterback Taylor Powell threw two passes for 21 yards, running back Sean Thomas-Erlington did the rest carrying the ball four times for 40 yards, including a five-yard touchdown for a 20-19 lead with nine minutes left in the game.
Late in the fourth quarter, Montreal defensive back Kabion Ento intercepted Taylor Powell’s pass with 4:17 left of the game. Montreal’s offense took their time marching down the field killing time before kicker David Cote kicked a 22-yard field goal for a 22-20 lead with 1:27 left of the fourth quarter.
Hamilton had two more chances to win the game. On the last play of the game, Hamilton quarterback Taylor Powell’s pass was intercepted by Darnell Sankey. The Alouettes beat the Ticats by the final score of 22-20.
Montreal had 195 yards on offense. Backup quarterback Caleb Evans completed 5 of 10 passes (50%) for 30 yards, and three carries for seven yards. Third-string quarterback Davis Alexander completed 5 of 6 passes (83%) for 51 yards.
Montreal running back William Stanback had seven carries for 48 yards, and wide receiver Cole Speiker made six catches for 44 yards. Montreal’s defense made 32 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.
Hamilton had 237 yards on offense. Backup quarterback Taylor Powell completed 10 of 19 passes (52.6%) for 106 yards and two interceptions. Running back Sean Thomas-Erlington had 12 carries for 80 yards, and one touchdown.
Hamilton wide receiver Terry Godwin led the receivers with three catches for 56 yards. Hamilton’s defense made 34 tackles, three sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
The Alouettes and Ticats will square off one more time next Saturday in the Eastern Semi-Final at 3 pm on CFL+. The winner of the game will face the Toronto Argonauts in the Eastern Final. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
