The Montreal Alouettes (7-1) visited Tim Hortons Field on Friday night against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-6). Both teams were coming off wins last week. Hamilton was looking to extend their winning streak to three games, while the Alouettes aimed for their second straight win with Davis Alexander making his first career CFL start.
First Quarter:
In the first quarter, it was all defense. Montreal’s defense forced a turnover stopping Hamilton on third down with 12:16 left. In addition, Tyson Beverette sacked Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell with 1:56 left.
Hamilton’s defense got to Montreal quarterback Davis Alexander once when Dewayne Hendrix sacked him forcing the ball out of Alexander’s hand and recovered by Trevor Hoyte. Despite the turnovers, neither offense could score. The score remained tied 0-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Hamilton had 81 yards on offense (67 yards passing, 20 yards rushing, 6 yards lost). Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 8 of 10 passes for 81 yards, and running back James Butler had three carries for 20 yards. Montreal had 30 yards on offense (19 yards passing, 13 yards rushing, 2 yards lost). Quarterback Davis Alexander completed 4 of 4 passes for 19 yards.
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Montreal quarterback Davis Alexander attempted to complete a pass to Cole Spiker but Hamilton defensive back Kenneth George Jr. jumped the route to make a diving interception. He was not touched and got up to score a pick-six 18-yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead with 14:28 left.
On Montreal’s third possession of the second quarter, quarterback Davis Alexander and running back Walter Fletcher led the team to a six-play drive for 80 yards that ended with Alexander throwing a 24-yard touchdown pass to Charleston Rambo. Rambo made a nice leaping catch for the touchdown and the game was tied 7-7 with 7:35 left in the second quarter.
There was a bit of controversy on the Ticats’ next series. Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed a pass to fullback James Tuck. Tuck ran with the ball but Montreal defensive back Wesley Sutton clearly forced the ball out of his arm after a great hit. Montreal defensive back Najee Murray recovered the ball.
However, the refs ruled that Tuck was down by contact. The command center reviewed the play and ruled in Hamilton’s favor. It was a blown call by both the officials and the command center. Luckily, Montreal’s defense forced third down and Hamilton punted the ball back to them.
Late in the second quarter, Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell attempted to throw the ball to Tim White but Bryce Cosby was there for the interception returning it for five yards to their 36-yard line. This allowed the Alouettes’ offense to go four plays for five yards plus a defensive pass interference penalty by Hamilton for 45 yards.
Kicker Jose Carlos Maltos made a 32-yard field goal giving the Alouettes a 10-7 lead with 13 seconds left. Hamilton took a couple of kneel downs to end the first half down 10-7.
First Half Stats:
Montreal had 114 yards on offense (92 yards passing, 31 yards rushing, 9 yards lost). Quarterback Davis Alexander completed 10 of 13 passes (77%) for 92 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Running back Walter Fletcher had four carries for 22 yards and two catches for 9 yards.
Wide receiver Charleston Rambo made two catches for 30 yards, and one touchdown, while Tyson Philpot made two catches for 26 yards. Montreal’s defense made one sack and one tackle for loss. They had no penalties in the first half.
Hamilton had 139 yards on offense (115 yards passing, 32 yards rushing, 8 yards lost). Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 15 of 20 passes (75%) for 115 yards, and one interception. Running back James Butler had six carries for 31 yards and three catches for 9 yards.
Wide receiver Shemar Bridges made three catches for 30 yards, and Kiondre Smith made three catches for 23 yards. Hamilton’s defense made two sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one touchdown. They were penalized three times for 60 yards.
Third Quarter:
In the third quarter, Hamilton linebacker Kyle Wilson chased down Montreal quarterback Davis Alexander before sacking him for a seven-yard loss on second down forcing Montreal to punt the ball. Hamilton’s offense, led by Bo Levi Mitchell threw two passes for 10 yards, and running back James Butler rushed for a gain of 12 yards.
On the next play, Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell attempted to complete a pass to Steven Dunbar Jr. but Tyson Beverette made a diving interception. After further review, the refs determined that it was an incomplete pass making it third down.
Hamilton punter Nic Constantinou punted the ball 64 yards into the endzone for a single point. The Ticats trailed the Alouettes 10-8 with 9:59 left of the third quarter.
Montreal’s offense quickly went to work. Running back Walter Fletcher and wide receiver James Letcher Jr. combined with two carries logging 30 yards.
On the next play, quarterback Davis Alexander threw a deep pass which was caught by Charleston Rambo for 39 yards on the Ticats’ one-yard line. Backup quarterback Caleb Evans came in to score a one-yard touchdown for a 17-8 lead with 7:43 left of the third quarter.
For the rest of the third quarter, both offenses would move the ball but penalties hurt them and their drives stalled. On the final play of the third quarter, Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw an 8-yard pass to James Butler on the Alouettes’ 50-yard line. The Ticats trailed the Alouettes 17-8 heading into the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell attempted to complete a pass to Luther Hakunavanhu but Montreal linebacker Kabion Ento made a leaping interception for a 23-yard return before he was tackled on their 45-yard line.
Montreal’s offense took advantage of the turnover by going five plays for 42 yards making it to the Ticats’ 23-yard line. Kicker Jose Carlos Maltos made a 31-yard field goal extending Montreal’s lead 20-8 with 10:44 left of the game.
On Montreal’s next drive, quarterback Davis Alexander threw two passes for 35 yards and Walter Fletcher rushed for a gain of four yards. On the next play, Davis Alexander scrambled to his left side before throwing an incomplete pass all while Hamilton linebacker Casey Sayles hit him head-on with his helmet. Alexander was down for several minutes and Sayles was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty for 25 yards placing the ball on their 39-yard line.
Caleb Evans came in for the next play. He threw a 39-yard touchdown to David Dallaire. It was a good play because Dallaire held back to block before running his route and Hamilton did not see him take off before scoring the touchdown. The Alouettes extended their lead 27-8 with 5:17 left of the game. The series went six plays for 103 yards.
Hamilton’s offense went back out for their next series. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell threw four passes for 45 yards with three of them caught by Shemar Bridges. On second down, Mitchell threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Tim White. The Ticats went for a two-point conversion where Mitchell threw to Shemar Bridges to get the two points. Hamilton trailed Montreal 27-16 with 2:41 left in the game. It was an eight-play drive for 71 yards.
Late in the fourth quarter, Caleb Evans scrambled to his right side. He attempted to make a juke move but he injured his right knee on his own and was holding it. He was helped off the field putting no pressure on his right knee and Davis Alexander came back to finish the game.
Montreal running back Walter Fletcher scored a 5-yard touchdown for a 33-16 lead with 1:42 left in the game. It was a five-play drive for 45 yards. Hamilton backup quarterback Taylor Powell finished the game for the Ticats. He threw five passes for 39 yards to end the game. The Alouettes defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 37-16. They have now won eight consecutive games against the Ticats (6 regular season, 2 postseason).
Final Stats:
Montreal had 381 yards on offense (301 yards passing, 96 yards rushing), 16 yards lost). Quarterback Davis Alexander completed 19 of 27 passes (70.3%) for 262 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and two carries for 16 yards. Running back Walter Fletcher had 8 carries for 56 yards, one touchdown, and three catches for 28 yards.
Wide receiver Charleston Rambo made four catches for 86 yards, and one touchdown, while Tyson Philpot made five catches for 82 yards. Kicker Jose Carlos Maltos made two field goals with a long of 32 yards. Montreal’s defense made 48 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, two interceptions, and nine tackles on special teams. They were penalized four times for 50 yards
Hamilton had 343 yards on offense (279 yards passing, 72 yards rushing, 8 yards lost). Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell completed 29 of 42 passes (69%) for 240 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Running back James Butler had 12 carries for 69 yards and 7 catches for 41 yards.
Wide receiver Shemar Bridges made 9 catches for 76 yards, while Tim White made three catches for 45 yards and one touchdown. Hamilton’s defense made 37 tackles, one tackle for loss, three sacks, one interception, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and six tackles on special teams. They were penalized 7 times for 115 yards.
Final Thoughts:
Montreal’s defense did an excellent job tonight covering their guys and not allowing Bo Levi Mitchell to make big plays. The front four put pressure on the Ticats’ offense forcing Mitchell to throw the ball earlier than he wanted to.
For Bo Levi Mitchell, it was not all of his fault. He threw some good passes in this game but the receivers continue to drop the ball. Shemar Bridges is Mitchell’s favorite target because he is consistently catching the ball from Mitchell. The receivers had trouble getting open in this game and they need to come back for the football and help Mitchell out.
Injuries were another issue that could have been prevented. First, Davis Alexander has got to learn to get rid of the ball earlier when there is no play. Instead, he held on to it for too long leading him to get hit hard by Casey Sayles. While Sayles did make helmet-to-helmet contact, it did not need to happen if Alexander had just got rid of the football.
It’s bad enough that quarterbacks put their teammates in danger of getting hurt and worse putting themselves in danger of getting injured. The coaches need to pound it into their quarterbacks to get rid of the football right away and live to play another down.
Caleb Evans was another injury that could’ve been prevented. He did not need to make a juke move and instead should’ve just slid down. He had no one near him and it was safe to do. Instead, he tried to make a play and the injury might cost him the rest of the season. In all seriousness, I hope Evans gets better and makes a full recovery.
Lastly, the blown fumble call by both the refs and the command center needs to be addressed. The command center has all the camera angles to look at the play and they still ruled not a fumble. The league needs to hire an ex-CFL official to be there in the command center to review the plays. They need to take a page out of the UFL’s book.
In the UFL, former officials Dean Blandino and Mike Pereira reviewed plays before making the call. They would explain to the audience why they made those calls. Someone in the command center should’ve had a mic from TSN to explain their decision because it was a bad call and there is no excuse for it.
The two teams will meet again next Saturday in Montreal at 7 pm on TSN and CBS Sports Network. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
