Montreal Alouettes come from behind for win over Roughriders
MONTREAL – Two first place teams entered the contest at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, but only one could come out victorious.
The Montreal Alouettes were that team, defeating the Saskatchewan Roughriders in a comeback 20-16 victory on Thursday night.
Davis Alexander threw for 178 yards and two touchdowns while Tyson Philpot led all receivers with 88 yards.
Shea Patterson completed 22-of-33 passes for 222 yards, and Frankie Hickson controlled the ground game with 117 yards rushing and a touchdown.
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Brett Lauther put the Riders on top first with a 21-yard field goal just six minutes into the game, but the Als responded with a 17-yard field goal by Jose Maltos with five and a half minutes to play in the first quarter.
Saskatchewan were the first team to find the end zone as Hickson went for a 20-yard run to put the Riders on top by seven.
They would extend their lead in the second quarter as Lauther came in clutch once again, this time with a long 43-yarder, to put Saskatchewan up by double digits.
As the Riders continued to take control of the first half, despite not being able to get to the end zone one more time to close out the first two quarters, Lauther once again was relied on, this time from 22 yards out as time expired.
But the Als would be the team to come out strong to start the third quarter, as the first drive of the second half Tyson Philpot caught a 30-yard pass to put the Als in positions for Reggie White Jr. to catch a five-yard touchdown pass from Alexander and make the game a six-point affair.
The Als would use the momentum swing to their advantage as they took their first lead of the game in the third quarter as White. Jr and Alexander would once again connect, this time for 31 yards, to give Montreal a one-point lead with just over one and a half minutes to play in the third quarter.
Maltos gave the Als a four-point cushion with a 21-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter that would hold for Montreal.
With just over a minute to play the Riders would march downfield, with Patterson completing passes for multiple first downs to get down to Montreal’s 30-yard line, but could not get into the end zone for the win.
Montreal’s offence scored 17 second-half points while holding the Riders scoreless in the final two quarters, sparking their comeback not only offensively but giving credit to their defence for keeping the Riders from even being able to attempt a field goal.
In Week 9, the Als head to Hamilton to take on the Tiger-Cats on Aug. 2 at 7:30 p.m. EDT at Tim Hortons Field, while the Riders will head home to Mosaic Stadium to host the Edmonton Elks at 7:00 p.m. EDT on Aug. 3.
