HAMILTON — The Montreal Alouettes remain the team to beat in the East Division. The reigning Grey Cup champs quieted the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Tim Hortons Field on Friday night in an impressive 33-16 road victory.
With usual starter Cody Fajardo on the one-game injured list, quarterback Davis Alexander had the reigns in Montreal’s offence, going 19-27 for 262 yards, a touchdown pass, and a pick-six.
Caleb Evans temporarily came into the game after Alexander was hurt early in the fourth quarter. Evans rushed for a touchdown and threw for another before he exited the game with an injury of his own in the dying minutes.
Charleston Rambo caught four passes for 86 yards and a touchdown while running back Walter Fletcher had 84 yards off of 11 touches and a rushing touchdown.
Hamilton’s Bo Levi Mitchell was 29-42 with 240 passing yards, a touchdown through the air, as well as two interceptions. Shemar Bridges led the receiving room with nine receptions for 76 yards.
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Montreal DV Kabion Ento picking off a Hamilton pass Photo: Geoff Robins/CFL.ca
After a scoreless first quarter, the Tiger-Cats wasted no time to get on the board in the second frame. With Montreal Pinned back on their seven-yard line after a deep punt by Nik Constantinou, Alexander threw an interception to Kenneth George Jr. on the first play of the quarter. George took it in 18 yards as the home team grabbed a 7-0 lead.
Midway through the second, Alexander and the Montreal offence got the chains moving on a six-play, 80-yard scoring drive. Alexander evaded a potential sack to find Philpot for a 19-yard gain before connecting with Reggie White Jr. for another 19 to bring the Als just outside of the red zone. Charleston Rambo then kept his hands on the ball to bring down an impressive touchdown catch as the visitors evened the score.
Late in the first half, Mitchell was picked off by Bryce Cosby, giving the away team the opportunity to take the lead before the break. With Alexander looking deep once more, Robert Panabaker was called for a defensive pass interference penalty on Tyson Philpot, taking the Alouettes to Hamilton’s 25-yard line. Jose Maltos made a 32-yard field goal to give the Als a 10-7 advantage at the interval.
After a two-and-out on their first possession of the second half, the Ticats added a single off of a 64-yard punt from the boot of Constantinou. A big 26-yard rush from Fletcher got the Als going on their next scoring drive. Two plays later, Rambo was a yard away from hauling in his second touchdown of the night, getting brought down just outside the end zone on Alexander’s bomb to the right sideline. Caleb Evans stormed in from a yard out as Montreal made it 17-8 after Maltos’ extra point.
Mitchell was intercepted for the second time early in the fourth quarter on an intended throw to Luther Hakunavanhu with Kabion Ento making the play on defence. A couple of completions from Alexander to Rambo and then Philpot advanced the Als to Hamilton’s 22. Defensive back Richard Leonard then broke up what could’ve been a touchdown pass from Alexander to White, forcing a field goal try from Maltos. Montreal’s kicker made no mistake from 31 yards as the Alouettes extended their lead to 20-8.
Alexander was forced out of the game after being on the receiving end of an unnecessary roughness penalty from Hamilton’s Casey Sayles. After moving up 25 yards, Evans came into the game and immediately threw for a touchdown, finding fullback David Dallaire in the end zone to make it 27-8 with 5:17 remaining.
The Ticats cut into the deficit after the three-minute warning with Mitchell finding Tim White for Hamilton’s first points on offence. Shemar Bridges caught the ball on the two-point conversion to make it 27-16. The Alouettes weren’t done scoring, however. After Evans was injured on a rushing play, Fletcher ran into the end zone for a five-yard touchdown as the game finished 33-16 in favour of Montreal.
The Tiger-Cats and Alouettes will go at it again in Week 10 at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium. The second half of their back-to-back is scheduled for Saturday, August 10.