By Richard Obrand,
MontrealAlouettes.com
Montreal – Just one stop remains on the Alouettes’ season-opening three game road-trip and Friday night’s matchup against former Alouette Davis Sanchez and the BC Lions may be the deciding factor between a successful trip and a disappointing one.
This week’s matchup marks the first meeting between them since last season’s East Division Final at Olympic Stadium where the Als seemingly breezed by the Leos, 56-18 en route to the Grey Cup in Calgary.
The East Final also marked the return of Lions quarterback Casey Printer who seems to be taking longer than expected to return to the form that saw him win MOP honours in 2004.
How they fared…
Having left last week’s game against the Roughriders in the second quarter after taking a sack by Riders defensive end Brent Hawkins, Printers watched the rest of the game from the sidelines, nursing a bruised thigh.
Prior to being replaced by backup quarterback Travis Lulay, Printers completed 10-14 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown pass to receiver Geroy Simon, his first of the season.
Reports out of Vancouver indicate that Printers’ thigh is healed and will play Friday night at Empire Field.
After a strong effort that saw him run for 168 yards and a touchdown two weeks ago in Edmonton, tailback Jamal Robertson was stymied by Saskatchewan’s defence, amassing just 54 yards on 10 carries and no touchdowns.
Because Robertson has the ability to run through defences, look for a much tighter game from Tim Burke’s crew. Though it’s only two games into the long CFL season, the Alouettes have allowed 77 points against, the biggest total in the league.
However, after a rough start against the Eskimos last week, the defence tightened up in the second half, forcing two timely turnovers in the process.
Safety Etienne Boulay and cornerback Jerald Brown both picked off Edmonton quarterback Ricky Ray, with Brown returning his interception for a major score to give the Als the lead for good.
Renewing hostilities…
The last time Anthony Calvillo and the Alouettes visited BC was for the now infamous 2009 Labour Day Classic. It was then that the Als were handed one of their three losses of the season, thanks to a controversial call by the officials late in the fourth quarter.
The play came after running back Avon Cobourne gained a first down that was negated as BC coach Wally Buono had called a timeout just before the snap. Following that veteran coaching move, Cobourne again lined up next to Calvillo and was handed the ball, but this time found the end zone, seemingly tying the game at 19 apiece… until the officials got involved.
Following the touchdown, the play immediately went to review and the officials deemed that the clock had not been properly re-set. The play was ruled to be re-played even though the mistake had nothing to do with anything that transpired on the field, and Cobourne was then stopped on try number three, extending the Alouettes losing streak in BC to 10 seasons.
The Alouettes next head to Vancouver to take on the Lions this July 16 at 10 p.m. EST on RDSHD, TSNHD, NRJ, CJAD, and CHOM.
