By Richard Obrand,
MontrealAlouettes.com
Montreal – Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the Montreal Alouettes offence.
Quarterback Anthony Calvillo was nearly perfect in the second game at the newly renovated Percival Molson Stadium, completing 30 of 36 passes for 394 yards and two touchdowns, while running back Avon Cobourne posted career-high numbers as the Alouettes cruised to a 41-10 win over the visiting Toronto Argonauts.
The win – their 11th straight at home – secured first place for the Alouettes (4-1-0), who prior to tonight’s game shared the East Division lead with the Argos (3-2-0). The Als also extended their win streak over the Argonauts to seven games.
Welcome to the party
Though it may have taken longer than expected, the Alouettes’ offence finally produced in vintage form, posting a season-high 41 points in regulation time. The Cobourne-led offence executed well all through the game, especially inside the red zone as all five of their touchdowns came inside the 20-yardline.
The 5-foot-8, 205 lbs tailback produced two touchdowns from one and three yards out , respectively, in the second half alone, capping off a breakthrough night that saw him register 115 yards rushing in addition to his 116 receiving yards.
Suffice to say, Cobourne certainly outshined his Toronto counterpart and league rushing leader Cory Boyd who gained a mere 53 yards on the night. Boyd also missed several plays due to injury.
It was Cobourne’s first 100-yard outing since Sep. 25, 2009 where he garnered 193 rushing yards against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Argos, who have been noted for executing extremely well on the ground throughout all three of their wins, were seemingly beaten at their own game thanks to Cobourne.
The fifth-year Alouette was just two yards shy of leading the Alouettes in receiving yards on the night. He trailed only Kerry Watkins in the category. Watkins hauled in seven receptions for 118 yards in the win, including a 51-yard pass from Calvillo in the second half, who seemed to be on cruise-control all through the matchup.
The first half saw him complete all but two passes, both of which were dropped by receivers.
Stat line
The Als also received solid efforts from slotback SJ Green who collected his third touchdown of the season on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Calvillo to open the scoring and Jamel Richardson who scored his first two touchdowns of the season.
On the defensive side of the ball the Als were once again led by John Bowman. The defensive end picked up his league-leading sixth sack of the season and also forced a fumble for the second straight game.
The Alouettes next welcome the Saskatchewan Roughriders to McGill on Aug. 6 at 7:00 pm EST on RDSHD, TSNHD, NRJ, CJAD
