By Richard Obrand,
MontrealAlouettes.com
Montreal – It’s a shame really, that the 2010 CFL season is only six weeks old and a burgeoning rivalry between arguably the league’s top two teams will come to a standstill until the post-season.
Friday night, the Alouettes and the visiting Saskatchewan Roughriders will cap off their season series at McGill in a matchup that’s sure to live up to their past two encounters.
The matchup also marks the introduction of the CFL’s retro program, as the Als and Riders will both wear their respective 1970s uniforms.
Memory lane
The 1970s may have indeed been an era of afros and disco balls but it also marked an era of domination for the Alouettes.
Led by legendary coaches Sam Etcheverry and Marv Levy, the Als managed to win three of their franchise total six Grey Cups throughout the decade, hoisting Governor General Earl Grey’s Cup in 1970, ’74 and ’77.
Adorned in a lighter shade of blue and red than current stars like Anthony Calvillo and Ben Cahoon are usually seen in, then stars like Junior Ah You, Peter Dalla Riva and Dickie Harris were once the talk of the CFL.
On the other side of the field, the Roughriders will of course be dressed in their tradition green and white, in which players like Darian Durant and Wes Cates will pay homage to Rider legends like Ron Lancaster, and George Reed.
The Als of the 1970s played to a combined record of 79-66-7.
How they fared
Week 5 saw the Alouettes win a statement game against the visiting Toronto Argonauts, beating the Boatmen 41-10 at McGill.
Running back Avon Cobourne had a career day against the Argo defence, rushing for 115 yards and a pair of touchdowns in addition to his 116 receiving yards.
It was Cobourne’s first 100-100 game since he had 107 on the ground and 103 through the air on Aug. 15, 2008 against Toronto.
Calvillo also had a stellar day on the field, passing for 394 yards and a pair of touchdowns of his own.
The Riders played host to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and received solid efforts from receiver Andy Fantuz and kicker Luca Congi who put on his best Damon Duval impression while connecting on seven field goals to lead the Riders to a 37-24 win.
The matchup is the last of a three-game home set for the Als.
The Alouettes welcome the Saskatchewan Roughriders to McGill on Aug. 6 at 7:00 pm EST on RDSHD, TSNHD, NRJ, CJAD
