By Richard Obrand,
MontrealAlouettes.com
Montreal – Having clinched their third consecutive East Division title in a 22-19 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers last week in McGill, your Montreal Alouettes now face the daunting task of maintaining momentum heading into the final weeks of the regular season.
This week, the Als begin their three game ‘Ontario set’, facing off against the second place Hamilton Tiger-Cats, a team who last week clinched their ticket to the post-season with a convincing 30-3 win over their provincial rivals, the Toronto Argonauts.
Friday night’s matchup marks the rubber match of the season-series between the Als and Ticats, with the Als taking the first two matchups in fine fashion.
Season history
The Als and Tabbies first met in Week 4 of the long CFL season, with the Als beating Hamilton 37-14 at McGill. Quarterback Anthony Calvillo completed 74 per cent of his passes for 310 yards and a pair of touchdown passes to Kerry Carter and the now-injured Kerry Watkins.
The second matchup saw the Als continue to roll offensively against Hamilton, this time with Adrian McPherson under centre for Montreal in replacement of the then-injured Calvillo. McPherson performed admirably in his lone start of the season, throwing for 238 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 121 yards on 16 attempts.
The Alouette defence also took flight, refusing to allow Kevin Glenn’s offence to reach the end zone and forcing three turnovers in the process.
How they fared
Last week saw the Als complete their first step en-route to a second-straight Grey Cup championship – clinching the division.
Calvillo continued his strong play since returning from injury, throwing two touchdowns in the win, while running back Avon Cobourne exploded offensively for the Alouettes, taking off for 99 rushing yards on 17 carries and 51 more through the air.
Slotback Ben Cahoon became the CFL’s all-time leader in receiving yards by a Canadian and scored his first touchdown since Oct. 18, 2009.
Defensively, though they allowed the Bombers to get a little close for true comfort, the Als received strong efforts from various sources.
Eric Wilson picked up his first two sacks of the season, Jerald Brown had his fifth interception of the season, while Chip Cox continued his case for the CFL’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the year award with five tackles and a key strip late in the game to secure the win for the Alouettes.
For the Tiger-Cats, Glenn was backed by a solid defensive game by Garrett McIntyre whose two sacks and a pair of forced fumbles to go with his three tackles helped secure the win over the Argos.
The Alouettes will face the Hamilton Tiger-Cats Ivor Wynne Stadium Friday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. (RDSHD, TSNHD, NRJ, CJAD 800).
