Toronto, August 3, 2011 – The Montreal Alouettes will attempt to rebound from the 36-24 loss that was handed to them by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last Friday at Ivor Wynne Stadium, when they visit the Toronto Argonauts at the Rogers Centre tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m.
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Kerry Watkins made his 2011 season debut last week, catching 3 passes for 30 yards, and will start again tomorrow. |
After another short week that saw the team practise only once between games, the Alouettes (3-2) are hoping that Thursday’s contest will help spark their climb back to the top of the Eastern Division.
“I am not concerned”, said Head Coach Marc Trestman on the topic of his team’s recent struggles. “Our team hasn’t had consecutive losses since the 2008 season. We are right in the mix and we need to hold up our end of the bargain.”
The Alouettes and their high-scoring offence will try to look the part against the Argos tomorrow, the former leading the league in points-scored with 159, while the latter currently sits sixth in points-against with 142.
The Alouettes will continue to count on the services of receiver Kerry Watkins, who made his 2011 season debut last week, hauling in 3 passes for 30 yards, while quarterback Anthony Calvillo passed for 356 yards. Despite the impressive numbers however, the Alouettes had to settle for four field goals and were penalized 14 times for 121 yards.
“We are talented and have a good football team. Discipline and execution must be at the forefront. We need to finish drives late in the game,” added Trestman.
“We need to continue playing with great effort. We are getting the very best from every team in the league. There continues to be a lot of close games across the CFL.”
Argos’ quarterback Cleo Lemon will be back in the lineup and will look to turn his team’s fortunes around by generating more points on offence. The former NFL player has only thrown for two touchdowns this season and will need to have a big game if his team is going to get things back on track.
Receiver and returner Chad Owens has experienced a tough start to the season, showing some difficulty as of late when holding on to the football, but he remains a game-breaker and has had success on special teams this season against the Alouettes, returning a kickoff 89 yards during week 3 at Percival Molson Stadium, although Montreal did go on to win the game 40-17.
Following an injury to J.P. Bekasiak in Hamilton last week, the Alouettes’ newest acquisition, Ryan Lucas, will be on the active roster in Toronto. The 6’5”, 290-pound defensive tackle was brought in to add some depth to the defensive line.
Star safety Étienne Boulay did not practice with his teammates yesterday at Stade Hebert, using the time instead to heal and relax. He will not play in Thursday’s game against the Toronto Argonauts and will miss his second game of the season. Jeff Hecht is expected to start in his place.
The Montreal Alouettes visit the Toronto Argonauts at the Rogers Centre Thursday (TSN HD, RDS HD, CJAD 800, Sirius 158 and CKAC). Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
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