Week 10 Pre-Game: #OTTvsMTL

MontrealAlouettes.com

Coming off a pair of games against Saskatchewan and Winnipeg, the Alouettes are back home at McGill Stadium tonight as part of Mark’s CFL Labour Day Weekend to take on the Ottawa REDBLACKS, the first time Montreal will face Ottawa in regular-season play since 2005. Here’s a handy guide to everything that’s happening in and around the stadium on #OTTvsMTL gameday.

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While the Alouettes couldn’t buck the trend of the West prevailing over the East thus far in the 2014 CFL season on the road against Saskatchewan and Winnipeg, the good news for the team is that they remain in the thick of the race for the East Division title. The REDBLACKS, Alouettes, and Tiger-Cats find themselves just about locked in a 3-way tie for the second spot behind the Toronto Argonauts, whose 4-point lead atop the division is as precarious as ever approaching the midway point of this fine CFL season. Key to the Alouettes and REDBLACKS jockeying for position tonight at McGill Stadium will be starting QB Jonathan Crompton, whose performance in relief of QB Alex Brink in Winnipeg gave head coach Tom Higgins the confidence to roll with the second-year pivot against Ottawa tonight. Crompton, who completed 62% of his passes for 266 yards last week at Investors Group Field, will make his first CFL start as they Alouettes look to add to the win column against a longtime geographic rival back for another round in the ring.

The versatile Sean Whyte
Last week, Sean Whyte became the 30th best scorer in CFL history thanks to a 10 point-performance against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He’s now up to 718 career points and he has a chance to keep climbing up the ranks should he maintain his current pace.

Furthermore, it’s not as if Whyte piled up the points thanks to easy field goals opportunities. With Whyte at the helm this season, the Alouettes have the longest average distance for field goals made at 32.8 yds. Given that kickers have posted an 83% success rate (which would be a league record if the season ended today) on field goals attempted in 2014, Whyte’s distance and volume totals are even more impressive. While Whyte has been very adept at kicking long balls through the uprights this season, his punting work hasn’t lagged behind as he’s forced opposing offences to start from inside their 10-yard linethe ball an even 10 times this season, more than any other CFL team and good for Whyte’s lead at 2570 net punting yards through nine weeks.

Run Like The Wind
To the surprise of no fan, Brandon Whitaker has been consistently indispensable for the Alouettes’ offence once again this season, accounting for 27% of the Alouettes total offensive production. No other RB in the CFL can boast that kind of share on his respective team this year. The CFL is traditionally thought to be a pass-heavy league due to the nature of the three-down system, but a trend can be observed thus far in 2014 with 37% of offensive plays being tasked to the running back on the ground, the highest proportion of running plays in over a decade. In light of this, Whitaker has managed to excel, providing 628 yards from the line of scrimmage this season, placing him 3rd in the CFL.

Blast From The Past
Friday night, the Ottawa REDBLACKS and the Montreal Alouettes will square off in CFL regular season action for the first time since both cities last met on October 29th, 2005. The Alouettes bested the defunct Renegades on that date by a score of 43-23 thanks to a strong performance by QB Anthony Calvillo, headlined by 315 passing yards and 4 TDs. Terry Vaughn’s showing wasn’t one to sneeze at either as he brought in 10 catches for 112 yards and punched in 2 TDs. Hall-of-Fame receiver Ben Cahoon also had a touchdown and Anwar Stewart led the defence with 2 sacks. 

Milestones To Watch For

• Friday, Kyries Hebert will become the 22nd active CFL player to get his 100th career start in the league, a feat only equaled by 4% of his active peers.
• The next time Brandon Whitaker rushes for more than 100 yards in a game will be his 10th such game in the CFL, second to Calgary’s Jon Cornish.
• John Bowman is 2 sacks away from 80 in his career.
• Alan-Michael Cash’s next sack will be his 10th CFL career sack.
• S.J. Green is 113 receiving yards away from 5000 in his career with the Alouettes.
• Billy Parker is one interception shy of 10 in his CFL career.
• Mike Edem’s next interception will be his 5th with the club. 

NATIONAL ANTHEM: Tess McQuade

HONORARY CAPTAIN: Major General Alain Forand Colonel Royal 22nd Regiment, Caporal Dominique Larocque

PRE-GAME: belairdirect “Protecteur du match”, AMJ Campbell “Make your Move” (AMJ winners and season ticket holders), #ALSIceBucketChallenge: Rick Moffat and Dave Mudge

HALF-TIME SHOW: DJ Show with DJ Shortcut

PLAYER OF THE GAME VOTING: via the official Alouettes mobile app »

In collaboration with Budweiser and le Dindon du Québec, the west end-zone at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium will be better known as a party zone by Alouettes fans this season!

Beginning when the stadium doors open at 5:30 p.m., the area will be transformed into an open fan zone, allowing supporters to converge in an electric atmosphere from pre-game until the final whistle.

REMINDER: Please note that the north entrance to the west end-zone will now close 10 minutes before kick-off until 5 minutes following the final whistle. During the game, access to the west end-zone will be limited to the south entrance only.

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Once again this season, starting two hours before kick-off, Alouettes cheerleaders, alumni, and players, as well as team mascot Touché will be on-site outside of Percival Molson Memorial Stadium’s east entrance to sign autographs, take photos, and mingle with fans.

Already backed by some of the loudest supporters in the CFL, a drumline meanwhile will be adding to the aural ambiance, and major team sponsors will also be doing their part to keep things festive.

Vote for the belairdirect Protector of the Game!

The belairdirect Protector of the Game trophy is awarded to the Alouettes player who has distinguished himself by protecting his team against their opponents.

Examples include:

• Protecting the running back with an important block leading to a big play on the ground;

• Catching an interception in the end zone;

• Protecting the quarterback from a sack;

After each game, Alouettes fans can vote on who among the three players nominated by Pierre Vercheval should win the trophy.

The official belairdirect Protector of the Game trophy will be presented to the winning player during every home game, on the field following warm-ups.

VOTE »

Can’t make it to the game?

Alouettes season ticket holders can transfer their unused tickets to friends for free via the online account manager.

Need additional tickets?

Alouettes season ticket holders can also purchase extra tickets at their special reduced rate by contacting their account manager at 514-787-2525.

Already a season ticket holder? Get 10% off all Alouettes merchandise at any Red Zoke kiosk in-stadium upon presentation of the membership card found in your season ticket booklet.

The Alouettes and the STM offer you a free and fast direct link between Percival Molson Memorial Stadium and the Square Victoria (orange line) and McGill (green line) metro stations every game day!

Bus service starts two hours before kick-off and continues until halfway through the first quarter.

Departs: Rue Viger / Beaver Hall (north-west side) – Square Victoria metro.

Stop # 1: University / de la Gauchetière;
Stop # 2: University / René-Lévesque;
Stop # 3: University / Ste-Catherine – McGill metro;
Stop # 4: University / Président Kennedy – McGill metro;

Arrives: Avenue des Pins / Avenue du Parc.

Return bus service resumes at the start of the fourth quarter until one hour after the final whistle.

Departs: Avenue du Parc / Avenue des Pins.

Stop # 1: Union / Président Kennedy – McGill metro;
Stop # 2: Union / Ste-Catherine – McGill metro;

Arrives: Rue Viger / Beaver Hall – Square Victoria metro.

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