The 2019 season review: June 28 in Hamilton, A frustrating loss resulting in valuable lessons
Next in our 2019 season review: the second game of the season in Hamitlon!
Friday June 28 2019,
Final score : 41-10
After coming off a very early bye week, our Alouettes are ready for their second consecutive game on the road. It’s in Hamilton that our men will have to try to come back from their tough loss in Edmonton two weeks prior; A tough ask considering they’re about to go head to head with the Eastern division front runners. Vernon Adams is starting at quarterback for the first time of the season, taking over from injured starter Antonio Pipkin
The stats of the game were interesting. Believe it or not, the Ticats only had the ball for 24 minutes, and were doomed by 4 turnovers. Yet, their offence racked up 500 yards. In football, we often say that the team that makes the fewest mistakes wins. That day, it was true. Hamilton made fewer mistakes than we did… that’s all there is to it.
Every setback is a learning opportunity, and despite the hardships, a few positives came out:
- Our defence forced 4 turnovers even though the Ticats’ offence ended up accumulating 500 yards…Our guys were relentless
- Our crew had the possession of the ball for a total of 36 minutes, and we witnessed an impressive performance by B.J. Cunningham
- Our defence flexed their muscles and came up with three massive stops at the goal line
This play, which could have been a turning point in the game, did not result in the outcome we all expected. Not long after, at the third play of the third quarter, Erlington caught a 35-yard pass from Masoli and rushed all the way to the end zone. Nicola Kalinic finished off the play with a 2-point conversion. It went downhill from there and our Alouettes just weren’t able to climb back up.
The final score score ends up 41 to 10, and it’s going to be our biggest loss of the season. Work will need to be done for the team to perform better in the future and Jones recognizes it: “We were able to be consistent, to move the ball, but we didn’t make those big plays that changed the field around and that got us in the red zone.”
Khari’s message didn’t fall in deaf ears… and it showed when we met the Ticats for a rematch the following week in Montreal. More on that tomorrow…
👉 Next up: HAM vs. MTL (Home Opener)
