Hamilton Tiger-Cats running back Tayon Fleet-Davis (34) is tackled by Montreal Alouettes defensive lineman Nick Heninger (43) during first half CFL pre-season football action in Montreal on Friday, June 2, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi
MONTREAL – Cody Fajardo threw an early touchdown pass in his first appearance as Montreal’s starting quarterback in the Alouettes’ 25-22 pre-season victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday night.
Montreal improved to 2-0 in pre-season playin front of 12,698 fans at Molson Stadium, with most of its starters playing for the first time. Hamilton, which left most of its starters at home for the road trip, fell to 1-1.
It was the final pre-season game for both sides ““ a last chance for players to make an impression before Saturday’s 10 p.m. ET deadline for teams to submit their final roster cuts.
Fajardo signed with the Alouettes from Saskatchewan as a free agent this off-season to replace Trevor Harris. In one-and-a-half quarters of play, he went 7-for-14 for 77 yards and a touchdown pass.
Caleb Evans also threw for 77 yards on 7-of-14 completions. Davis Alexander went 7-of-11 for 88 yards in a battle for the backup QB spot. Mike Glass III closed out the game.
Alouettes starting running back William Stanback, making his pre-season debut, ran for 25 yards on four attempts.
QB Mike Shiltz started at quarterback for the Ticats with new QB Bo Levi Mitchell not in action.
Shiltz, who’s a lock to play behind Mitchell to start the season, dominated in the first half, going 12-of-16 for 162 yards and two touchdowns before giving way to Eastern Michigan University product Taylor Powell.
Hamilton opened the scoring at 11:54 of the first quarter on an 18-yard field goal from Jonathan Garibay after Shiltz made a 50-yard run on the third snap of the game to set it up.
Montreal replied on the next possession when Fajardo found Kaion Julien-Grant in the end zone with a four-yard pass at 6:44 to give the Alouettes a 7-3 lead. Hamilton cut the deficit to three with a touchback.
The Ticats broke through with their first touchdown of the game at 9:17 of the second quarter after Shiltz connected with Richie Sindani on a 10-yard pass, giving Hamilton an 11-7 lead.
Alouettes kicker David Cote hit back-to-back field goals four minutes apart, making the score 13-11 Montreal.
Hamilton wasted little time taking the lead back. Receiver Terry Godwin made a one-handed grab on a 49-yard bomb from Shiltz. The two connected again on the next play with a 21-yard touchdown pass to give the Ticats an 18-13 lead at 1:44.
Evans found receiver Tayon Fleet-Davis with a 34-yard pass to set up a three-yard touchdown run from Walter Fletcher, which gave Montreal a 19-18 lead heading into halftime.
Alexander found John Brunner with a 48-yard pass to end the third quarter. Jose Maltos kicked a field goal early in the fourth as the Alouettes went up 22-19, and added another with 8:52 left to increase the lead to six.
Hamilton’s Ethan Ratke kicked a field goal from 43 yards at 5:01 to cut the deficit to three.
The CFL regular season begins on Thursday in Calgary, where the Stampeders are set to host the B.C. Lions.
The Tiger-Cats kick off their season on the road next Friday against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, followed by the Alouettes hosting the Ottawa Redblacks in their opener on Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2023.
