Montreal Alouettes receiver Austin Mack, right, is tackled by Calgary Stampeders defensive back Julian Charles during first half CFL football action in Calgary, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
CALGARY – Backup quarterback Caleb Evans ran for a pair of touchdowns to lead the Montreal Alouettes to a 28-11 win over the Calgary Stampeders at McMahon Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
William Stanback also caught a touchdown pass from starting quarterback Cody Fajardo for the Alouettes (7-7), who snapped a four-game losing streak with the victory in front of 22,321 fans in Calgary.
David Cote kicked a pair of field goals, while Joseph Zema booted a single.
Reggie Begelton had a receiving touchdown for the Stampeders (4-10), who lost their second straight game to fall further out of the playoff picture in the CFL’s West Division.
Rene Paredes kicked a field goal for the Stamps, while Cody Grace had a single.
It was Calgary’s fifth loss in seven starts at McMahon Stadium
A great early drive by Calgary ended abruptly when former Stampeder Shawn Lemon picked off an errant pass by quarterback Jake Maier.
Neither team was able to get anything going until Fajardo led the Alouettes on an 11-play, 99-yard drive that ended at 3:45 of the second quarter when Evans scampered into the end zone for a three-yard score.
The Stamps tied things up with 2:21 remaining in the first half when Begelton hauled a short pass from Maier and ran four yards into the end zone to cap off a nine-play, 74-yard scoring drive.
After Zema booted a 67-yard single at 13:08 of the second quarter, Grace replied with a 60-yard rouge of his own 47 seconds later.
Cote then rounded out the first-half scoring at 14:33 when he kicked a 45-yard field goal to give Montreal an 11-8 lead.
Paredes had a chance to pull Calgary back into a tie just before the intermission, but his 48-yard field goal attempt into the wind sailed wide to the right.
Early in the third quarter, Calgary defensive back Nick Statz made a nice diving catch to pick off a Fajardo pass and then ran it back to the Montreal 51-yard line.
Despite driving the ball down to the four-yard line, the Stamps weren’t able to capitalize as Montreal safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy picked off another errant pass by Maier in the end zone.
The Alouettes then capitalized on the turnover by going on a six-play 80-yard drive that culminated with a one-yard TD run by Evans to give Montreal an 18-8 lead.
After Paredes kicked a 27-yard field goal at 1:04 of the fourth quarter, Cote responded with one from 35 yards out at 6:16.
The mistakes and missed opportunities continued for the Stamps in the fourth quarter. After catching an 18-yard pass from Maier, Begelton fumbled the ball and it was recovered by Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette to end another Calgary drive.
Once again, the Alouettes capitalized on the costly turnover as Stanback caught a five-yard TD pass from Fajardo to put an exclamation point on an eight-play, 60-yard drive.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2023.
