Montreal Alouettes sweep Ottawa Redblacks again with 19-12 win

By Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press on October 14, 2024.

MONTREAL – The league-leading Montreal Alouettes swept the Ottawa Redblacks for the second consecutive season with a 19-12 win on a dreary Thanksgiving Monday.

Davis Alexander finished 14-of-24 passing for 208 yards, one interception and one rushing touchdown in his first start since Aug. 17 for Montreal (12-3-1), which has already clinched first place in the East Division.

Grey Cup MVP Cody Fajardo was absent after his wife gave birth to their second son, Cian, back home in Nevada on Wednesday.

Austin Mack made four receptions for 92 yards after missing four games with an ankle injury.

The Alouettes won their eighth in a row – and third this season – against their East Division rival on the rainy, 8 C day in the city. Tickets were sold out for the game, but there were several empty seats at Molson Stadium.

Ottawa (8-7-1) showed a lack of discipline in its fourth straight loss, totalling 11 penalties for 117 yards – including 10 for 107 in the first half alone.

The playoff-bound Redblacks failed to regain second place in the East after Toronto beat Winnipeg on Friday.

Jeremiah Masoli was 19-of-34 for 216 yards and one pick. Backup Dustin Crum also took reps with starter Dru Brown still nursing an ankle injury. Top Redblacks receiver Justin Hardy was also out with an ankle ailment.

Montreal’s Jose Matlos went 4-for-4 on field goals, including a 47-yarder in the fourth quarter. Ottawa’s Lewis Ward was 4-for-4, setting a new single-season high in field goals with 52.

Maltos’s field goal put the Alouettes up 16-9 to start the fourth quarter. On the ensuing drive, Alouettes defensive back Wesley Sutton intercepted a botched throw by Masoli at the Montreal 17.

Alexander then connected with Mack on a 50-yard pass, leading to another Maltos field goal to put Montreal up 19-9.

The Redblacks kicked another field goal to make it 19-12 with three minutes remaining. Ottawa had the ball again in the final minutes, but Montreal forced a turnover on downs with 45 seconds left to ice the game.

The Alouettes went scoreless in the third quarter, while the Redblacks built some momentum.

Ottawa reached the red zone twice but settled for field goals both times. Nick Mardner got the Redblacks to the two-yard line with a reception, but took a 10-yard penalty for throwing the ball at Montreal’s players after a tackle.

After a Montreal offside, Masoli threw into the end zone for Andre Miller, but Sutton broke up the pass.

The Alouettes opened the scoring eight minutes into the first quarter, settling for a Maltos kick from 32 yards after Kaion Julien-Grant had his end-zone reception knocked down by Brandin Dandridge.

Five minutes later, Montreal’s Antonio Moultrie blocked Ward’s 34-yard attempt to keep the Redblacks off the board.

Helped by two Ottawa penalties, Alexander rushed nine yards into the end zone at 13:29 of the second quarter to cap a seven-play, 66-yard drive.

Maltos made it 13-0 on another kick with 4:04 left in the half after James Letcher Jr. returned a punt for 51 yards.

Alexander was hit hard twice later in the half before getting sacked and fumbling the ball, although Montreal recovered.

On his ensuing possession, Alexander threw an interception straight into the hands of Damon Webb, leading to a 42-yard kick from Ward that cut Montreal’s lead to 13-3 heading into halftime.

UP NEXT

Alouettes: Visit the BC Lions on Saturday.

Redblacks: Visit the Argonauts on Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2024.

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