The Montreal Alouettes (3-0) visited Commonwealth Stadium on Thursday night to kick off Week 3 against the Edmonton Elks (0-2). This was a homecoming for McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who played in Edmonton last year. He was traded in the offseason to Montreal for quarterback Cody Fajardo, who is now the backup quarterback for Tre Ford.
First Quarter:
Edmonton got the ball to start the game from their 38-yard line. They gained 33 yards moving the ball up to Montreal’s 39-yard line setting up a 42-yard field goal attempt for kicker Vincent Blanchard. He made the field goal to give the Elks a 3-0 lead with 11:23 left.
On Montreal’s first possession of the game, quarterback Davis Alexander led the team down to Edmonton’s six-yard line. Montreal concluded the drive when Alexander threw a short pass to David Dallaire for the touchdown. It was now 7-3 Montreal with 6:15 left concluding a ten-play drive for 70 yards.
Edmonton’s offense struggled for the majority of the game. After the first series, Montreal’s defense made the adjustments needed and they did not allow Edmonton to get anything going.
Montreal struck again later in the first quarter. Running back Sean Thomas-Erlington had two carries for 17 yards, and quarterback Davis Alexander threw two passes for 61 yards, including a 54-yarder to Charleston Rambo. Alexander would later find Tyson Philpot in the corner of the endzone for a 13-yard touchdown and a 14-3 lead. The drive went five plays for 91 yards.
Montreal had 161 yards on offense (125 yards passing, 36 yards rushing) leading Edmonton 14-3 at the end of the first quarter. Edmonton’s offense had 49 yards (5 yards passing, 44 yards rushing).
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Montreal went two-and-out before punting the ball to Edmonton. For the second time in this game, Edmonton did put together a decent drive using the running game. Running backs Justin Rankin and Jevon Leake combined with four carries for 20 yards leading the offense down to Montreal’s 25-yard line. Kicker Vincent Blanchard made a 32-yard field goal and Edmonton trailed Montreal 14-6 with 8:40 left.
Montreal would respond a short time later with kicker Jose Carlos Maltos making an 11-yard field goal for a 17-6 lead with 5:44 left. Later in the second quarter, Edmonton’s defense tried to sack Davis Alexander. Alexander scrambled out of the pocket before throwing the ball down the field to a wide-open Tyler Snead for a 38-yard touchdown. Montreal extended their lead to 24-6 with 1:58 left to cap off a six-play drive for 75 yards.
Late in the second quarter, Edmonton had a chance to put points on the board. Quarterback Tre Ford led the offense down to Montreal’s 23-yard line. On the next play, Ford tried to throw the ball to Justin Rankin in the endzone. However, Ford’s throwing was up in the air long enough for Kabion Ento to make the interception. Montreal led 24-6 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Montreal had 263 yards on offense (210 yards passing, 55 yards rushing), 17 first downs, 2 for 3 in the red zone, and the team was penalized one time for five yards. Quarterback Davis Alexander completed 15 of 18 passes (83%) for 210 yards, three touchdowns, and one carry for 11 yards. Running back Sean Thomas-Erlington had six carries for 31 yards.
Wide receiver Charleston Rambo made two catches for 61 yards, Tyler Snead made three catches for 56 yards, and one touchdown, and Tyson Philpot made six catches for 54 yards, and one touchdown. The defense made three tackles for loss, one interception, and one sack.
Edmonton had 141 yards on offense (49 yards passing, 100 yards rushing, 8 yards lost), nine first downs, and the team was penalized two times for 57 yards. Quarterback Tre Ford completed 8 of 11 passes (72%) for 49 yards, one interception, and four carries for 22 yards.
Running back Justin Rankin had eight carries for 65 yards, and Javon Leake had four carries for 22 yards. Wide receiver Steven Dunbar Jr. made three catches for 30 yards, and Kurleigh Gittens Jr. made one catch for 14 yards.
Third Quarter:
In the third quarter, Montreal quarterback Davis Alexander pulled his hamstring while completing a seven-yard pass to Jacob Mason with 7:29 left. McLeod Bethel-Thompson played the rest of the way. After going two-and-out, Montreal punter Joseph Zema punted the ball 59 yards into the endzone for a single point. It was now 25-6 with 5:38 left.
Late in the third quarter, quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed three passes for 57 yards plus an illegal block penalty on Edmonton moved the ball up to Edmonton’s 19-yard line. Kicker Jose Carlos Maltos made a 26-yard field goal for a 28-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Edmonton finally got into the endzone when quarterback Tre Ford scrambled to his left side for an 18-yard touchdown. They went for the two-point conversion and got it. It was now 28-14 with 13:22 left to cap off a five-play drive for 70 yards.
Montreal would seal the game in two drives. The first was kicker Jose Carlos Maltos making a 32-yard field goal for a 31-14 lead with 11:56 left, and running back Sean Thomas-Erlington rushed for a 23-yard touchdown making it 38-14 with 9:19 left.
With the game out of reach, Montreal’s defense coordinator called off the dogs. They were not as aggressive toward Tre Ford and it allowed the Elks to score a couple of touchdowns.
The first touchdown was quarterback Tre Ford throwing to Kurleigh Gittens Jr. for 33 yards, and he connected to Kaion Julien-Grant for a 51-yard touchdown. The Montreal Alouettes went on to defeat the Edmonton Elks by the final score of 38-28.
Final Stats:
Montreal had 427 yards on offense (331 yards passing, 103 yards rushing, 7 yards lost), 24 first downs, 2 for 5 in the red zone, and the team was penalized four times for 35 yards.
Quarterback Davis Alexander completed 20 of 24 passes (83%) for 254 yards, three touchdowns, and one carry for 11 yards. Backup quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 6 of 8 passes (75%) for 77 yards, and one carry for 8 yards.
Running back Sean Thomas-Erlington led the rushers had 11 carries for 63 yards, and one touchdown. Wide receiver Tyson Philpot led the receivers making eight catches for 96 yards, and one touchdown, while Tyler Snead made four catches for 64 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 45 tackles, two tackles for loss, five sacks, one interception, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.
Edmonton had 412 yards on offense (308 yards passing, 148 yards rushing, 44 yards lost), 24 first downs, 1 for 2 in the red zone, and the team was penalized five times for 88 yards. Quarterback Tre Ford completed 27 of 36 passes (75%) for 308 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, three carries for 31 yards, and one rushing touchdown.
Running back Justin Rankin led the rushers with 12 carries for 76 yards, and Javon Leake had six carries for 41 yards. Wide receiver Steven Dunbar Jr. led the receivers making seven catches for 97 yards, and Kurleigh Gittens Jr. made five catches for 95 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 44 tackles, one tackle for loss, and one sack.
Next week, the Edmonton Elks visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Thursday at 8:30 pm on TSN, CBS Sports Network, and CFL+. The Montreal Alouettes visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday at 7:30 pm on TSN and CFL+.
