The Montreal Alouettes (3-1) closed out Week 4 of the CFL season on Sunday night against the Ottawa Redblacks (0-3) at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium. The Alouettes came into this game beating Ottawa 11 straight times since October 14, 2022.
Montreal started with the football on the 44-yard line. Running back Stevie Scott III began the drive with a six-yard run, followed by quarterback Davis Alexander throwing two passes for 20 yards to the 40-yard line. The drive stalled, and kicker Jose Maltos Diaz missed a 48-yard field goal after the ball hit the right upright.
After Ottawa went two-and-out, Montreal had the ball on the 18-yard line. They moved the ball to the 53-yard line. On the next play, Davis Alexander scrambled out of the pocket before throwing a touchdown pass to a wide-open Alexander Hollins. The Alouettes took a 7-0 lead with 6:15 left to conclude an eight-play drive for 88 yards.
Later in the first quarter, Ottawa Redblacks running back Greg Bell rushed for five yards before injuring his head. He got up and walked away under his own power. Bell ended up staying in the game. The Redblacks moved the ball to the 30-yard line. Kicker Brett Lauther made a 37-yard field goal. The Redblacks trailed the Alouettes 7-3 heading into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, Montreal had the ball on the 51-yard line. Davis Alexander threw two passes for 46 yards, including a 32-yarder to Tyson Philpot to the five-yard line. Running back Travie Theis rushed for four yards before Dustin Crum finished it off with a one-yard touchdown. The Alouettes took a 14-3 lead with 12:15 to conclude a four-play drive for 51 yards.
Midway through the second quarter, Ottawa had the ball on the 55-yard line. They moved the ball to the 16-yard line before Micah Johnson sacked Jake Maier for an 11-yard loss. Kicker Brett Lauther made a 34-yard field goal. The Redblacks trailed the Alouettes 14-6 with 5:20 left.
Late in the second quarter, Montreal had the ball on the 48-yard line. Davis Alexander threw a 37-yard pass to Tyson Philpot, plus a roughing the passer penalty on Ottawa, placed the ball on the one-yard line. Dustin Crum scored the touchdown for a 21-6 lead with 1:36 left to conclude a four-play drive for 48 yards.
Ottawa had the ball on the 37-yard line. Three plays later, quarterback Jake Maier threw a high pass in the direction of Kalil Pimpleton. The ball was up in the air long enough for Montreal defensive back Westley Sutton to make the interception at the three-yard line. The Alouettes led the Redblacks 21-6 at halftime.
The Alouettes had 257 yards on offense. Davis Alexander went 12 of 18 for 203 yards, one touchdown, and two carries for three yards. Running back Stevie Scott III had six carries for 26 yards, while Tyson Philpot had an excellent first half with seven catches for 125 yards. On the other side, the Redblacks had 76 yards on offense.
Jake Maier went 8 of 12 for 83 yards and one interception. Maier was pressured in the first half and sacked three times. Running back Greg Bell had four carries for 20 yards, and wide receiver Keelan White made two catches for 29 yards.
Ottawa got the ball to start the third quarter on the 41-yard line. Jake Maier threw two passes for nine yards to the 50-yard line. Running back Greg Bell rushed for seven yards before Maier threw two more passes for 24 yards to the 29-yard line.
On the next play, Maier threw the ball to Justin Hardy, who ran in for the touchdown. They attempted a two-point conversion, but Greg Bell was stopped short. The Redblacks trailed the Alouettes 21-12 with 11 minutes left to conclude a seven-play drive for 69 yards. During the drive, Maier was spreading the ball around, and Montreal’s defense had trouble stopping it.
Ottawa’s defense forced a two-and-out. The offense had the ball on the 17-yard line. Running back Greg Bell began the drive with two carries for 11 yards to the 28-yard line. Jake Maier completed five passes for 31 yards, plus an unnecessary roughness penalty on Montreal, which moved the ball to the six-yard line.
Greg Bell rushed for two yards, and Maier threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Keelan White. Kicker Brett Lauther missed the extra point. The Redblacks trailed the Alouettes 21-18 heading into the fourth quarter to conclude a nine-play drive for 93 yards.
In the fourth quarter, Montreal had the ball on the 37-yard line. Davis Alexander began the drive by throwing a 10-yard pass to Tyson Philpot. Alexander rushed for a yard before throwing three passes for 33 yards, two of them went to Tyson Philpot. Dustin Crum rushed for a yard, plus an unnecessary roughness penalty on Ottawa, moved the ball to the 13-yard line.
Stevie Scott III rushed for four yards before Davis Alexander scrambled out of the pocket and threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Snead. The Alouettes led the Redblacks 28-18 with 10:40 left to conclude an eight-play drive for 73 yards.
Ottawa had the ball on the 50-yard line. Two plays in, Jake Maier threw a 24-yard pass to Justin Hardy to the 24-yard line. The Redblacks moved the ball to the five-yard line before Maier threw a touchdown pass to Keelan White. The Redblacks trailed the Alouettes 28-25 with 7:12 left to conclude a six-play drive for 50 yards.
Montreal returner Mario Alford gave the Alouettes good field position at the 41-yard line. Davis Alexander threw two passes for 33 yards to the 36-yard line. Running back Stevie Scott III broke out with a 31-yard run to the five-yard line. Then, Travis Theis ran to his left side to score the touchdown. Kicker Jose Maltos Diaz missed the extra point. It was now 34-25 with 4:31 left to conclude a four-play drive for 69 yards.
Late in the fourth quarter, Ottawa moved the ball to the 13-yard line before kicker Brett Lauther made a 20-yard field goal. It was now 34-28 with 2:21 left. On the third play for Montreal, Davis Alexander threw a 46-yard pass to Tyson Philpot to the 26-yard line. They moved the ball to the 17-yard line before kicker Jose Maltos Diaz made a 25-yard field goal for a 37-28 lead with 56 seconds left.
On the kickoff, Ottawa returner Kalil Pimpleton avoided a couple of tackles on his way to scoring a 94-yard touchdown. The Redblacks trailed the Alouettes 37-35 with 41 seconds left. Montreal recovered the onside kick, and the game was over. The Alouettes pulled out a 37-35 win over the Redblacks.
Montreal’s offense had 460 yards (345 passing yards, 124 rushing yards, 9 yards lost), 28 first downs, 4 for 5 in the redzone, and the team was penalized seven times for 87 yards. Quarterback Davis Alexander completed 22 of 30 passes (73%) for 345 yards, two touchdowns, and four carries for 11 yards. Running back Stevie Scott III had 10 carries for 65 yards and two catches for 10 yards, while Travis Theis had five carries for 23 yards, one rushing touchdown, and one catch for five yards.
Wide receiver Tyson Philpot made 12 catches for 198 yards, while Tyler Snead made six catches for 79 yards and one touchdown, and Alexander Hollins made one catch for 53 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 38 tackles, one tackle for loss, three sacks, and one interception.
Ottawa’s offense had 347 yards (336 passing yards, 38 rushing yards, 27 yards lost), 22 first downs, 2 for 4 in the redzone, and the team was penalized nine times for 71 yards. Quarterback Jake Maier completed 27 of 38 passes (71%) for 336 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. Running back Greg Bell had nine carries for 40 yards.
Wide receiver Justin Hardy made seven catches for 119 yards and one touchdown, while Keelen White made six catches for 62 yards and two touchdowns. The defense made 42 tackles, one tackle for loss, and one sack.
Next Friday, the Ottawa Redblacks host the Saskatchewan Roughriders at 7:30 pm on TSN and CFL+, while the Montreal Alouettes are on a bye week.
