The Montreal Alouettes (5-1) visited McMahon Stadium on Saturday afternoon against the Calgary Stampeders (2-4) in a rematch from last Saturday. In their first meeting, the Alouettes won by a touchdown, and this game also came down to the wire.
Montreal got the ball to start the game on the 52-yard line after Calgary was called for an illegal kickoff. Quarterback Davis Alexander threw two passes for 27 yards to the 33-yard line. Running back Travis Theis rushed for two yards, and Dustin Crum rushed for a yard to the 30-yard line.
Travis Theis got the ball again for 14 yards before running up the middle to score a 16-yard touchdown. The Alouettes took a 7-0 lead with 11:02 left to cap off a seven-play drive for 60 yards. On the kickoff, Jose Maltos Diaz kicked the ball 96 yards into the endzone, where Calgary returner Tyreik McAllister conceded the single point. It was now 8-0.
Late in the first quarter, Montreal had the ball on the 50-yard line. Davis Alexander threw three passes for 32 yards to the 18-yard line. Two plays later, Alexander threw a touchdown pass to Cole Spieker for a 15-0 lead to end the first quarter. The drive took five plays for 48 yards. Montreal’s offense had 120 yards. Davis Alexander was 8 of 10 for 93 yards and one touchdown. Calgary’s offense had 29 yards. Vernon Adams Jr. was 2 of 5 for 12 yards.
In the second quarter, Calgary picked up a first down when Vernon Adams Jr. threw an 11-yard pass to Jalen Philpot to the 48-yard line. Dedrick Mills would get two more yards before the drive stalled. Montreal got the ball on the 16-yard line.
Running back Travis Theis rushed for five yards before catching a 15-yard pass from Davis Alexander. He got popped by Benny Sapp III, which led to an unnecessary roughness penalty of 15 yards. Next, Alexander threw a short pass to Jacob Mason for 34 yards to the 25-yard line. Then, Alexander scrambled to his right side before throwing a 25-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Snead for a 22-0 lead with 10:31 left to conclude a four-play drive for 94 yards.
Midway through the second quarter, Calgary had the ball on the 20-yard line. Vernon Adams Jr. threw two passes for 19 yards, and Dedrick Mills rushed for 32 yards to the 39-yard line. On third down, Calgary went for it instead of taking three points. It backfired as Vernon Adams Jr.’s pass intended for Jalen Philpot was incomplete, and Montreal took over.
Montreal moved the ball to the 42-yard line before Folarin Orimolade sacked Alexander for a nine-yard loss. Calgary got the ball on the 16-yard line with a little over a minute left. Veron Adams Jr. threw four passes for 79 yards, including a 50-yarder to Jalen Philpot to the 25-yard line. Kicker Jude McAtamney made a 32-yard field goal. The Stampeders trailed the Alouettes 22-3 at halftime.
Montreal’s offense had 261 yards. Davis Alexander went 14 of 18 for 218 yards and two touchdowns. Travis Theis had a nice first half with seven carries for 63 yards, one touchdown, and four catches for 36 yards. Wide receiver Tyler Snead made five catches for 77 yards and one touchdown, while Tyson Philpot made two catches for 45 yards, and Cole Spieker made one catch for 18 yards and one touchdown.
Calgary’s offense had 162 yards. Vernon Adams Jr. went 9 of 17 for 121 yards, while running back Dedrick Mills had five carries for 51 yards. Wide receiver Jalen Philpot made four catches for 76 yards, and Clarke Barnes made three catches for 27 yards.
Calgary got the ball to start the third quarter on the 50-yard line after Montreal was penalized for an illegal kickoff. Dedrick Mills did the majority of the work, carrying the ball five times for 39 yards to lead the offense to the three-yard line. On the next play, Mills ran up the middle before diving into the endzone for the touchdown. Mills would also score the two-point conversion. The Stampeders trailed the Alouettes 22-11 with 9:10 left to cap off a nine-play drive for 60 yards.
Late in the third quarter, Montreal had the ball on the nine-yard line. Davis Alexander threw five passes for 84 yards to the four-yard line. Travis Theis rushed for three yards before Dustin Crum scored the one-yard touchdown for a 29-11 lead with 2:03 left to conclude an 11-play drive for 102 yards.
Calgary got the ball on the 50-yard line. Running back Dedrick Mills rushed for 21 yards to the 39-yard line. Vernon Adams Jr. rushed for 12 yards and threw a seven-yard pass to Erik Brooks. Dedrick Mills got another carry for five yards to the 15-yard line to end the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Vernon Adams Jr. threw the ball to Erik Brooks, who went around Robert Kennedy before scoring a 15-yard touchdown. The Stampeders trailed the Alouettes 29-18 with 14:37 left to conclude a six-play drive for 60 yards.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Montreal kicker Jose Maltos Diaz made a 35-yard field goal for a 32-18 lead with 7:11 left. Calgary had the ball on the 48-yard line. Montreal’s defense stopped them, but a defensive pass interference penalty gave Calgary a first down at the 40-yard line. Vernon Adams Jr. threw two passes for 12 yards, and Dedrick Mills rushed for eight yards to the five-yard line. On the next play, Adams Jr. threw a five-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Jalen Philpot. The Stampeders trailed the Alouettes 32-25 with 4:35 left to conclude a six-play drive for 70 yards.
Montreal started its next drive on the five-yard line. Travis Theis rushed for four yards, but a penalty took away those yards, and Davis Alexander rushed for six yards to the 15-yard line. On third down, Calgary’s defense stopped Travis Theis short of the first down. Montreal challenged the spot of the ball and lost. Calgary quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. threw a short pass to Dedrick Mills for a 15-yard touchdown to tie the game 32-32 with 2:52 left.
Late in the game, Montreal had the ball on the 14-yard line. Davis Alexander and Travis Theis led the offense to the 27-yard line. On the next play, Alexander avoided pressure before throwing a 27-yard touchdown pass to Kaseem Ferdinand. Jose Maltos Diaz missed the extra point. It was now 38-32 with 1:04 left to conclude a nine-play drive for 96 yards.
Calgary moved the ball to the 32-yard line. On the next play, Vernon Adams Jr. threw a 23-yard pass to Erik Brooks. Brooks fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by Najee Murray to end the game. The Alouettes held on to beat the Stampeders 38-32.
Montreal’s offense had 515 yards (402 passing yards, 135 rushing yards, 22 yards lost), 27 first downs, 3 for 4 in the redzone, and the team was penalized eight times for 91 yards. Quarterback Davis Alexander completed 25 of 32 passes (78.1%) for 402 yards, three touchdowns, and one carry for six yards. He surpassed Darian Durant for the most pass attempts without an interception in CFL history.
Running back Travis Theis had a nice game with 19 carries for 123 yards, one touchdown, and five catches for 49 yards. Wide receiver Tyler Snead made seven catches for 113 yards and one touchdown, while Cole Spieker made four catches for 73 yards and one touchdown, and Kaseem Ferdinand made two catches for 37 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 34 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Calgary’s offense had 458 yards (316 passing yards, 152 rushing yards, 10 yards lost), 25 first downs, 4 for 4 in the redzone, and the team was penalized nine times for 110 yards. Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 23 of 37 passes (62.1%) for 271 yards, three touchdowns, and two carries for 22 yards. Running back Dedrick Mills had a good day with 15 carries for 130 yards, one rushing touchdown, three catches for 38 yards, and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Jalen Philpot made six catches for 96 yards and one touchdown, and Erik Brooks made five catches for 55 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 46 tackles, one tackle for loss, two sacks, and one forced fumble.
Next Friday, the Calgary Stampeders visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at 8:30 pm on TSN and CFL+, while the Montreal Alouettes host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday at 7 pm on TSN, CFL+, and CBS Sports Network.
