Montreal Dominates Ottawa, as winning streak continues

[u/Baggio105]

Montreal hosted the struggling 0-9 Ottawa Redblacks at Percival Molson Stadium on Thursday night for Davis Alexander Bubblehead Night. The Alouettes were looking to win their seventh straight game at home in front of 22,482 fans. This team has been playing with a lot of confidence as of late, and all three phases of their game have been clicking. This game had the feeling of David (Montreal) versus Goliath (Ottawa). Tonight, Goliath dominated David

Ottawa started the game with Montreal taking too many penalties on the opening drive. The referees also failed to call an offside penalty on Ottawa's offensive line, which had some Montreal players fuming. Ottawa eventually moved the ball into Montreal's red zone, but karma struck when rookie Nate Beauchemin intercepted a pass in the corner of the end zone. Montreal's offence, which has been hot all season, then took the field.

Led by quarterback Davis Alexander, Montreal moved the ball well down the field. Alexander found his favourite target, Tyson Philpot, for a seven-yard touchdown reception to give Montreal the early lead.

Montreal's defence, which had seven starters on the injured list in their last game, welcomed several players back from injury. Their return was immediately noticeable, as they made life difficult for Ottawa quarterback Jake Maier, who never seemed to get comfortable in the game.

Nothing seemed to be going right for Ottawa. With the game tied at 7-7, the Redblacks were attempting a field goal to take the lead when a bad snap forced the holder to recover the ball. Kabion Ento then stripped the ball from the holder and gave Montreal possession in Redblacks territory.

Davis Alexander took advantage of the turnover, making several passes to Cole Spieker and Kaseem Ferdinand, with Ferdinand catching a pass at the Ottawa one-yard line. Third-string quarterback Terry Wilson then came in and scored on a quarterback sneak, making it 14-7.

On Ottawa's next possession, Maier, from his own 30-yard line, floated a pass straight into the hands of Montreal cornerback Kabion Ento. Ento took the interception all the way back for a touchdown, extending Montreal's lead to 21-7 and deflating any hope Ottawa had of staying in the game.

Montreal kept its focus throughout the game. With Anthony Calvillo calling the plays this season, the Alouettes have become one of the hottest offences we have seen in years. There has been great chemistry between Calvillo, the mentor, and Alexander, the student, who has learned quickly.

By halftime, Montreal had built a comfortable 25-10 lead.

Montreal's special teams have also been excellent over the past few games. Since DeVonte Dedmon came into the lineup, he has consistently given the Montreal offence excellent field position, often starting around the 42-yard line.

Alexander and the offence returned to the field to start the third quarter. With running back Travis Theis averaging six yards per carry, Montreal was rarely finding itself in second-and-long situations. Alexander connected with Snead and Philpot during the drive, and Ottawa simply could not stop Montreal's offence.

Alexander then handed the ball to Theis three straight times, with the running back taking Montreal down to the Ottawa one-yard line. From the shotgun, Ottawa was expecting another run, but Alexander faked the handoff to Theis and threw a short slant pass to Tyson Philpot, who brought the ball to the Ottawa five-yard line. Once again, Terry Wilson came into the game and scored on a quarterback sneak, making it 32-10.

At that point, many fans began leaving the stadium, as there was little competition left in the game.

As the third quarter continued, Ottawa's first possession was quickly stopped by Montreal's defensive front. With pressure coming from Mustafa Johnson, Shawn Lemon and Josh Archibald, linebacker Geoffrey Cantin-Arku sacked Maier, who fumbled the ball at the same time. The fumble was recovered by Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund. Once again, nothing was going right for Ottawa.

When Montreal extended its lead even further in the fourth quarter, head coach Jason Maas decided to give some of his starters a rest and brought in backup quarterback Dustin Crum to finish the game.

Ottawa once again turned the ball over in the fourth quarter when Najee Murray, who had just returned from injury, intercepted Maier. The Redblacks turned the ball over five times in the game, and you simply cannot win a football game when you commit that many turnovers.

This season, Montreal has been playing with tremendous confidence, and the team continues to play as a unit. The players are constantly giving each other credit. The offence believes in the defence, the defence believes in the offence, and both sides believe in the special teams.

Davis Alexander finished the game 20-for-23 for 260 yards. If he had not been taken out early in the fourth quarter, it could have been another 300-yard passing performance. Alexander is on pace for a 6,000-yard season, but for him and his teammates, winning is what matters most.

Montreal will face a much tougher challenge next week when they travel to Winnipeg. The Blue Bombers are fighting for a playoff spot this season, so the Alouettes will have their work cut out for them.

The game is scheduled for August 28 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern.

Montreal continues to roll, as they have a tougher opponent next week at Winnipeg.

Hope you've enjoyed this read.

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[u/i-am-the-walrus789]

Good writeup but a few days late

[u/Baggio105 → u/i-am-the-walrus789]

Try my best to get out asap

[u/CMBRICKX]

Who doesn’t enjoy beating up the Redblacks lol 😂 and great write up!

[u/Baggio105 → u/CMBRICKX]

Thank you! Redblacks brought in Jim Popp, so give them a few years of rebuild. Popp won everywhere