CALGARY – The Alouettes’ defense gave the Calgary Stampeders a tough time and the Montrealers triumphed by a score of 28-11 on Saturday.
Having not had the upper hand in the turnover battle during their four-game losing streak, the Alouettes (7-7) had four sacks, two interceptions and recovered a fumble in Calgary, marking an important career victory in the Eastern section series. .
Jason Maas’s men regained the exclusivity of second place in the East and hurt the Stampeders (4-10) in their chance of crossing.
Alouettes quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 22 of his 29 passes for passing gains of 252 yards. He threw a touchdown pass and an interception. His replacement, Caleb Evans, scored two big ones on the ground from close range.
William Stanback caught Fajardo’s touchdown pass and ran for 81 yards on 14 carries. Receivers Tyson Philpot and Tyler Snead had 87 yards and 83 yards passing, respectively. Kicker David Côté made both of his field goal attempts.
Jake Maier had 29 of his 37 passes caught for 271 yards, but was the victim of two interceptions in the pay zone. He threw a touchdown pass to Reggie Begelton, who was used extensively with 13 catches for 109 yards.
Ka’Deem Carey had 70 yards on 10 carries, but his team became more one-dimensional as they lost. René Paredes converted two field goals.
The Alouettes will return to action next Saturday when they visit Ottawa’s Rouge et Noir.
The defense stands up
The Stampeders had a good first offensive sequence, but it came to an abrupt end in the pay zone when Shawn Lemon intercepted a Maier pass to end the threat.
The Alouettes’ attack didn’t get going until the final minutes of the first quarter. Fajardo joined Cole Spieker in the middle and the latter was hit helmet-to-helmet by Micah Awe, who took a 25-yard penalty in the sequence. The Montrealers continued to advance the ball and Evans had a three-yard run to score the first big goal of the game.
The Alberta team responded methodically before the end of the first half. On the eighth play of the drive, Maier connected with Begelton from four yards out to tie the game.
After an exchange of singles, the Alouettes returned to the locker room with a three-point lead thanks to a precision shot from 45 meters by Côté.
The Stampeders had to punt the ball to start the second half, but the defense got the job done in the opening minutes. Nick Statz got between Fajardo and Snead to make his first interception of the season.
The problem with the local favorites is that they have not known how to take advantage. In the pay zone, Maier sent the ball directly into the hands of Quebecer Marc-Antoine Dequoy.
“It’s a pretty simple game. I think the quarterback made a bad read of where he was and never saw me,” Dequoy explained. I honestly didn’t have to move and he fell into my hands. All I had to do was make sure I kept the ball and didn’t release it all the way to the end zone for a touchdown. It was a pretty simple game, there wasn’t much movement on my side and it was a nice gift from the opposing team. »
“The defense played very well. The four losses gave us momentum and we took advantage of it to score points. The defense was aggressive throughout the game,” analyzed Alouettes coach Jason Maas.
In return, the Birds were able to take advantage of their steal to take an 18-8 lead. A 51-yard long pass from Fajardo to Philpot set up Evans’ second rushing touchdown of the game, a one-yard run.
The Stampeders stayed within reach of their opponents thanks in particular to three Maier passes, including a 41-yarder to Tre Odoms-Dukes. Paredes completed the sequence with a 27-yard field goal.
After a 35-yard field goal by Côté, the Alouettes’ defense once again came to the fore to deal a tough blow to the Stampeders. Dequoy caused Begelton to fumble in midfield and Tyrice Beverette recovered the loose ball to return possession to his team.
Fajardo and his teammates went to work orchestrating an offensive drive that ended with a touchdown pass to Stanback.
