HAMILTON – A nail-biter of an Eastern Final came down to the final play of the game as José Maltos Dìaz’ walk-off field goal crowned the Montreal Alouettes as East Division Champions.
The kick gave the Als the win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and sent Montreal to the 112th Grey Cup in Winnipeg.
Each score carried so much weight in a defensive battle between the Als and Ticats, with Montreal claiming a 19-16 result in enemy territory. With his mobility on full display, Davis Alexander led his offence on a couple of key scoring drives, while the Montreal defence held the Ticats in check as they tried to grab a late lead.
CFL.ca brings you three key stats from the Montreal Alouettes’ win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Eastern Final.
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» Game Notes: Alouettes at Tiger-Cats
64 – DAVIS ALEXANDER RUSHING YARDS
Davis Alexander finished the ballgame as his team’s leading rusher with 64 yards on seven attempts. A week out from a 100-plus yard effort by running back Stevie Scott III, this weekend it was Alexander gashing through the trenches and ripping off big plays.
Montreal’s star man escaped the pocket to pick up six yards and a first down en route to a touchdown early in the third quarter. Later in the fourth, Alexander just about got away from Philip Ossai to move the chains in the red zone, setting up Maltos Dìaz’s penultimate field goal make.
2 – SCORES ON EITHER SIDE OF HALF TIME
Montreal came up with a quick five-play scoring drive at the end of the first half, giving the road team a critical field goal in a low-scoring game. Tyler Snead took a big hit in the middle of the field but held onto the football on a 21-yard catch to set up Montreal in field goal range at the end of the first half.
After the break, it was once again Snead who came down with a touchdown grab, the game’s first major. Those two scores on either side of the interval meant that Maltos Dìaz’s kick at the end of the game was for the win, rather than the tie.
1 – GAME-WINNING DRIVE
The Als defence held Bo Levi Mitchell and company to three points on their final possession, giving Alexander and the offence the chance to win it with a field goal.
Charleston Rambo made what was perhaps the biggest play of the afternoon when he shook off Devin Veresuk to make a 19-yard play for a first down, getting Montreal in field goal range. Maltos Dìaz did the rest with a 45-yard kick as the clock struck zeros, sending Montreal to the Grey Cup after a one-year absence from the showcase game.
