Alouettes rally to defeat Toronto Argonauts in Davis Alexander’s return

The Montreal Alouettes staged a late comeback to defeat the Toronto Argonauts on Thursday night. In his return from a two-game absence, Davis Alexander ran in for the winning touchdown with less than two minutes remaining as Montreal scored 12 unanswered in the final quarter to win 26-25.

With the victory, Alexander tied Danny McManus’ record for consecutive wins to begin a CFL career. He finished 26-39 with 303 passing yards, a passing touchdown and an interception, as well as 23 yards on the ground and a rushing score. Making his first start since Week 3 due to a hamstring injury, Alexander tweaked the injury late on his winning score.

Cole Spieker led the charge for Montreal’s receivers, catching nine balls for 129 yards and a touchdown. On defence, Shawn Oakman and Kabion Ento each had a fourth-quarter turnover with a fumble recovery and interception respectively, as Montreal turned the tide late.

The Argos leave Montreal still in search for their second win of the season after seeing their lead evaporate in the fourth quarter. Nick Arbuckle was 28-40 for 242 yards, throwing for two touchdowns and an interception. He also lost a fumble late in the game.

A pair of quick two-and-outs got things started in Montreal before Arbuckle led Toronto to the first points of the ballgame. Running back Deonta McMahon collected 30 of his team’s 60 yards on the 11-play drive, as Lirim Hajrullahu finished it off with a 45-yard field goal.

Alexander threw eight passes on Montreal’s follow-up possession, including a third-down conversion to Spieker. The Alouettes would have to settle for a 37-yard field goal through Jose Maltos after a pair of incompletions however, as the first quarter finished 3-3.

A Hajrullahu single gave the Argonauts a slight edge early in the second but it wouldn’t last long. After a vital pass knockdown by Tarvarus McFadden in the end zone, the Als would put up a single of their own to make it 4-4

The Argos responded by putting together a 65-yard drive, ending it with the game’s first touchdown. Damonte Coxie caught three balls, including the five-yard score, as Toronto went up 11-4 with five minutes to go in the first half.

The Argonauts were able to get another touchdown before halftime off the back of a costly turnover by Alexander. McFadden jumped in front of a waiting Spieker to intercept Alexander, bringing the ball to Montreal’s 15 on the return. McMahon cut to his left from a couple yards out to give the Argos a 14-point lead.

Without a rush attempt through their first four possessions, Montreal leaned on the ground game en route to another Maltos field goal. Travis Theis had four carries while Alexander scrambled out wide for a first down before Maltos’ 28-yard kick, cutting the home team’s deficit to 18-7 at halftime.

After an Alouettes two-and-out to start the second half, the Argonauts kept their foot on the gas to make it three consecutive drives ending in a touchdown. David Ungerer III bookended the Toronto scoring drive, starting out the series with a 19-yard play and finishing it off with a 14-yard grab, faking out Ento on the route to create acres of space in the end zone.

The Als were able to make it a two-score game at the end of the third quarter with their first touchdown of the night. Alexander threw seven passes on the 60-yard drive and rounded it out with a touchdown toss on third down to Spieker who came down with the football deep in the end zone.

Later in the quarter, with Toronto in possession, a Geoffrey Cantin-Arku sack on Arbuckle forced Toronto into a punt from the 19-yard line. Starting out the next drive at midfield, a 38-yard catch and run by Spieker set up the Als just outside the end zone. Sean Thomas Erlington got the score with a rush through the middle to make it 25-20 with Montreal missing out on the two-point try afterwards.

Another Argos punt gave the Als a chance to take their first lead of the game late in the fourth, but a crucial strip by Derek Slywka on Spieker just outside of the end zone prevented what would’ve been a game-changing score by the Montreal receiver.

But just a couple of plays later, the Montreal defence stepped up with a turnover of their own. Lwal Uguak got the strip sack on Arbuckle with Oakman making the recovery, giving the Als another shot. This time around, Alexander took matters into his own hands, running in for the touchdown from 10 yards out. Montreal’s quarterback would grab his left hamstring after the rushing score before failing to capitalize on the two-point conversion.

Down by one with 1:46 to go, Arbuckle tried to get the Argos into field-goal range but instead the Als’ defence came up with another pivotal turnover. Ento delivered the dagger interception with Marc-Antoine Dequoy bringing the pressure to the Toronto quarterback. Montreal would kill off the remaining seconds to secure the comeback win.

The Alouettes are scheduled for another Thursday night duel in Week 8 when they head to Calgary to face the Stampeders on July 24. The Argonauts will return home on Saturday, July 26 to go up against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.