Montreal Alouettes build huge lead, hold off late Hamilton rally
The Montreal Alouettes (11-3) turned defense into points and built a 31-point lead before holding off a furious fourth-quarter charge from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (4-10) for a 37-25 win Friday night at Hamilton Stadium in Hamilton.
For three quarters, Montreal controlled just about everything. The Alouettes forced six turnovers, Davis Alexander threw two touchdown passes and Stevie Scott III powered the ground game with 108 yards on 21 carries.
Montreal grabs control early
Alexander got the Alouettes moving on their opening scoring drive and finished it by finding offensive lineman Donny Ventrelli, lined up at tight end, alone for a nine-yard touchdown.
José Maltos added a 49-yard field goal before the quarter ended, and the Montreal defense took over from there.
Lwal Uguak intercepted Harrison Frost, and early in the second quarter, Geoffrey Cantin-Arku knocked the ball loose from Jake Dolegala. Nate Beauchemin scooped it up and raced 57 yards to the end zone, pushing the lead to 17-0.
Philpot stretches the lead
Alexander struck again late in the half, marching Montreal downfield before hitting Tyson Philpot for a 12-yard touchdown. Philpot finished with six catches for 57 yards, extending his CFL-leading receiving total to 1,528 yards.
A Marc Liegghio field goal finally put Hamilton on the board as the half expired, but the Tiger-Cats went to the locker room staring at a 24-3 deficit.
Maltos made it 27-3 in the third before Caleb Evans plunged across from two yards out early in the fourth. At 34-3, the game looked finished.
Hamilton suddenly comes alive
Frost had other ideas.
The Hamilton quarterback began throwing the Tiger-Cats back into the game, hitting Kiondre Smith for a 33-yard touchdown before finding Kurleigh Gittens Jr. from three yards out. With Kenny Lawler adding the two-point conversion, the lead was suddenly 34-17.
Frost then connected with Keric Wheatfall for an 18-yard score, and Smith caught the two-point conversion to pull Hamilton within 34-25 with 1:59 remaining.
Alouettes shut the door
The comeback stopped there. Beauchemin and Gemon Green both intercepted Frost late, and Maltos drilled a 33-yard field goal with 22 seconds left to finish it.
Frost piled up 333 yards and three touchdowns but was intercepted four times. Alexander was far more efficient, completing 21 of 27 passes for 218 yards and two scores.
After watching a 31-point lead shrink to nine, Montreal finally slammed the door and completed a three-game season sweep of Hamilton.
With the win, Montreal moved to 11-3 and kept rolling toward the postseason, but the final quarter gave the Alouettes plenty to clean up. Hamilton, meanwhile, dropped to 4-10 despite turning what looked like a blowout into a game in the closing minutes. The Tiger-Cats showed plenty of fight, but six turnovers left them with far too much ground to make up.
