Montreal Alouettes receiver Tyson Philpot had himself a game at Mosaic Stadium on Saturday evening. He put up a staggering 238 receiving yards and two touchdowns in Montreal’s 48-31 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders to end a five-game losing streak.
McLeod Bethel-Thompson returned from a three-week absence to make his sixth start of the season in what was his 100th CFL appearance. He was effective from the start, looking Philpot’s way downfield from the jump as the Als picked up a crucial road win against the West Division leaders. Bethel-Thompson finished 21-27 with 369 passing yards. Both of his two passing touchdowns came in the first half and went to the aforementioned Philpot.
Shea Patterson ran in the other two scores for Montreal, who jumped out to a 28-10 lead at halftime and never looked back. Stevie Scott III became the Alouettes’ first 100-yard rusher on the year, compiling 120 yards on 19 attempts.
The Roughriders, who clinched a playoff spot due to Edmonton’s loss in Toronto earlier on Saturday, dropped just their third game of the season, and their first to a club not named the Calgary Stampeders. They came into Week 15 5-0 against the East Division but Montreal changed that with a convincing result.
Trevor Harris threw his 200th CFL touchdown in the second quarter, finding KeeSean Johnson for a 38-yard score. Harris would finish with 252 passing yards and an interception. AJ Ouellette had 90 yards on the ground while punching in a fourth-quarter touchdown.
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Jose Maltos Diaz put Montreal on the board early with a 52-yard field goal. On Saskatchewan’s opening possession, an offside call against the AlsBrett Lauther replied with a 46-yard make after an offside penalty call against the Als on third down gave the home team a fresh set of downs.
Montreal maintained the game’s quick fire start with the game’s third straight scoring drive. After a pair of Scott III rushes gave the Alouettes a first down, Bethel-Thompson launched a play-action pass to Philpot who stretched the field with a 59-yard touchdown reception.
On the first play of the following drive, Wesley Sutton picked off Harris but was originally called for a defensive pass interference against KeeSean Johnson. Jason Maas challenged the on-field ruling and the decision was overturned by the CFL Replay Centre. The Als were unable to pick up a first down off the turnover so they turned to Maltos for a 54-yard attempt. He wasn’t able to deliver this time, instead hitting the left upright.
Another Montreal turnover led to another deep shot from Bethel-Thompson. Tommy Stevens came into the game on a third-down play for Saskatchewan but Tyrell Richards forced a fumble and Marc-Antoine Dequoy came away with the recovery. On the following play, Bethel-Thompson looked deep to Philpot once more, connecting on a 39-yard play. Stuck on the goal line on third down, Maas elected to go for it, and the former Rider, Shea Patterson, broke the plane for Montreal’s second touchdown of the half.
After a Riders punt, Maltos Diaz had another field goal miss the mark. A botched hold sent the ball wide to the left and out of the end zone for a Montreal rouge, making it 18-3 midway through the second quarter.
Harris and his receivers got into rhythm on the following drive to get the home team their first touchdown of the evening. Harris completed a 26-yard pass to Ajou Ajou across the middle to push Saskatchewan into Montreal territory and then a couple of plays later, Harris sent a long ball to Johnson for a 38-yard scoring play.
An eight-play drive only got the Als 36 yards on their following possession, giving Maltos Diaz another shot. His 47-yard kick was money, giving Montreal a 21-10 advantage inside the first half’s three-minute warning.
Another Saskatchewan punt gave Als one more possession before halftime and they made the most of it. Scott III and Charleston Rambo picked up first downs and then Bethel-Thompson used a pump fake to deliver a touchdown toss to Philpot on a corner route. Maltos Diaz’s extra point put the visitors up 28-10 at halftime.
The Riders made it three straight scoreless drives with their first possession of the second half, punting it away to Montreal who responded with Maltos Diaz’s third field goal of the make of the evening, this time from just 31 yards out.
On the ensuing drive, Harris found Tommy Nield for a 27-yard completion to give the Roughriders a fresh set of downs inside the red zone. Montreal’s defence thought they stopped their opponent on second down when Johnson went out of bounds three yards short of a first down, however, Sutton was called for a horse collar tackle, giving Saskatchewan a first-and-goal opportunity at the one-yard line. From there, Stevens just about broke the plane to make it a 14-point game.
A Montreal two-and-out stacked the momentum in Saskatchewan’s favour but they weren’t able to capitalize. Saskatchewan followed suit with a punt of their own in the early moments of fourth quarter after Dohnte Meyers was unable to make a diving catch on Harris’ second-down pass attempt.
Back in possession at their own 23-yard line, Bethel-Thompson wasted no time to look the way of his favourite downfield target. On the first play of the drive, Philpot came down with yet another big-yardage gain, this time going for 77 yards on the play. A horse collar tackle by Antoine Brooks Jr. moved the Als to the one-yard line where Patterson pushed it in for his second touchdown of the ballgame.
Down three touchdowns and running out of time, Saskatchewan looked to play up-tempo on their next possession. Harris threw for three first downs and Ouellette finished off the series with a dive into the end zone from a yard out off a direct snap to make it a 14-point hole with 8:50 remaining.
On the following drive, Philpot quickly got the chains moving and upped his yardage total with a 22-yard catch. Eventually making their way inside the Saskatchewan 10, Bethel-Thompson threw to Tyler Snead who saw the ball get punched out of his grasp by A.J. Allen. Donny Ventrelli hopped on the loose ball for a rare offensive lineman touchdown, putting Montreal up 45-24 and out of striking distance with right before the three-minute warning.
Jake Maier came on in relief of Harris and took little time to fire a 47-yard touchdown pass to Meyers. But it was too late for the Riders who succumbed to just their third loss of the season, falling 48-31.
The Alouettes will stay on the road in Week 16 for a matchup in Toronto against the Argonauts on Friday, September 19. The Roughriders get their final bye of the regular season next week. They’ll take on the Edmonton Elks at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday, September 27.