Week 12 CFL Wrap
Photo: Montreal Alouettes
ALOUETTES 21 ELKS 17
Cody Fajardo and the Montreal Alouettes looked out of sync with a 17-6 halftime deficit against the Edmonton Elks on Sunday night, but head coach Jason Maas wasn’t sweating it.
Fajardo, wide receiver Cole Spieker and an unwavering Alouettes defence led a second-half comeback as league-leading Montreal defeated Edmonton 21-17 in nail-biting fashion for its fifth straight victory.
“We don’t ever give up on anything, and we just learn,” Maas said. “We know it’s a 60-minute game no matter what the score says at halftime, you got to play for 60 minutes in this league and finish games.
“We do an incredible job of doing that.”
Fajardo, who returned from missing four games with a hamstring injury, threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Spieker for his third reception of a six-play, 100-yard drive to open the third quarter.
The Alouettes (10-1) carried the momentum from there. Spieker just barely stayed in bounds on a 22-yard catch for his second TD of the game with 3:37 left in the third. The reception capped a nine-play drive that was sparked by a 30-yard catch-and-run by Walter Fletcher as Montreal took an 18-17 lead.
Elks QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson went 21-for-33 for 200 yards and two TD passes in his second consecutive start as Edmonton’s (3-8) three-game win streak came to an end. Running back Kevin Brown, back from a shoulder injury, rushed for 105 yards.
LEGENDS IN THE HOUSE
The 1974 Alouettes were honoured at halftime to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their Grey Cup championship. The home side also sported throwback jerseys with the Alouettes’ 1974 logo during the game. Montreal defeated Edmonton 20-7 at Empire Stadium in Vancouver for its third title in franchise history.
UP NEXT
Alouettes: Head into a bye week before hosting the B.C. Lions (5-6) on Sept. 6.
Elks: Visit the Calgary Stampeders (4-6) on Labour Day (Sept. 2).
REDBLACKS 34 LIONS 27
The Ottawa Redblacks earned a hard-fought 34-27 victory over the B.C. Lions on Saturday night, but the win was bittersweet.
After watching teammate Jaelon Acklin leave the field by ambulance, the Redblacks were determined to get a win, but celebrations were muted as they thought of their injured teammate. (Acklin would be released from hospital overnight)
With 8:33 remaining in the fourth quarter, both teams were shaken when Acklin, who had jumped to catch a pass, collided with T.J. Lee and fell awkwardly, remaining motionless on the field.
On the ensuing play, the Redblacks were able to extend their lead after Dustin Crum muscled his way across the one-yard line to take a 34-24 lead.
“I think you’re just hoping that he’s OK,” said Ottawa quarterback Dru Brown, who was 28-for-37 for 390 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
“It’s a very humbling moment. You know, we’re so focused on winning the game and doing our job and, yeah, it’s kind of the sad reality of what we do and that’s kind of the risk we take.”
It was a tough outing for the Lions (5-6-0) who dropped their fifth straight game and second in a row with quarterback Nathan Rourke running the offence.
“We’re underachieving in key moments,” said Lions head coach Rick Campbell. “The game’s there for the taking in the fourth quarter, and we’re not getting it done right now.”
Rourke, making his second start since returning from the NFL, was 22-for-31 for 234 yards and one interception.
“I think it starts with me,” said Rourke. “I think I’ve got to make more plays. I have to trust our O-line, trust our guys, go through the reads and make plays.”
UP NEXT
Lions: Host the Ottawa Redblacks on Saturday, Aug. 31.
Redblacks: Visit the B.C. Lions on Saturday, Aug. 31.
BLUE BOMBERS 26 TIGER-CATS 23
Kenny Lawler believes determination and desire pushed the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to a 26-23 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday.
“Basically, it came down to who wanted it more, what’s in your heart,” Lawler said. “We had to go out there, put our hard hat on and pull it out, and that’s what happened.”
Lawler caught a 10-yard pass in the end zone with 19 seconds remaining as the Blue Bombers avoided a Tiger-Cats’ comeback.
Hamilton trailed 16-3 at halftime, but a pair of Greg Bell rushing touchdowns helped the visitors build a 23-19 lead with 1:48 left in the CFL contest.
A Ticats’ illegal contact penalty kept the Bombers’ winning drive alive.
Winnipeg (5-6) extended its win streak to three games in front of a sold-out crowd of 32,343 at Princess Auto Stadium, while the Tiger-Cats (2-9) dropped their fourth game in row.
Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros completed 18 of 36 pass attempts for 177 yards with three interceptions.
“He’s as competitive as there is,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said. “He’s so hard on himself. We’ve been around him long enough. He’s just (expletive) awesome.”
Tiger-Cats head coach Scott Milanovich credited Collaros for leading the late charge.
“Zach’s a champion for a reason and he got it done when he had to,” Milanovich said.
Bo Levi Mitchell was 14-of-28 passing for 220 yards with no interceptions or TDs for Hamilton.
“He didn’t put the ball in harm’s way, that’s definitely a plus,” Milanovich said of Mitchell, who got the start after Taylor Powell suffered a concussion in the last game and was placed on the six-game injured list.
UP NEXT
Bombers: Visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Labour Day Classic on Sunday, Sept. 1.
Tiger-Cats: Host the Toronto Argonauts on Monday, Sept. 2.
ARGONAUTS 20 ROUGHRIDERS 19
On a night of missed opportunities, fittingly an errant field-goal try made Chad Kelly’s season debut a winning one.
Lirim Hajrullahu’s single on the game’s final play earned Toronto a wild 20-19 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Thursday night. After making his first four attempts, Hajrullahu missed from 40 yards out but the ensuing single earned the Argos (6-4) their fifth home victory in six games.
“First game back I had a lot of nervousness in me and we came out on top,” Kelly said. “Obviously a win is a win.
“It was one point (Hajrullahu’s single) but it’s a huge win against coach Mace (Saskatchewan head coach Corey Mace) who knows all of these players, he knows what we’re good at and what we’re bad at.”
A season-high BMO Field gathering of 19,327 looked on with the Canadian National Exhibition in full swing. The crowd — Toronto’s largest since 24,812 attended its first-ever game here — gave Kelly a warm ovation when he was introduced.
“I thought Chad was seeing the field, doing the things he needed to do,” said Toronto head coach Ryan Dinwiddie. “We really couldn’t expect him to have a great performance because we had too many mistakes.
“Offensively, we’ve got to get better next week. We’re going to Hamilton, we’re going into the hornet’s nest, we’ve got to go find a way to win the football a little more cleanly.”
Saskatchewan (5-5-1) suffered a second straight loss and ran its winless streak to five games (0-4-1). Starter Trevor Harris was 18-of-29 passing for 190 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.
“It’s just tough,” Mace said. “We’re finding new ways to end the game like that and it just crushes me for the guys.
“We’ve got to become a team that has to finish these types of games. We’ve been in enough of them now that we should understand how to do that.”
KeeSean Johnson scored Saskatchewan’s touchdown. Lauther kicked the convert and four field goals.
Cameron Dukes had Toronto’s touchdown. Hajrullahu booted the convert and four field goals and a single.
(Canadian Press)
