CFL Week 19 Wrap

The Montreal Alouettes’ defence bounced back in a big way on Monday.

After conceding 37 points in a loss to the Toronto Argonauts before their bye week, the league-leading Alouettes held the Ottawa Redblacks without a touchdown in a 19-12 Thanksgiving win.

Montreal (12-3-1) swept Ottawa (8-7-1) for the second consecutive season, earning an eighth straight win against its East Division rival on a dreary, 8 C day at Molson Stadium.

Montreal QB Davis Alexander finished 14-of-24 passing for 208 yards, one interception and one rushing touchdown in his first start since Aug. 17. Grey Cup MVP Cody Fajardo was absent after his wife gave birth to their second son, Cian, back home in Nevada on Wednesday.

Ottawa held Montreal to six second-half points but dug itself into a hole with a lack of discipline in its fourth straight loss. The Redblacks committed 11 penalties for 117 yards — including 10 for 107 in the first half alone.

“We got to do better as players,” Masoli said. “We got to be more consistent, be selfless out there while we’re going. I know you get caught up in the moment, but we got to play smarter. 

“When we get in these playoffs, we can’t afford any of that stuff.”

Masoli was 19-of-34 for 216 yards and one pick. Backup Dustin Crum also took reps with starter Dru Brown still nursing an ankle injury. Top receiver Justin Hardy was also out with an ankle ailment.

The playoff-bound Redblacks failed to regain second place in the East after Toronto beat Winnipeg on Friday. They’ll need a road win on Saturday against the Argonauts to keep their hopes of hosting the East semifinal alive.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders clinched a playoff berth with a 28-25 victory over the Edmonton Elks on Oct. 5. On Saturday, Saskatchewan secured a home playoff game with an impressive 39-8 victory over the B.C. Lions, extending its winning streak to four games.

The victory improves Saskatchewan’s record to 9-7-1 and puts the Riders three points ahead of the 8-9-0 Lions for second place in the West with one regular-season game remaining for both squads.

The Riders are also still in the running for first place in the division. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers currently are in top spot with a 10-7-0 record. Both teams have their regular-season finale on Oct. 26. If the Bombers lose to the Montreal Alouettes and the Riders defeat the Calgary Stampeders, Saskatchewan would earn top spot.

According to Saskatchewan QB Trevor Harris, the Riders aren’t celebrating a lopsided victory or focusing on a post-season run.

“It’s more just about going 1-0 this week. Whether you win by that many or you win by two, that’s the same amount of points in the win column. It’s just about us making sure we continue to get better,” said Harris, who finished 25 of 30 passing for 271 yards and two touchdowns.

“This is not like our arrival. We haven’t done anything. We haven’t accomplished what we want to yet. We’re on our way there but we’ve just got to continue to make sure we’re keep climbing this mountain.”

BC QB Nathan Rourke, who was replaced by Chase Brice in the fourth quarter, was 15 of 23 for 200 yards with two interceptions.

Edmonton Elks wide receiver Eugene Lewis caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tre Ford with 1:09 remaining in the game to lead the Edmonton Elks to a 23-18 win over the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday at McMahon Stadium.

Backup quarterback Dakota Prukop also ran for a touchdown for the Elks (6-11). Boris Bede kicked a pair of singles for Edmonton, while punter Jake Julien also had one. Ford completed 23-of-29 passes for 208 yards to go with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Edmonton has defeated Calgary (4-11-1) all three times the provincial rivals played each other this season. The last time the Elks accomplished that feat was in 2002.

Toronto Argonauts defensive lineman Jake Ceresna notched one of seven sacks on Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros in a Friday night 14-11 win that secured a playoff spot for Toronto and denied Winnipeg’s attempt to clinch first place in the CFL West Division.

Toronto’s victory (9-7) eliminated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from post-season play and moved the Argonauts into second place in the East Division, one point up on the Ottawa Redblacks (8-7-1).

The loss halted the Blue Bombers’ (10-7) win streak at eight games in front of a fourth consecutive sellout crowd of 32,343 at Princess Auto Stadium.

Collaros blamed himself for some of the takedowns.

“Got to watch the tape,” he said. “I’m sure there was a couple times that I was trying to do too much and extend plays. I feel bad because I know that number’s an important thing for the offensive line and they take pride in that. When you give up one on your own, it sucks.”

(Canadian Press)