REDBLACKS 28 ALOUETTES 13

MONTREAL – The rivalry between Montreal and Ottawa is heating up and so far the Redblacks have the upper hand.

Trevor Harris, making his first start in place of injured Henry Burris, passed for 395 yards and threw touchdowns to Ernest Jackson, Greg Ellingson and Chris Williams as the Redblacks defeated the Alouettes 28-13 on Thursday night.

But all the post-game talk was about an incident at 7:35 of the third quarter when Alouettes receiver Duron Carter and Ottawa defensive back Jerrell Gavins were ejected after a wild melee at the Redblacks bench.

Carter was hammered as he made a spectacular catch in the end zone. Then he was walking by the Ottawa bench and bumped into head coach Rick Campbell, knocking him over. The Redblacks rushed to Campbell’s defence, throwing slaps and shots at Carter, who continued his celebration straight through the Ottawa bench area to his own bench, which is on the same side of the field.

“To tell the truth, I don’t even know what happened,” said Carter, the Alouettes top receiver who returned to Montreal after a year in the NFL. “I ran into the coach, apparently.

“I didn’t even know I knocked him over. It’s an emotional game. I’m excited. I got hit. I got a cut on my face from that hit. You tell me.”

Now the CFL will decide whether there will be suspensions.

“He gave me a decent shoulder,” said Campbell. “I mean he came in.

“I know he’s a very good player and all that stuff but obviously we don’t need stuff like that to happen, put it that way. You try to steer those guys away so you can keep the peace. And it’s a league rule that you’re not supposed to be talking or walking through the other bench or near the other bench.”

The incident distracted attention from a second straight strong performance and a second road win to start to season for Ottawa, which put the game away after the Carter touchdown with a pair of Chris Milo field goals and a 52-yard TD catch by a wide open Williams at 8:53 of the fourth quarter.

Harris, an off-season signing, relieved Burris in an overtime win in Edmonton last week in which he also threw three TD strikes. Williams was his favourite target again on Thursday with seven catches for 187 yards.

“You can see he’s a veteran guy,” said Campbell. “He doesn’t get fazed, even managing the end of the game.”

Boris Bede had a field goal for Montreal (1-1) before 21,522 at Percival Molson Stadium. The Alouettes lost all three meetings between the teams last season and couldn’t solve the Redblacks again. Kevin Glenn completed 26 passes for 259 yards – nine of them to Nik Lewis for 114 yards.

Travon Van ran wild as the Redblacks built a 14-5 halftime lead, gaining 86 yards on 12 carries and paving the way for two TD throws, before the running back left with what Campbell called a minor injury.

After the teams exchanged singles in the opening quarter, Bede missed a 36-yard field-goal attempt to give Montreal a brief 2-1 lead.

Harris then led a six-play drive capped by an eight-yard toss to Jackson. A two-point conversion attempt failed. He rolled out left soon after and threw on the run to Ellingson for a 13-yard TD. This time, Milo kicked the convert.

Bede was good from 53 yards on the final play of the half for Montreal.

Montreal receiver S.J. Green left in the first quarter with a right knee injury and did not return.

Ottawa linebacker Olivier Goulet-Veilleux was wheeled off in the second quarter after he appeared to jam a knee or ankle while joining in a special teams tackle. Campbell said he broke a leg and will be out long-term.

Burris ended a streak of 73 consecutive games started. He is out six weeks with a broken finger.

(Canadian Press, CFL.ca)