SUNDAY SPORTS PAGE: ALOUETTES, ARGOS PREVAIL

CALGARY – Backup quarterback Caleb Evans ran for a pair of touchdowns to lead the Montreal Alouettes to a 28-11 win over the Calgary Stampeders at McMahon Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

William Stanback also caught a touchdown pass from starting quarterback Cody Fajardo for the Alouettes (7-7), who snapped a four-game losing streak with the victory in front of 22,321 fans in Calgary.

David Cote kicked a pair of field goals, while Joseph Zema booted a single.

Reggie Begelton had a receiving touchdown for the Stampeders (4-10), who lost their second straight game to fall further out of the playoff picture in the CFL’s West Division.

Rene Paredes kicked a field goal for the Stamps, while Cody Grace had a single.

It was Calgary’s fifth loss in seven starts at McMahon Stadium.

TORONTO – Chad Kelly threw two touchdown passes as the Toronto Argonauts defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 29-14 on Saturday night to sweep the season series.

Toronto (12-1) earned its first four-game sweep of Hamilton since 2006. The Argos have downed their arch rivals in six straight contests and 10-of-11 overall, delighting the energetic BMO Field gathering of 15,549.

Kelly’s nine-yard strike to Dejon Brissett – his second TD of the game – at 14:44 of the third quarter gave Toronto a commanding 27-4 lead. It was set up by Wynton McManis’s 50-yard interception return.

McManis also had a 58-yard pick-six in the first half.

Hamilton pulled to within 27-11 on Taylor Powell’s six-yard touchdown pass to Terry Godwin II at 4:33 of the fourth. It capped a smart nine-play, 95-yard march.

Tyreik McAllister appeared to give the Ticats more life with a 57-yard punt return, but it came back due to a holding penalty. So instead of starting from the Toronto 35-yard line, Hamilton was at its own 10.

CANADA WEST

A long touchdown drive late in regulation helped the University of Regina Rams push the game to overtime, but Manitoba prevailed with a field goal on the second extra possession as the Bisons won 27-24 in a Week 4 Canada West matchup at IG Field in Winnipeg.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Bo Nix threw three touchdown passes and Oregon emphatically slammed the brakes on Coach Deion Sanders’ “Cinderella story,” routing Colorado 42-6.

The Ducks (4-0, 1-0 Pac-12) were up 35-0 at halftime after coach Dan Lanning sent them into the matchup of unbeatens with a fiery pregame speech that took direct aim at the star-studded hype machine that has followed Coach Prime’s team. It was a big-game atmosphere, but the Buffs (3-1, 0-1) were no match for the Ducks.

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) – Kurtis Rourke threw two of his three touchdown passes in the first quarter, Keye Thompson and Roman Parodie returned fumbles for scores and Ohio breezed to a 38-7 victory over Bowling Green in a Mid-American Conference opener on Saturday.

Rourke completed 14 of 16 passes for 196 yards for the Bobcats (4-1, 1-0). 

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) – Luke Altmyer threw a touchdown pass and ran for another and Isaiah Williams caught eight passes for 120 yards to lead Illinois to a 23-17 win over Florida Atlantic in a non-conference game Saturday.

It was a bounce-back game for Altmyer, who threw four interceptions in a 30-13 loss to Penn State last week and was benched in the fourth quarter. He completed 25 of 36 passes for 303 yards and wasn’t picked off.

Florida Atlantic’s Daniel Richardson, in his first start after Casey Thompson suffered a season-ending ACL tear, completed 28 of 49 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns.

Florida Atlantic coach Tom Herman thought a “winnable game” slipped through his team’s fingertips, but he thinks the Owls have a bright future.

“For the last 10 months (since he became coach), I’ve talked to the team about having faith. Faith is belief without evidence. We got some evidence (Saturday). We have a lot to build on.”

NHL

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – The National Hockey League’s first preseason game in the Southern Hemisphere went ahead Saturday after officials apparently solved some issues with the quality of the ice at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena.

Ahead of Saturday’s Global Series game between the Los Angeles Kings and Arizona Coyotes won by the Coyotes 5-3, there were reports and photos on social media of the state of the ice surface – puddles, ruts and uneven coloring of the painted lines.

After a scoreless first period, the teams scored seven goals in the second before Arizona clinched the game with an empty-net goal in the final minute.

A second game between the teams was scheduled for Sunday in the same arena.

WHL

Regina, Sask. – The Regina Pats swept their opening weekend of the 2023-24 season with a convincing 5-1 victory over the Saskatoon Blades on Saturday inside the Brandt Centre.

After a 1-1 tie through one period of play, the Pats broke the game open in the second, with Brayden Barnett scoring twice to give the group a 3-1 lead after two. In the third, Borya Valis and Braxton Whitehead (EN) would put the game away, as the Pats improve to 2-0 on the season.

Kelton Pyne also played a big part in the win, making 29 saves, with 13 of them coming in the second period.

(ReginaPats.com)

ELSEWHERE IN THE DUB

Centre Sam Popowich scored a game-winning goal with 33 seconds left in the game as the Seattle Thunderbirds opened their Western Hockey League title defence with a 3-2 win over the Wenatchee Wild.It was the Wild’s second game in the WHL after the Winnipeg Ice franchise was sold and relocated to Wenatchee, Wash., in June.

There were eight other games in the WHL.

The Red Deer Rebels beat the Edmonton Oil Kings 4-3, the Everett Silvertips defeated the Victoria Royals 5-3, the Portland Winterhawks edged the Kelowna Rockets 6-5 in overtime, the Medicine Hat Tigers beat the Calgary Hitmen 5-3, the Brandon Wheat Kings blew out the Moose Jaw Warriors 9-4, the Tri-City Americans beat the Prince George Cougars 6-4, and the Lethbridge Hurricanes beat the Swift Current Broncos 5-2.

(With files from the Canadian Press)