Alexander helps Als cap perfect home season with win over Riders
Minas Patagiotakis/CFL.ca
Football player in blue celebrates.
MONTREAL — Davis Alexander threw for 403 yards and five touchdowns as the Montreal Alouettes beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders 44-24 to close out Mobil Thanksgiving Weekend. Monday afternoon’s victory capped a perfect 9-0 regular season at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium for just the second time in franchise history.
Alexander’s first career five-touchdown performance included three scoring passes of 45 yards or more and improved Montreal’s record to 13-3. Jerreth Sterns led the Alouettes with 124 receiving yards, while Charleston Rambo, Tyson Philpot and Tyler Snead each found the end zone and topped 70 yards.
The Als pivot's afternoon started with an interception by Marcus Sayles, but Alexander found his rhythm from there. Leaning on Sterns, who hauled in four passes for 60 of his 106 first-half receiving yards on Montreal’s second drive, Alexander capped the six-play march with a dart to Snead to give the Als a 7-3 advantage.
Trevor Harris swung the momentum back to Saskatchewan to close the first quarter, threading a pass through traffic to Kian Schaffer-Baker, who whirled into the end zone for Harris’ 30th touchdown pass of the season. Montreal answered early in the second, as Alexander found a wide-open Rambo for a 45-yard score.
Chasing a CFL receiving record, Tyson Philpot didn’t make his first catch until late in the second quarter. His 12-yard reception on second-and-nine paved the way for a short field goal from José Maltos Díaz and pushed Alexander past 5,000 passing yards on the season.
Harris joined Alexander in the 5,000-yard club to open the second half, setting up a 51-yard field goal by recently reacquired kicker Brett Lauther to bring Saskatchewan within one at 17-16.
The Alouettes pulled away from there. Alexander continued to look downfield, connecting with Philpot on a 46-yard touchdown. After Harris and company went two-and-out, Alexander struck again with a 51-yard pass to Rambo to extend Montreal’s lead to 31-16.
Montreal pressed its advantage with a nearly eight-minute drive that extended into the fourth quarter, capped by Alexander’s fifth touchdown pass of the game, a bullet to Snead. The Alouettes added a field goal after Geoffrey Cantin-Arku intercepted Harris, and Schaffer-Baker reeled in his second major of the game before time expired.
Saskatchewan’s losing streak reached four games, putting its playoff hopes in jeopardy with two weeks remaining in the regular season. Harris finished with 243 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Schaffer-Baker, while AJ Ouellette rushed for an efficient 77 yards on 11 carries, but the Riders fell to 8-8.
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SCORING PLAYS
Brett Lauther 43-yard field goal (9:49, Q1) | SSK 3 MTL 0
Davis Alexander nine-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Snead (6:33, Q1) | MTL 7 SSK 3
Trevor Harris 27-yard touchdown pass to Kian Schaffer-Baker (0:00, Q1) | SSK 10 MTL 7
Davis Alexander 45-yard touchdown pass to Charleston Rambo (12:14, Q2) | MTL 14 SSK 10
Brett Lauther 39-yard field goal (8:19, Q2) | MTL 14 SSK 13
José Maltos Díaz 21-yard field goal (0:08, Q2) | MTL 17 SSK 13
Brett Lauther 51-yard field goal (11:49, Q3) | MTL 17 SSK 16
Davis Alexander 46-yard touchdown pass to Tyson Philpot (9:05, Q3) | MTL 24 SSK 16
Davis Alexander 51-yard touchdown pass to Charleston Rambo (5:34, Q3) | MTL 31 SSK 16
Davis Alexander five-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Snead (10:57, Q4) | MTL 38 SSK 16
José Maltos Díaz 40-yard field goal (6:21, Q4) | MTL 41 SSK 16
Trevor Harris 14-yard touchdown pass to Kian Schaffer-Baker (2:31, Q4) | MTL 41 SSK 24
José Maltos Díaz 32-yard field goal (0:50, Q4) | MTL 44 SSK 24
NEXT UP
The Montreal Alouettes and Saskatchewan Roughriders wrap up their home-and-home series in Regina on Saturday, October 17, in Week 20. The Riders will look to snap a four-game losing streak and keep their playoff hopes alive in the rematch. Montreal can sweep the regular-season series for a second time in three years.