The Alouettes story
“We had no juice, no energy”
All good things come to an end. Humiliated when they visited Montreal three weeks ago, the Eskimos have enjoyed a nice revenge when they inflicted the Alouettes their first loss of the season Thursday at Edmonton.
The Alouettes are inclined by a score of 33-19 to a team they had beaten 50-16 on July 9. Since 1996, the Alouettes show form 4-10 in Edmonton, where they have won one of their last six games.
“As we say in English, it came out flat today,” observed the Marauder Matthieu Proulx. There was no juice, no power. It was a game and nobody was celebrating. I not know what happened, but I thought we had a super good week in training. It has not really been a big match for us. ”
A defeat always leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, but Proulx managed to find positive the visit failed to Edmonton.
“People were already beginning, after four wins in a season of 18 games, talk of perfect season and we were throwing flowers. Today it is a reality check and I guess it’s good for us. We will learn much from this match. ”
Fred Stamps confirmed the victory of the Eskimos by capturing his second touchdown pass of the evening, a bomb of 48 yards to Ricky Ray with 2:15 to in the fourth quarter.
Ray, who also made a set fee with the help of Calvin McCarty, has finished the game with three touchdown passes, all he had launched his four previous matches.
The Alouettes offensive was unable to complete the big games. Each time they are presented within the area 20 yards in the enemy territory, the Alouettes have met the Eskimos defensive front.
The Alouettes
“Unfortunately, this is one of our problems since the beginning of the season and now it has cost us dearly”, analyzed the quarterback Anthony Calvillo back talking about the lack of opportunism of his unit near the zone pay.
“I want to give credit to Edmonton,” said AC. They came with an excellent game plan. We were able to move forward in attack, but only four investments and a touchdown, it is not enough on the road. ”
The Montreal defense has not done better since it has not been able to control the air Thursday of Albertans. It awarded a total of six passes for 28 yards or more during the game and conceded a high of 33 points this season.
Ray has shone throughout the match, collecting a total of 332 yards by air. His favorite targets were Kamau Peterson, Jamaica Rector and Fred Stamps, who respectively received 69, 57 and 109 yards.
“Ricky Ray deserves much credit, spoke Proulx. When a recipient is as accurate and that its recipients are in the right place, there is nothing to do.”
The duo of half Arkes Whitlock and Calvin McCarthy has also managed to find loopholes and established a high this season against the Alouettes defensive front by combining 62 yards on the ground.
Avon Cobourne recorded the only major losers.
In defeat, Calvillo has passed the milestone of 60 000 yards in career. The rear quarter-Bird has taken second place in the history of the CFL with this chapter, behind Damon Allen 72 and 381 yards.
The veteran Ben Cahoon was also marked during the first quarter in capturing an assist in a 114th game in a row.
The Alouettes next game will be Friday, August 7 to face the Toronto Argonauts, Montreal.
Back to half
The Alouettes have retired to the locker room after the second quarter in a situation that was not common so far this campaign. Indeed, they were firing in the rear for the first time this season on the eve of the second half.
Ray has forced this situation by crowning a surge of 55 offensive yards in the half McCarty joining by air in five yards for the major 3:24 of the second quarter. The score was 12-6 in favor of the Eskimos.
Duval, however, reduced the gap to 12-9 with an investment of 21 yards when he was only 43 seconds to dial the second quarter. This was the third successful placement of the match for Duval.
Duval has been forced to complete the first two sequences in the attack Alouettes obtained for the lead to 6-0 Alouettes in the first quarter.
He first managed a placement of 37 yards at 10:14 of the first quarter with a 3-0 to advance Alouettes, then doubled the lead at 4:39 of his passing in his second game of placement, this times over a distance of 33 yards.
The Eskimos kicker Noel Prefontaine replied at 1:08 of the first quarter by achieving a placement of 33 yards which was then the score at 6-3 in favor of Montrealers.
Prefontaine had missed his first attempt at placement of the season a few minutes earlier. The Alouettes, however, had hit a penalty on the game, but Albertans had decided to reject the point and give the ball to the Birds to their five-yard line.
The sequence had been unsuccessful for the Alouettes, and they were forced to concede a touchdown security bearing the mark to 6-5 for the Eskimos at 7:32 of the second quarter.
Unable to go up the slope
Ray needed six games early in the second half to cap a thrust attack with a 28-yard pass to Stamps, who widened the gap to 19-9 in favor of Albertans, at 12:00 of the third quarter.
The Alouettes, however, have caused a shift in 5:55 of the third quarter when Davis Sanchez recovered escaped Rector. This game could have been the spark plug of the attack of the Alouettes.
Calvillo has been a victim of the second sack allowed by the Alouettes this season – the Eskimos were the aggressors in both cases – and could not build a sequence with strong attack.
While they were in third down situations and goals, the Eskimos have opted for faufilade quarter from the line of a rod of Alouettes and were rewarded. At this time, the Eskimos received an advance of 17 points on the cast of Marc Trestman.
The Alouettes have profited from the excellent kick return by Larry Taylor for a surge of 34 yards that resulted in a touchdown from a yard Cobourne to 8:07 of the fourth quarter. The scoreboard showed 26-16 in favor while the premises.
Whitlock then responded by making a kick return for sending 55 yards. During the sequence following the attack, Ray has been bored in his motion by the hand of John Bowman and accordingly the ball has danced before ending up in the hands of Jerald Brown. This was the first interception of Brown career in the CFL, and the fifth of Montreal this season.
Calvillo has managed to push the hit, but the kicker Damon Duval came to save the furniture once again conducting an offering of 31 yards at 3:44 of the fourth quarter that reduced the gap to 26-19 in favor of Eskimos.