The Alouettes dominate the Rouge et Noir

The Alouettes aren’t taking any time off this Thanksgiving Monday. In front of a packed crowd at Percival-Molson Stadium, the Montrealers put on quite a show for their fans, winning 30-10 over their division rivals, the Ottawa Rouge et Noir. From the very first sequence, the tone was set. Québécois Marc-Antoine Dequoy blocked a kick and carried the ball into the end zone to open the scoring. As is often the case this season, Montreal’s defense set the pace, limiting Ottawa to a few scoreless plays and preventing them from crossing the 50-yard line for much of the first quarter, before kicker José Maltos added an impressive 53-yard field goal to make it 11-0. The defensive unit continued to dictate the tempo, with another big play by Dequoy resulting in a turnover at the goal gate, but the Rouge et Noir struck back early in the second quarter thanks to a 15-yard run by William Stanback, but the missed two-point conversion kept the Alouettes in front. Maltos then countered with another 48-yard field goal, before quarterback Davis Alexander connected on a long 47-yard pass to receiver Austin Mack to extend the lead to 21-9 before halftime. content-ads]In the second half, the Montreal defense continued its demolition job. Darnell Sankey and Nafees Murray each picked up an important quarterback sack, keeping Ottawa out of the pay zone. Maltos added two field goals to seal the win at 30-10. This victory confirms the Alouettes’ fine sequence, which seems to be reaching cruising speed as the playoffs approach. Their consistency, both on offense and defense, makes them a formidable and, above all, disciplined team. After Monday’s performance, Jason Maas could hardly ask for more from his squad. And with Alexander still unbeaten, confidence in the Montreal dressing room is as high as ever. But despite his team’s dominant performance and perfect record this season, Alexander was not satisfied after the game.

I played the worst game of my life.

–

Davis Alexander

A statement that speaks volumes about this group’s state of mind: even after a convincing victory, the Alouettes know they can give even more. And perhaps it’s this perfectionism that explains their good performance.