CFL.ca Staff
HAMILTON – The Montreal Alouettes defence did not allow the Toronto Argonauts to score any points on offence as they picked up a key 34-2 victory on Friday night.
The Als were also aided by Tyrell Sutton, who rushed for a touchdown and caught another major.
Kevin Glenn was solid under centre for the Als, throwing for three touchdowns on 27-of-35 passing and 294 yards.
Trevor Harris struggled for the second game in a row under centre for the Argos and was replaced by Ricky Ray in the final minutes of the third quarter. Ray finished the game completing 13-of-14 passes for 113 yards.
The Alouettes grabbed a lead on the opening drive of the game and never looked back to snap a four-game skid.
Montreal began the game on offence as Glenn connected with SJ Green early and often to drive the Alouettes downfield. Tyrell Sutton would open up the scoring as he punched in a short pass to give the Als an early 7-0 lead. It was Glenn’s 250th career touchdown pass.
Midway through the first quarter, Fred Stamps caught a nine-yard pass which moved him into the top 30 for all-time receiving yards.
The Als added a single with 2:01 left in the opening frame and carried a 8-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter started off much on the same note as the Argos struggled to move the chains. Montreal took over as Green reached the 1000 receiving yard mark on the season for the fourth time in his career. Glenn and Stamps would hook up shortly after to give the Als a 15-0 lead.
Trevor Harris and the Argos offence could not put together enough to get the team out of their zone as John Bowman recorded his 12th sack of the year which forced Toronto to punt. Kicker Jake Rogers could not get the ball past midfield and a solid return by Stefan Logan helped the Als start in great field position.
It didn’t take long for the Als to add more points on the board as Sutton scored his second rushing touchdown of the game to increase Montreal’s lead to 22-0.
It took until 1:13 was left in the first half for the Argos to get on the board. Boris Bede conceded a safety over a punt to give the Argos two points.
On the Argos next possession, Harris was picked off by Jerald Brown to give the Als another drive before the halftime whistle. It was Harris’ ninth straight game with an interception. Bede hit a 37-yard field goal as the Als went up 25-2.
| Decision time looming? |
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Scott Milanovich and the Toronto Argonauts now face a tough decision at quarterback going forward: stick with Trevor Harris or go with Ricky Ray? Read more. |
The Argos weren’t able to get into scoring territory to open the second half despite a 15-yard run by Adrian McPherson. Bowman recorded his second sack of the game which tied him for 11th on the all-time list.
Montreal went back to work on offence and were quick to pass midfield after Glenn connected with Cunningham for a 43-yard gain as he made an amazing one-handed grab. Bede added a 18-yard field goal to put the Als up 28-2.
Trying to get more points on the board, the Rogers fell short on a 40-yard field goal as the Als took over on offence again.
Looking for a spark on offence, Ray entered the game for the Argos with 1:15 remaining in the third quarter. He completed his first pass in over a year on a 19-yard completion to Kevin Elliott.
Following two big rushes by Brandon Rutley, the Als entered the red zone looking to increase their lead even further. Glenn hit Rutley with a short pass as Montreal’s lead grew to 34-2 as Bede missed the extra point.
Anthony Boone took over pivot duties for Glenn in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
Next week, the Argos look to get back on the board as they host the Lions while the Alouettes stay on the road to face the Eskimos.
