The Canadian Press
TORONTO — All eyes were on Montreal’s quarterbacks on Thursday afternoon in Toronto, as the Alouettes were in town for a pre-season tilt with the Argonauts.
Five different Als pivots saw action at Varsity Stadium at the University of Toronto including Antonio Pipkin, Vernon Adams Jr., Chris Merchant, Matthew Shiltz and Jeff Mathews.
Adams Jr. didn’t see any action until the second half of the contest, but he was the one to bring some life to the Alouettes offence that was struggling during the first half.
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Antoino Pipkin gets ready to take the snap during the first half (Shannon Vizniowski/CFL.ca)
By the end of his afternoon, Adams finished as the team’s leading passer, connecting on eight of 17 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown. The only mishap in his afternoon was an interception thrown on his first pass of the game. Once back on the field, he was able to string together drives for the Als, and threw the team’s first passing touchdown to Malcolm Carter in the fourth quarter.
“I started off slow myself,” Adams said after Thursday afternoon’s contest. “I started off slow the first two drives and I threw an interception. I’ve just got to come out cleaner, know my reads and be ready to get out and get out of things. Just have fun. Have more fun. Not worry about what I can’t control and just control what I can control.”
Mathews ended 4-for-5 for 23 yards. Shiltz connected on three of five passes for 18 yards while Pipkin, the team’s anticipated starter, connected on just one of five passes for nine yards. Canadian rookie Chris Merchant attempted just two passes that were both incomplete.
While those numbers, and a 45-20 loss to go along with it, may look disheartening for Alouettes fans, they shouldn’t panic just yet.
“There’s a lot of good stuff on film,” said Adams. “We’re going to get on this train (back to Montreal), watch the film and we’re going to be back at practice tomorrow and we’re going to get better. We’re going to learn from it.”
