Maas: Alouettes have ‘all the confidence in the world’ against Argos
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The Montreal Alouettes head into Saturday’s East Division Final against the Toronto Argonauts riding a wave of momentum.
The Als are coming off a dominant defensive performance in the East semifinal against Hamilton, holding the Tiger-Cats out of the end zone in the 27-12 win.
With a matchup against the heavily-favoured Argos at BMO Field on the horizon, head coach Jason Maas says his team is focused and confident as they look to beat Toronto for the first time this season.
“We’re confident and excited because we’ve earned this. We’ve earned this fourth chance against them. We have all the confidence in the world going into that building,” said Maas on TSN Radio Wednesday morning. “[We’re] focused. I think we’re excited about the opportunity that lies before us. It’s the culmination of a whole season’s worth of work to get to this point.”
The Argonauts and Alouettes met just one time in Toronto this season, with the Argos winning 39-10 on Sept 9. Toronto’s two wins in Montreal were much closer, as they won by a combined 11 points.
Maas says the lessons from the previous three losses will come into play on Saturday, but the Alouettes’ blueprint against the Argos will remain the same as it has all season and will be built on a foundation of physical play and hard-nosed defence.
“We’re looking at everything. All three of those games and their other games to find their weaknesses and try to exploit them as best we can,” said Maas. “Ultimately, it’s the things we normally preach around here. We’re both very good at turnover margin. Protecting the QB and getting after theirs. Just play a physical football game for an entire 60 minutes. Make one more play than them. It comes down to playing sound, disciplined football as a team with all of these stakes on the line.”
Montreal sacked Hamilton quarterbacks Matthew Shiltz and Bo Levi Mitchell a combined five times last Saturday and created three turnovers in the stifling defensive performance. Lineman Shawn Lemon, who was not signed until Week 6, was a leader on defence, sacking each Hamilton quarterback one time.
“He’s been that for us all year. We’ve not been shy about saying he's a leader on our football team from the get-go,” Maas said about Lemon. “He’s got the talent and the work ethic and confidence to back it up. He brings a lot of confidence to our defence.”
The Alouettes enter the East Final riding a six-game winning streak, looking to become the first team to beat the Argos at home this season and end Toronto’s record season. Als linebacker Darnell Sankey believes the showdown will be one to remember.
“They’ve had an amazing season. They’re led by a great QB and coaching staff,” Sankey said on TSN Radio earlier this week. “The defence flies around to the ball. The offence makes plays. Kudos to them. It’s going to be an amazing game. We’re going to have to bring it, and they’re going to have to bring it. It’s going to be a battle.”