Alouettes pound Ticats in second half to secure road victory

HAMILTON — They started slowly but Cody Fajardo and the Montreal Alouettes finished fast Saturday night.

Caleb Evans and Regis Cibasu scored fourth-quarter touchdowns to rally Montreal to a 27-14 road win over Hamilton. After falling behind 14-3 in the third quarter, the Alouettes (4-3) scored 24 straight points to secure a fourth straight regular-season victory and fifth in six meetings over the Tiger-Cats (3-5).

"I kept telling myself, 'This is the CFL and crazier things have happened,'" Fajardo said. "You see it pretty much every week where a team starts slow but there's so much time, there's so many possessions that you're always in the game.

"What I told the guys at halftime was we probably played our worst half of football … but we were only down one possession, eight points, it wasn't like it was a two- or three-possession game. There was still belief, there were no hanging heads."

Evans' one-yard TD at 2:28 of the fourth put Montreal ahead 15-14 before Fajardo hit Austin Mack for a two-point convert. Fajardo's 46-yard completion to Quartney Davis on a flea flicker highlighted the five-play, 77-yard drive but a pass interference call on Hamilton's Tunde Adeleke in the end zone set up Evans' run.

David Cote's 38-yard field goal at 5:03 pushed Montreal's lead to 20-14. It was set up by defensive lineman Shawn Lemon's interception.

Fajardo's 37-yard TD strike to Cibasu at 8:26 moved Montreal ahead 27-15. The Alouettes outscored the Ticats 18-0 in the fourth and 24-3 in the second half before a Tim Hortons Field gathering of 21,467.

"Momentum is real in football and when you get it on your side and guys are executing, there's something to it," said Montreal head coach Jason Maas. "We played a much better second half in all three phases of the game … and it's magical when that happens."

Cote connected from 51 yards out to cut Hamilton's lead to 14-9 at 14:08 of the third. It came after Jamal Davis II's partial block of Bailey Flint's punt put Montreal at its own 52-yard line.

Cote's 15-yard field goal at 10:22 pulled Montreal to within 14-6.

Marc Liegghio extended Hamilton's lead to 14-3 with a 13-yard boot at 4:12. It was set up by Tre Crawford's recovery of Fajardo's fumble at the Montreal 20-yard line.

Fajardo finished 19-of-25 passing for 318 yards with a TD and two interceptions. Maas was impressed with how effectively Fajardo was able to mentally move past his miscues.

"That's one of the things I love about him, he can wash things away and not let it bother him for the next play," Maas said. "He's very strong mentally that way but it's easier to do when you have everyone around you doing the same.

"That's what I was (most) proud of the whole group, sticking together. There was no one complaining on our sideline, no one in here complaining at halftime."

Mack, who was a game-time decision, had five catches for 106 yards. William Stanback ran for 106 yards on 19 carries.

Rookie Taylor Powell, making his second CFL start, completed 20-of-31 passes for 202 yards and two interceptions as Hamilton fell to 1-3 at home this season. The Ticats now head out on a bye week, much to the chagrin of head coach Orlondo Steinauer.

"I'd rather play to be honest with you," he said. "It is what it is right now. I want coaches, players to get away but (they) better come back refocused."

Ticats linebacker Simoni Lawrence had a game-high 11 tackles and sack.

Montreal moved into second in the East Division with a second straight victory. The Alouettes also won the season series — and tiebreaker — with Hamilton after earning a 38-12 road victory June 23.

"It's huge," Fajardo said. "We stole two games from their place, it's extremely hard to win here.

"For a young team like we have … the guys answered the bell. We're just going to continue to get better from these experiences and that's what's got me so excited. We haven't played our best football yet but we're still above .500."

Cote booted four field goals and a convert for Montreal.

James Butler had Hamilton's touchdown. Liegghio added a convert, single and two field goals.

Liegghio's missed field goal to end the first half staked Hamilton to an 11-3 advantage. Liegghio was wide left from 51 yards out but Carthell Flowers-Lloyd tackled Montreal returner Chandler Worthy in the end zone for the single.

It was a fitting end to an opening half that featured three missed field goals (two by Cote) and four turnovers (two for each side). Both teams also combined for 11 penalties for 110 yards.

Liegghio's 44-yard field goal at 13:17 of the second staked Hamilton to a 10-3 advantage. He connected from 39 yards out but the Ticats were flagged for no end and pushed back five yards.

Cote pulled Montreal to within 7-3 with a 34-yard field goal at 12:34. It was set up by J.R. Reid's interception.

Butler opened the scoring with a four-yard TD run at 2:39.

It was a scoreless but eventful opening quarter. There were three turnovers (fumble recovery by Montreal's Tyrice Beverette, two interceptions by Hamilton's Richard Leonard), Cote's missed 38-yard field goal and Mack's two receptions for 77 yards.

UP NEXT

Montreal hosts the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday. Hamilton resumes action hosting the Edmonton Elks on Aug. 17.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 5, 2023.