Alouettes squander big lead against Redblacks, will go to playoffs

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A one-yard touchdown by quarterback Caleb Evans late in the fourth quarter, followed by a daring two-point conversion, led the Ottawa Redblacks to a dramatic 19-18 victory over the Alouettes on Friday night in the Molson Stadium.

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Evans’ touchdown came after Canadian rookie running back Jeshrun Antwi fumbled in Ottawa territory at the end of regulation time. The Redblacks outscored the Als 16-0 in the second half in front of a crowd of 11,297, the season low.

Montreal completed its regular season third in the East Division, with a 7-7 record, and will tour in the playoffs. The Als will face the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Eastern Division semifinal on November 28 at Tim Hortons Field. An Als win against Ottawa would have forced the Ticats to win Saturday at home against Saskatchewan to finish second.

Evans also scored on a one-yard run early in the third quarter, again on a fumble from Antwi. Lewis Ward added a 44-yard field goal for the Redblacks (3-11).

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Jake Wieneke scored both of the Als’ touchdowns on passes covering 14 and 21 yards from quarterback Trevor Harris. Wieneke completed the season with 11 touchdowns.

David Côté added field goals of 47 and 44 yards. A convert was also lost, which was critical.

The Redblacks had opening possession and scored the game’s opening points on Ward’s 44-yard field goal before the game reached five minutes. Ottawa got into scoring position thanks to a 15-yard dash from Evans and a 14-yard pass to Jordan Smallwood.

But the Als responded with their own field goal on their second drive, a 44-yard Côté at 13:01.

Dante Absher, replacing the injured Eugene Lewis, made a great catch on the sideline for a 23-yard drive gain. Absher was originally ruled out of bounds, but the Als challenged and the play was called off.

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Harris completed his first five passes for 58 yards and put the Als in position to score again early in the second quarter. Côté’s second field goal, this one from 47 yards, gave Montreal a 6-3 lead at 1:52.

The Als defense clearly came into play tonight, at one point holding the Redblacks without a first down on four straight possessions.

Montreal received a shortstop and responded by going 39 yards on three plays for the game’s opening touchdown. Harris passed 14 yards to Quan Bray before William Stanback ran for an 11-yard gain.

On the next play, Harris passed Wieneke, who bounced off a tackler and ran into the end zone at 9:00. The Als were unsuccessful in a two-point conversion, but still led 12-3.

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In Montreal’s next drive, Harris led the team on an impressive 96-yard, 10-play drive.

Harris passed 23 yards to running back Antwi, who replaced Stanback, giving him a break before the playoffs, then connected with Wieneke for an 18-yard gain. Two plays later, the same duo connected for a touchdown at 2:27 p.m.

But the Als missed the switch and took an 18-3 halftime lead into their locker room.

Antwi lost the ball on the first play of the second half. The ball was recovered by Davon Coleman at the Montreal 34. It took the visitors five plays to score from there before Evans made his way to the end zone at 2:22. A successful two-point conversion led Ottawa to a converted touchdown, at 18-11, heading into the final period.

Antwi also fumbled in Ottawa territory with less than three minutes remaining in regulation time.

Clearly too close to be comfortable on a night when the Als desperately needed a win.

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