With Stanback running, Shiltz passing and Lewis catching, Als continues to win

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With four regular-season games remaining, Alouettes head coach Khari Jones isn’t ready, yet, to anoint his team as the best in the Eastern Division.

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But there is no denying that Montreal’s William Stanback is the best running back in the CFL. On the other hand, your dining experience might need some modifications.

A week after Stanback’s return to the list was delayed after developing food poisoning, he decided to eat at a food court in an Ottawa mall, came back with a vengeance, and the Toronto Argonauts were his victims.

Stanback gained 203 yards on 24 carries and scored on a one-yard run when the Als defeated the Argos, 37-16, on Friday night at Molson Stadium. It was Montreal’s fourth consecutive win and improved to 6-4, tied for first with Toronto.

Stanback galloped 41 and 65 yards, the latter a season high, and has now gained 880 yards on 133 carries. The 203 yards tied his career record in a single game, first set in a July 2019 game against Hamilton. That night, Stanback had two fewer carries and scored three touchdowns.

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“I was trying to (eat) cheap and I felt like I had to redeem myself a bit,” said Stanback, who would have returned last weekend from a rib injury if he had chosen a different option for his palate. “It was just sticking to the game plan, executing at a high level, believing in the readings, believing in my runs, believing in my guys up front, they were going to open the holes.

“We went through some adversities at the beginning of the season,” he added. “But I feel like we found our niche, we found our rhythm and we’re just trying to ride this wave that we have. We believe in each other. “

This is the last season Montreal has been in first place since 2014, when the team was 9-8 with one game to play. While Als and Argos are technically tied at the top of the division, Montreal has the tiebreaker should the two clubs complete the schedule with identical records.

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However, staying in first place could be a difficult task for the Als, who have a tough schedule remaining, including two games against Winnipeg and a home date against Saskatchewan next Saturday. Montreal concludes its regular season at home, against Ottawa, having already beaten the Redblacks three times.

Matthew Shiltz, making his second straight start for the injured Vernon Adams Jr., produced another solid performance. While he wasn’t as effective as he was against Ottawa, when he threw for 281 yards, Shiltz overcame a slow start, completing 12 of 18 against Toronto for 212 yards and a pair of touchdowns for Eugene Lewis, covering 33 and 58 yards.

It was three series before the Als produced a first down, and Shiltz didn’t complete his first pass until just before the end of the first quarter. However, the fourth-year pro was never nervous. He kept his composure and stayed calm, realizing there were more than 45 minutes left.

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And Shiltz accomplished all of this with the specter of veteran quarterback Trevor Harris, acquired last Sunday in a trade from Edmonton, lurking in the shadows. Harris, completing his COVID-19 quarantine, will start practicing next week and could be activated against the Roughriders – not that anything is about to change. The Als remain Shiltz’s team, next week and indefinitely.

“I wish we had come out a little higher; that falls to me, ”Shiltz said. “I missed a couple of pitches that could have set the tone early. I don’t care too much. It tells us about how we handle adversity.

“I am not trying to say anything. I’m not trying to prove a point, “added Shiltz, 28.” I just want to win games. It is my passion but it will not define me. If they want to decide to go with Trevor, they will go with Trevor and I will be the best teammate I can be. I will continue to be me. I want to make plays for this team and I want to be there. I want to be the boy. This game is bigger than a person. “

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Defensively, the Als continue to excel and dominate. While Toronto quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw for 291 yards, he was also intercepted four times, twice by cornerback Monshadrick Hunter, while he was sacked three times, twice by linebacker Chris Ackie. Bethel-Thompson also failed once.

It was Hunter’s first rotation, early in the second period, that changed the momentum of the game. On the next play, Lewis scored the first of his two touchdowns, providing the Als with the necessary elixir. Lewis caught seven passes for 156 yards.

Montreal has now beaten every team in the division, but Jones realizes there are still a lot of racetracks left.

“The records will decide which team is the best,” he said. “We are just going to play. Most of them have also beaten us. “

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