HAMILTON — Caleb Evans and a staunch Montreal Alouettes defence ensured that Davis Alexander's first CFL start was a winning one.
Evans threw a touchdown pass and ran for another while Montreal's defence forced three turnovers in a 33-16 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday night. Alexander completed 19-of-27 passes for 262 yards with a TD and interception as the Alouettes (7-1) earned a club record-tying seventh straight road victory.
Alexander earned the start after a stellar job in relief last week. Coming off the bench, the third-year pro finished 15-of-18 passing for 178 yards and two TDs in rallying Montreal past the Saskatchewan Roughriders 20-16.
"It wasn't as clean a ball game as we wanted but we still ended up putting up 33 points," said Alexander. "I've got to protect the ball a little better . . . but our defence is the best in the league and is going to have our backs.
"I missed a couple of big plays out there. It comes with reps but there's absolutely no excuse, and so I'll be better next week."
It's unlikely Alexander will get that chance, however, when Montreal hosts Hamilton next Saturday to complete the home-and-home series. Incumbent Cody Fajardo resumed practising last week after being taken off the six-game injured list and although he didn't dress Friday, the 2023 Grey Cup MVP is expected to play next weekend.
Evans cemented the win with a 39-yard TD pass to David Dallaire in the fourth quarter that put Montreal ahead 27-8. Evans's strike came on his first play in place of Alexander after he was hit hard by Hamilton defensive lineman Casey Sayles, who received a 25-yard penalty on the play.
Alexander returned on Montreal's next possession. But Evans left the game with an apparent knee injury following a seven-yard run to the Hamilton five-yard line with 2:06 remaining.
"I guess the spotter was worried about my head so I was out for three plays," Alexander said. "I'm completely fine, it is what it is.
"Caleb came in and made a heck of a throw that really closed the game right there essentially."
Montreal head coach Jason Maas, a former CFL quarterback himself, praised Alexander's competitive nature.
"We're going to make mistakes out there," he said. "But the idea is you learn from them quickly, put it behind you and just go on to the next play and grind and compete like hell.
"That's what Davis does, he competes. They (the Ticats defence) create pressure and gave us a lot of different looks, my hat is off to them. We had to make plays in order to do those things and Davis stood right in there and helped us make those."
Maas also tipped his cap to his defence, the CFL's top-ranked unit.
"What I love about them is they play team defence," Maas said. "They know when the ball is thrown there's going to be 12 guys chasing, and they have bad intentions when they get to the ball.
"I thought tonight they did a great job of tackling," he added. "When the ball was thrown, they tackled hard and played physical football."
Montreal has now won eight consecutive games versus the Ticats (six regular season, two playoff contests).
Hamilton (2-6) suffered its first loss in three games. It was attempting to win three straight for the first time since 2022.
Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell was 29-of-42 passing for 240 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions before 20,426 spectators at Tim Hortons Field. Mitchell connected with Tim White on a 26-yard TD pass late in the fourth quarter, then found Shemar Bridges for the two-point convert to cut Montreal's lead to 27-16.
"They do a good job of making you execute for an entire drive, not just for a couple of first downs," Hamilton head coach Scott Milanovich said of Montreal's defence. "It was a tight game for a while. We let it get away from us.
"We'll go back to the drawing board and expect to win next week."
Montreal's Walter Fletcher rounded out the scoring with a five-yard touchdown run in the game's final minutes. Jose Maltos' 31-yard field goal at the beginning of the fourth had moved the Alouettes ahead 20-8.
Charleston Rambo had Montreal's other touchdown. Maltos booted three converts and two field goals.
Defensive back Kenneth George Jr. registered Hamilton's other touchdown, intercepting Alexander and returning it 18 yards early in the second quarter. Marc Liegghio added the converts while punter Nik Constantinou had a single.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 2, 2024.
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press
