VANCOUVER | The Alouettes’ bad luck at BC Place continued on Sunday as the Montreal club suffered a 35-19 loss to the BC Lions and their hot fans formed an orange wave.
• Also read: The Alouettes in “research and development mode”.
This setback particularly hurts the Alouettes (2-2) as they take on the powerful Toronto Argonauts, the defending Gray Cup champions, in Montreal on Friday. After two wins earlier in the season, Montreal could well be on a losing streak.
Still, when the Alouettes arrived in British Columbia on Friday, they took every precaution to avoid jet lag. The Montreal team also took advantage of the fact that the game was presented at 4:00 p.m. local time and not in the evening.
The situation hasn’t changed the result: The Alouettes still haven’t won in Vancouver since August 20, 2015. Worse, they’ve now lost 18 of their last 19 games at BC Place, since 2000.
“We have a lot to correct and we have to learn from this game,” said Alouettes head coach Jason Maas at the end of the game, not without questioning certain decisions made by the referees. An important point was the penalties imposed on us and we will have to examine why they were imposed. »
Expensive sales
A first blow was dealt to the Alouettes in the second quarter when not only was a field goal attempt blocked by Woody Baron, but the ball was immediately caught by teammate Jalon Edwards-Cooper and brought back for a touchdown.
The game brought the score to 21-10 in favor of the Lions instead of 14-13 in the event of a successful field goal.
Before the end of the first half, it was Chandler Worthy, a kick return specialist, who failed to catch the ball to force another turnover. The Lions (4:1) took the opportunity to add a placement.
Betts and Menard win
It made sense to be wary of the Lions’ special teams, but particularly their defensive unit.
Photo Jeff Vininck
Quebec’s Mathieu Betts was quick to point out that those fears were unfounded when he attacked Alouettes quarterback Cody Fajardo from behind the line of scrimmage in the first quarter.
The Lions player received his eighth sack of the season. Later in the game, Betts added another hit to lead the Canadian Football League.
“I’m in good physical and mental shape,” warned the Montreal native Saturday after the Lions’ morning practice session.
John Bowman, a former Alouettes player, is obviously doing an excellent job coaching the British Columbia club’s defensive line.
“We have a lot of fun and it’s always better to be in a favorable work environment,” Betts remarked when discussing Bowman’s presence. On a tactical and technical level, John is a good coach, and on a personal level he has an excellent relationship with his players. »
Joining Betts is David Ménard, who reported with a sack at Fajardo’s expense. Otherwise, the Alouettes quarterback showed a high rate of efficiency in this game, but often with short passes.
illegal contact
Early in the game, it was a Quebec player for the Alouettes, Marc-Antoine Dequoy, who seemed to excel with an interception returned to the end zone. However, an illegal contact penalty was imposed on Montreal. Lions quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. was able to take the opportunity to catch his breath and get off to a better start against his former team.
As for the corrections that needed to be made at the Alouettes, there was a lack of communication within the offensive unit, particularly between the quarterback, running back, and offensive linemen. Not everything could be fixed overnight.