Alouettes survive late push from Roughriders, win battle of CFL's top teams 27-24

Montreal Alouettes quarterback Davis Alexander (10) runs while winding up to throw against the Saskatchewan Roughriders during the second half of CFL football action in Regina, on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. Heywood Yu, The Canadian Press

A little resilience went a long way for the Montreal Alouettes on Friday.

In a game that featured six lead changes, the East-leading Alouettes topped the Saskatchewan Roughriders 27-24.

Montreal quarterback Davis Alexander, making his third consecutive start, scored the game-winning touchdown on a 15-yard scramble with 30 seconds left on the game clock.

“We never waver. We're going to battle and compete until the final whistle blows," said Alexander, who has been starting in place of the injured Cody Fajardo.

"I had a tough second half, we couldn't get the ball moving much. That's on me. I'm going to continue to get better every week, more reps, more experience. But you know, with two minutes to go, we were able to muster together a drive, overcome some penalties and score. The boys just never stopped fighting."

The Als improved to 9-1-0 while the Riders — who sit atop the West — dropped to 5-4-1.

Alexander's game-winning touchdown was called into question, with the CFL command centre asked to determine whether he stepped out of bounds on the Saskatchewan seven-yard line.

After review, the call on the field of a touchdown was confirmed.

“Sometimes people forget that I can move a little bit. And by the grace of God, and by some light cleats, we're able to get into the end zone,” said Alexander, who completed 22 of 33 passes for 285 yards and one touchdown on the night.

Saskatchewan kicker Brett Lauther had a chance to tie the score on the final play, but missed a 48-yard field goal.

The errant kick capped a brutal night for Lauther, who missed four field goals, including one that cost his team dearly.

Four minutes into the fourth quarter, Lauther’s third miss was returned 128 yards for a touchdown by James Letcher Jr. The play gave the Alouettes a 20-17 lead, which they increased to 21-17 when the ensuing kickoff by Jose Maltos went for a single.

Lauther, who has been the Riders kicker since 2018, took responsibility for the result.

“Obviously, a tough one. Single-handedly losing that one for the guys was tough. A lot of people are working hard in this organization — not only the players and the coaches, but the fans and the people coming out. Going out and doing that, it’s unacceptable,” he said.

“It has been awesome here with the new staff and everyone, with the fans and the support. I feel like the biggest liability on the team right now. It’s never a good feeling. All I can do is come in, go back to work tomorrow, and move on."

Lauther entered the game having made 22 of 28 field goal attempts this season. He made good on three field goals on Friday, sending kicks of 13, 33 and 42 yards through the uprights.

“No excuses at all. It was a pretty good night overall. Great snaps and holds the whole night," the veteran kicker said. "Guys will try to eat this one for me, but this is just solely on me. There’s no excuses for going out and doing that in a football game.”

On the other side of Lauther’s struggles was Letcher, who caught the missed field goal deep in the Montreal end zone, came out along the sideline and cut sharply into the middle of the field before racing to the Saskatchewan end zone.

“Once I got past the first line, all I saw was the kicker. I'm not letting too many kickers tap on me, so I gave him a little rocker one-two, and ran to green," Letcher said. "I didn't know how long it was until after the game. Everybody's texting me, talking about so it was three yards longer than Edmonton's last year. It’s the longest return I've had for sure."

Fajardo, who was Saskatchewan’s starting quarterback for three seasons before signing with the Alouettes in 2023 and leading Montreal to a Grey Cup victory, was activated off the six-game injury list and dressed as Alexander’s backup on Friday.

Saskatchewan also had a veteran quarterback return to the roster Friday as Trevor Harris made the start after suffering a knee injury on June 23.

He completed 31 of 39 passes for 355 yards and two touchdowns, and led the Riders into the red zone on four drives in the first 20 minutes of the game.

Saskatchewan only managed to put up seven points from those four drives, with a single on a missed 30-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter and field goals from 13 and 33 yards in the second.

Finishing was a problem for the Riders, Harris said.

“We need to not finish drives with field goals. We need to finish drives scoring in the end zone," he said. "That's something that obviously we were really good at early in the year, but tonight not as good, especially in the first half. We’ve got to make sure that we're finishing drives."

Up next:

Roughriders: Visit the Toronto Argonauts (5-4-0) on Thursday.

Alouettes: Host the Edmonton Elks (2-7-0) on Sunday, August 25.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2024.