MONTREAL - The Alouettes (5-8) stubbornly kept their place in the playoff hunt by grinding out a hard-earned home victory Sunday, besting the Saskatchewan Roughriders 17-12 in a defensive nailbiter.
Alouettes' quarterback Josh Neiswander tossed one touchdown while going 21 for 36 for 264 yards on the afternoon.
Neiswander once again found success hooking up with rookie Duron Carter, who led the team with 152 yards on six receptions, including a touchdown on a 45-yard connection.
Backup Troy Smith went one-for-one on the afternoon as showed great calm on a draw play to Jerome Messam, who advanced 54-yards before fumbling into the Saskatchewan end zone. Smith's pass was the former Heisman Trophy winner's first-ever CFL completion.
The Roughriders once again relied on an aerial attack but quarterback Darian Durant could only make 24 completions on his 46 attempts, good for 339 yards.
He also tossed three interceptions, including onei nto the arms of Alouette Chip Cox on the last-minute drive that sealed the victory for the Alouettes. Jerald Brown and Geoff Tisdale also hauled in interceptions for the Alouettes.
Sean Whyte kicked three field goals on four attempts to account for most of his team’s scoring.
Weston Dressler hauled in a Durant pass to tie the game at 3:05 of the fourth quarter, the lone Roughie touchdown on the day.
But Montreal went ahead on Whyte's 40 yard boot at 6:18. After another Rider single, Whyte hit from 19 yards with 1:32 left to play.
Saskatchewan’s Geroy Simon passed former Montreal Alouettes slotback Ben Cahoon for the all-time CFL receptions mark in the game. Simon hauled in a seven-yard pass from Darian Durant in the first quarter of the Roughriders' game in Montreal to top Cahoon's career total. Simon already is the league's all-time leader in reception yards.
The win ended a three-game losing run for Montreal (5-8) and stretched the Roughrider's (8-5) string of losses to four.
-With a file from The Canadian Press
