Alouettes bounce back to beat Edmonton
Jerald Brown's interception return for a touchdown was the difference as the Montreal Alouettes got their first win of the season Sunday, defeating the Edmonton Eskimos 33-23.
Trailing 23-18 after the three quarters, the Alouettes surged ahead by three points five minutes into the fourth.
Brown bounced off of Kamau Peterson to intercept a pass from Edmonton quarterback Ricky Ray and return the ball 22 yards for the TD. Montreal QB Anthony Cavillo added a two-point conversion on a pass to Jamel Richardson for a 26-23 advantage.
On the next series Ray was picked off again, this time by Etienne Boulay at midfield.
A huge pass interference call on Edmonton's Jason Goss took the ball to the Edmonton six where Cavillo found Kerry Watkins to make it 33-23.
With 2:29 remaining, the Eskimos caught a late break when Kenny Pettway blocked a punt. Edmonton got the ball on the Montreal 40 yard line, but they couldn't do anything with the opportunity.
The Alouettes move into a three-way to for first place in the CFL's East Division with Toronto and Winnipeg at 1-1.
The Eskimos (0-2) have already dug themselves an early hole and now trail West-leading Calgary and Saskatchewan by four points.
Montreal started the scoring with a field goal on the first drive of the game by Damon Duvall. Edmonton also got within field goal range on its first possession but the attempt by backup kicker Derek Schiavone, a game-day substitution for injured Noel Prefontaine, was wide.
The Alouettes added a punt single before the Eskimos came roaring back with a quick 75-yard drive, capped off by a 43-yard pass from Ray to Fred Stamps that put Edmonton ahead 7-4 after one quarter.
Edmonton added three points to start the second on a short Schiavone field goal but Montreal responded quickly with a workmanlike drive, culminating in a two-yard plunge into the end zone by backup QB Ricky Santos, in for Calvillo for the short-yardage situation.
The Eskimos then regained the lead on a pair of field goals by Schiavone to make it 16-11.
Edmonton made it 22-11 to start the third with two more field goals to make it five on the day for the young kicker in his third career CFL game. However, Schiavone was called upon too often to that point as several strong drives fizzled out when Edmonton hit scoring range.
The Eskimos looked poised to finally score another touchdown when Stamps was wide open on his way to the end zone with three minutes left but the fourth-year receiver dropped the perfect pass from Ray.
Montreal made it a five-point game again on the final play of the third quarter as Calvillo tossed a 20-yard touchdown to Brian Bratton to cut Edmonton's lead to 23-18.
Montreal heads to B.C. for a game against the Lions on Friday, while the Eskimos travel to Saskatchewan on Saturday.