Alouettes hold off Saskatchewan

The Montreal Alouettes avenged their only loss of the season by topping the Saskatchewan Roughriders with a 30-26 home win Friday.

Montreal quarterback Anthony Calvillo passed for 252 yards and two touchdowns before leaving with an injury to the index finger of his throwing hand late in the fourth quarter, while Saskatchewan's Darian Durant overcame a stomach ailment to post a staggering 445 yards passing with two TDs and two interceptions.

"I just wasn't myself," Durant said. "I made some plays, but in the fourth quarter I just didn't have enough strength to get out of the pocket. I just wish I would have been my normal self, because the fourth quarter is where we thrive."

Calvillo was scheduled to go for X-rays after the game but the Montreal signal caller was optimistic the injury was nothing to worry about.

The victory was the Als' fifth straight since the Riders (4-2) handed them a 54-51 defeat on July 1. But for the 25,012 fans in attendance, they may have thought a replay of that stunner was unfolding before their eyes.

When facing the Riders this year, there seem to be three distinct patterns in Montreal's play: an early lead, a missed-field-goal return touchdown by rookie Tim Maypray and a second-half breakdown.

In Week 1, the Riders erased a 21-point third-quarter deficit and took the win in double overtime. The Als were nearly dispatched in much the same way in Week 6.

The Alouettes had a 14-point lead heading into the third quarter but went two-and-out six times in the second half, relying on their defence to hold the Riders' attack to field goals (four by Luca Congi, three in the second half).

The Montreal defensive line also picked up a crucial two points and possession from a safety on Durant late in the fourth quarter.

"This is a game where you look at it and say, 'How did it happen?"' Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman said. "The reason why it happened is that there are different ways to get a win and our guys played really hard. Their guys did as well, and we were very fortunate to come up with a win."

The victory was the Als' 12th straight at Percival Molson Stadium.

Als build quick lead

The Riders came oh-so-close to shrugging off another slow start against the defending champions by putting up a solid effort in the second half, but may regret how Montreal was allowed to dictate the pace at the beginning.

The Alouettes notched their first touchdown just over a minute into the game.

The first drive took only two plays from scrimmage and covered 90 yards. Calvillo hooked up with S.J. Green for 67-yard gain before the Als' QB connected with Kerry Watkins for a 22-yard strike in the end zone.

The Riders didn't get the jump on offence that their counterparts did. Their second play saw a Durant shovel pass deflected off a teammate's helmet and into the waiting arms of Montreal's Chip Cox, handing the ball back to the Als' offence on the 30-yard line.

Damon Duval booted an 11-yard field goal for a 10-0 Montreal lead.

Shrugging off the early barrage, Durant connected with Weston Dressler for a 20-yard touchdown pass. The completion capped off a 75-yard drive by the Riders to cut the deficit to three points to begin the second quarter.

The Alouettes marched from their own 17-yard line to the Riders' 16 before a botched snap helped cause a fumble by Calvillo and was smothered by Saskatchewan's Jerrell Freeman — however, the ball would soon be back in Calvillo's hands.

A penalty flag for pass interference nullified the fumble and Calvillo didn't waste his second chance — finding a wide-open Jamal Robertson for an eight-yard major. A Duval convert finished off the 10-play, 93-yard drive and restored the 10-point lead.

Maypray goes distance

The Alouettes widened the gap to 24-7 with a play that may have had Saskatchewan feeling a bit of déjà vu.

Luca Congi's attempt at a 42-yard field goal missed and was returned 118 yards by Montreal's Maypray for a 24-7 lead. Maypray had tagged the Riders for a 125-yard missed-field-goal return back on July 1.

Congi was able to convert on his next field-goal attempt, the first to send his team to the locker room trailing by 14, the second to start the second half scoring to cut the deficit to 11.

Duval's 47-yard field goal restored the two-touchdown lead with 5:34 to go in the third quarter.

Durant seemed to have a sure TD in the hands of receiver Rob Bagg, but cornerback De'Audra Dix denied the sure six points, sticking out his arm to block the catch and forcing the Riders to take the three off Congi's third field goal to make it 27-16.

The Riders clawed ever closer in the fourth quarter when a 77-yard drive was finished with a six-yard touchdown pass to Wes Cates, cutting the difference to a mere four points.

If the Als were feeling any nervousness, the next play didn't show that — a kickoff caught by Maypray was flicked by the speedy receiver to Cox, who ran the ball all the way to the Riders' 48. Montreal took a single on that series for a five-point lead when Duval's punt found the Riders' end zone, but Congi's fourth field goal made it 28-26 with 6:23 remaining.

The Als' Cox came up with his second interception of the game, coming away with a Durant pass aimed for the sideline with 3:40 to go.

On the next possession, Calvillo went down with a finger injury, bringing in backup Chris Leak for two attempts before the Als were forced to punt.

A sack by J. P. Bekasiak brought down Durant for a safety, handing Montreal an all-important two points and possession of the ball with 2:36 remaining.

Starting on their own 32-yard line, Durant and the Saskatchewan offence made it to the Montreal 43, but could not get the ball into the end zone. Etienne Boulay sealed the win by knocking down a pass attempt in the end zone as time expired.