Renegades receiver Jason Armstead caught a 54-yard touchdown pass to begin the game Thursday night. Photo by Scott Grant/IMAGE Communications
OTTAWA, Ont. -- Anthony Calvillo went 20 for 36 in three quarters of play leading the Montreal Alouettes to a 36-17 win over the Ottawa Renegades in the final game of the pre-season series in front of 12,660 fans at Frank Clair Stadium.
Ottawa opened the game with a 54-yard completed touchdown pass from quarterback Kerry Joseph to Jason Armstead. Armstead caught 3 passes on the night for a total of 75 yards.
Matt Kellett followed up the opening touchdown with a convert to make the score 7-0 at the 1:33 mark of first quarter.
Kellett kicked a 40-yard field goal in the first quarter evening the score to 10 at 9:61. Nittmo, who stepped in as kicker in the third quarter tried to add another three points on the board from 51 yards but was unsuccessful.
Montreal scored 23 unanswered points with a pair of touchdowns and three field goals. The Als began the streak in the second quarter with a three-yard completion to Michael Jenkins to make it 16-10 at the 14:67 mark. Jenkins would later add another touchdown with a two-yard run at 3:14 in the third quarter.
The Alouettes built on their lead in the second quarter with field goals from Damon Duval and Tim Duncan. The first was a 26 yarder by Duval, followed by Duncan's 27-yard kick both in the second quarter. Duval concluded the Alouettes' scoring run with another from 49-yard out at the 13:13 mark of the fourth quarter.
Paul Peterson left the game at the conclusion of the third quarter with an injury, after going four for seven. Darnell Kennedy started the fourth. He would finish the night with 5 of 9 completions for a total of 53 yards, including an 15-yard pass to Markus Howell that would setup a fourth quarter touchdown for Ottawa. Gilles Lezi completed that drive by running the ball 14-yards to reduce the Alouettes' lead to 26.
Kennedy played the entire first half, completing five of 10 passes totaling 82 yards. His night's longest pass resulted in the Renegades first touchdown.
Montreal's Ezra Landry put together a strong performance against the Renegades, returning six punts for 59 yards and 4 kickoffs for 59 yards.
Renegades will look to rebound against the Alouettes at the 2005 season home opener as they face their Eastern Conference rivals once again.
Ottawa will open the 2005 regular season in Edmonton on June 24.
