Saturday, September 3, 2005

Alouettes knock off Renegades at Molson Stadium

Ottawa and Montreal now tied for second place in CFL East

Renegades receiver Jason Armstead had game-highs in catches (seven) and yards (113) along with a touchdown in Ottawa's loss to Montreal Friday night.

MONTREAL - A first half that began with slow scoring rapidly sped up in the fourth quarter for the Montreal Alouettes.

Two early touchdowns in the final period busted open what was a nine-point Als lead after three quarters to a comfortable 33-10 advantage early in the fourth as Montreal went on to record a 41-18 victory at Percival Molson Stadium.

With the win, the Alouettes match the Renegades' 5-5 record and the two teams are presently tied for second place in the CFL East Division - trailing the Toronto Argonauts.

"We have to find some answers," said Joe Paopao, the Renegades head coach and GM. "We have to do a better job."

Montreal led 12-7 at the half, were up 19-10 after three and then soared in the fourth quarter.

In the final period, the Alouettes scored on a 17-yard touchdown rush by Robert Edwards, a 33-yard scoring strike from Anthony Calvillo to Kerry Watkins and Terrence Edwards took an onside kick back for six late in the game.

"When you come up short, you come up short," said Paopao. "They made plays on offence and it turned around in the fourth quarter."

Renegades quarterback Kerry Joseph had another 300-plus yard passing night, completing 26-of-43 passes for 333 yards and a touchdown. His long ball of the evening was a 56-yard touchdown bomb to Jason Armstead - the game's leading receiver with seven catches for 113 yards.

Joseph also rushed eight times for 76 yards.

"We have to get better and get ready for next week," said Joseph. "They got some pressure at times, but we moved the ball (well)."

For the second consecutive game, the Renegades have had more total offence than their opponent, but have come up short. On Friday, Ottawa registered 397 yards to Montreal's 379 and also finished with six more first downs (27-21).

But key plays, including a crucial interception brought back for a touchdown in the third quarter, and swarming pressure on Joseph - sacked five times - were pivotal in the Als win.

"We played hard, but now we have to bounce back and be ready to go," said Joseph. "I thought we were prepared, but they took it to us tonight. They set the tempo and we needed to match the intensity."

Nine seconds before the mid-way point of the first quarter, Damon Duval opened the scoring with a 20-yard field goal following an eight play drive on the Alouettes' first series.

The ensuing kickoff was brought back to nearly mid-field on a splendid return by Jason Armstead, before Montreal safety Mathieu Proulx forced a fumble that Als linebacker Ryan Folk recovered.

Duval converted the turnover with a 19-yard chip shot giving the Alouettes a 6-0 edge.

The Renegades' third series began with little promise but the Ottawa offence hit stride late in the first period. Joseph went to the air twice, once to Woodcock and then to Murphy, was helped by a pair of penalties and ended the opening frame with a 12-yard pick-up that took the Renegades inside the Als 50 - marking the first time in the affair that Ottawa entered Montreal territory.

The field position battle entered into the equation to begin the second quarter. The teams exchanged punts but a Ray Jacobs sack gave Ottawa a few extra yards in the back and forth exchange of special teams blasts between Mark Irvin and Duval.

But the Als offence was able to put Duval into field goal range 5:44 into the second quarter and the rookie drilled a 43-yarder for his third of the evening to put Montreal up 9-0.

In the final minute of the first half, Duval drilled his fourth of the evening, this one on a 42-yard bomb with 39.7 seconds left in the period.

But it was then, after waiting nearly 30 full minutes, that the Renegades offence finally came to life.

Joseph went to work from his own 35; quickly hit Frank Cutolo and then Ranek bulldozed for a first down to the Ottawa 54.

And then, with one flick of the wrist, Joseph went over the middle to the man Paopao calls his "homerun hitter" and Armstead did the rest. The sophomore juked past Almondo Curry's grasp, broke past Richard Karikari and went 56-yards to the house for Ottawa's first touchdown.

In one 25.7 second stretch, the once anemic Renegades came to life offensively and trailed only 12-7 at the break.

Ottawa marched to begin the third quarter and a fake field goal attempt went awry keeping the score 12-7.

Just when it appeared the Renegade offence was rolling, Joseph made a critical mistake while looking for Markus Howell in the face of a blitz. The starting pivot, with Als linebacker Tim Strickland coming off the edge as the extra man, misfired and instead was intercepted by Richard Karikari who returned the pick 81 yards for a touchdown to put the Als back up 19-7.

But Joseph dusted himself off and got the Renegades moving again. He scrambled for

When the drive ended, the Renegades put three more on the board with a 41-yard field goal from Irvin, cutting the Alouettes advantage to 19-10 with 2:17 left in the third quarter.

It remained a nine-point game heading into the final quarter.

Five minutes into the fourth period, it wasn't even close.

The Als exploded with two touchdowns in the first 5:19 of deciding frame to go up 33-10.

"Year in and year out we know what they're about," said Renegades receiver Yo Murphy, Ottawa's second leading receiver (four catches, 68 yards). "I don't question anyone's heart, we just have to play better."

NOTES: Head referee John Ireland called his 500th game as a CFL official Friday night... The game was played before the 60th consecutive sellout crowd (of 20,202) at Molson Stadium... The Renegades have not won in Montreal since the final game of the 2002 regular season... Ranek lit up Alouettes middle linebacker Kevin Johnson on a vicious block, which was easily the hit of the night, on a Joseph scramble... Former original Renegade Clinton Wayne, now with the Als, recorded a sack... With an injury to punter, and holder, Pat Fleming, back-up quarterback Darnell Kennedy was the holder on field goal attempts... Irvin's 41-yard field goal was the longest of his young CFL career... The Als and Renegades are now tied in their season series with each team winning on its home turf. The rubber match between the two clubs is October 29 when the Alouettes visit Ottawa at Frank Clair Stadium... The Renegades came out of the game without any significant injuries.