Montreal Gazette

PASSING IT FORWARD

Alouettes linebacker Jean-Gabriel Poulin serves dinner to Denis Lamarche at the Welcome Hall Mission on Monday. The Thanksgivi­ng tradition came after the team was eliminated from playoff contention with a loss to Calgary at Molson Stadium.

- STU COWAN scowan@postmedia.com twitter.com/ StuCowan1

There are some things about the Canadian Football League that are hard to explain, like why a team gets a point for missing a field goal, why referees feel compelled to throw a penalty flag on what seems like every second play, and why the Calgary Stampeders struggle to win games in Montreal.

Coming into Monday afternoon’s Thanksgivi­ng Day game, the Stampeders hadn’t beaten the Alouettes at Molson Stadium since 2013.

Heading into the fourth quarter Monday, it looked like that streak would continue, with the Alouettes leading 6-0 on field goals by Boris Bede from 44 and 41 yards in the second quarter. But the Stampeders rallied with 12 unanswered points in the final 15 minutes to win 12-6 and improve their CFL-best record to 12-2. The Alouettes saw their league-worst record fall to 3-12 and they were officially eliminated from the playoffs for the fourth straight year in front of an announced crowd of 16,754.

The hype surroundin­g Johnny Football’s arrival in July is long forgotten as Alouettes QB Johnny Manziel remains winless in five CFL starts after completing 18 of 29 passes for 250 yards, zero touchdowns and one intercepti­on against the Stampeders. Manziel, who had almost no help from his offensive line, ran the ball five times for 18 yards and was sacked six times. The Alouettes have now given up 60 sacks this season, 26 more than any other team.

The fact offensive-lineman Tony Washington and widereceiv­er B.J. Cunningham were both placed on the six-game injured list before the game didn’t help the Alouettes’ offence, which is averaging a league-worst 16.8 points per game and couldn’t put the ball in the end zone against the Stampeders. The Alouettes finished with 337 yards of total offence, while their defence held the Stampeders — who are averaging 30.7 points per game — to 306 yards and intercepte­d Calgary QB Bo Levi Mitchell three times.

“We just didn’t score,” veteran Alouettes defensive-end John Bowman said. “We couldn’t score. We got intercepti­ons, we didn’t score. We couldn’t do anything good offensivel­y. And hats off to (the Stampeders). When they had to move the ball, they did.”

When asked about the Alouettes’ problems on offence, Bowman said: “I don’t comment on that.”

As for the team’s strong defensive performanc­e, Bowman said: “We lost, so whatever. Some people like moral victories. I’m 36 … I’m 13 years in, man. I don’t have many more games in me, so moral victories don’t count for me. We lost. Hats off to them. They found a way to win at the end.”

The Alouettes now have a bye week in the schedule, which has only three games left for them on Oct. 20 in Toronto, Oct. 28 at Molson Stadium against the Argonauts and Nov. 3 in Hamilton. The Alouettes can still finish ahead of the Argonauts, who are 3-11, and avoid finishing with the CFL’s worst record for the second straight season.

“Three games left ... keep playing,” Manziel said.

“In three or four weeks, around November, the season’s over for us and we’re going back and don’t get the chance to step back on the field until next May, June. I’m savouring every day, every practice, every minute we have in the facility because, obviously, we didn’t get to where we needed to be this year to be able to continue on our season in the playoffs. It’s a s--- feeling, but work hard to get some wins throughout these next three and make them important.

“I don’t see any quit from these guys.”

Manziel is now 0-5 with the Alouettes, completing 72 of 116 passes (62.1 per cent) with two touchdowns and six intercepti­ons.

“I guess the old saying is close but no cigar,” he said about the loss to the Stampeders.

“Close doesn’t count on the win or loss column. But first and foremost, I think I want to say what a job by our defence. That’s a good offence on the other side.

“To get the amount of takeaways the we did, play the way that we did, that was impressive by them and it’s a damn shame that we didn’t perform the way we should have on the offensive side to get a win. Because with the way the defence played today we should have won that game today and we didn’t.”

Maybe Montreal’s downtown nightlife has something to do with the Stampeders’ struggles at Molson Stadium, since they only come to town once a year. After beating the Alouettes 22-14 on July 12, 2013, at Molson Stadium, the Stampeders lost 31-15 in 2014, 29-11 in 2015, 17-8 in 2016 and 30-23 in 2017. The powerhouse Stampeders have lost only eight regular-season games since 2016 and two of them were at Molson Stadium.

The Alouettes can now officially start thinking about next season and there have to be some major off-season changes coming. Manziel has one year left on his contract and plans to stay in Montreal during the bye week.

“Things to improve. Things to do,” he said. “I’ll be here. I wish we had another game next week.”

On the bright side, the Alouettes can’t lose next week.

I don’t have many more games in me, so moral victories don’t count for me. We lost.

 ?? DAVE SIDAWAY ??
DAVE SIDAWAY
 ?? DAVE SIDAWAY ?? Stampeders running back Terry Williams evades a tackle from Alouettes defensive back Branden Dozier during second-half action at Molson Stadium on Monday. The league-leading Stampeders won 12-6. With the loss, the Als were eliminated from playoff contention.
DAVE SIDAWAY Stampeders running back Terry Williams evades a tackle from Alouettes defensive back Branden Dozier during second-half action at Molson Stadium on Monday. The league-leading Stampeders won 12-6. With the loss, the Als were eliminated from playoff contention.
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