Als step up ground game
Snap losing skid as Whitaker runs for 162 yards
MONTREAL— It has taken five games, but Alouettes head coach Dan Hawkins and offensive co-ordinator Mike Miller seem to finally realize the obvious. When an offence is struggling, there’s a quick and simple solution — run the football. The answer to the dilemma has been staring them in the face all this time.
Give the ball to Brandon Whitaker.
“How did I know that was coming?” a beaming Whitaker said after he almost single-handedly led the Alouettes to a hard fought and comefrom-behind 32-27 victory over the Edmonton Eskimos on Thursday night at Molson Stadium.
“It felt good to get back into it,” he added. “It felt good that the coaches kept confidence in me.”
Whitaker had his most productive game this season, gaining 162 yards on 24 carries. That included a 13-yard touchdown run late in the opening half.
Of Whitaker’s total, 138 of those yards came in the second half.
“That’s the way the flow of the game went,” said Whitaker, who suffered a season-ending torn knee ligament last September. He underwent surgery, wasn’t re-signed until days before training camp, and missed the opening game of the regular- season.
“Running the ball gives our offensive line a chance to attack,” he added. “I run through the holes that they give me.”
“You’re damn right we like it when we run the ball,” said offensive tackle Josh Bourke, who left the game in the second quarter with what appeared to be concussion-related symptoms. But he claimed to have passed all the requisite tests and returned in the second half.
The Als, who led 26-13 at one point, suddenly found themselves trailing 27-26 with more than 11 minutes remaining. Still, it was hard not to imagine, in this season of inconsistent and, at times, downright ugly play, Montreal wasn’t going to squander a lead for a second consecutive week, somehow finding a way to lose.
The Als eventually would regain the lead on two short Sean Whyte field goals, a microcosm of how this game played out.
Whyte kicked six field goals, with Montreal repeatedly unable to complete drives.
Following Whyte’s final field goal, and with a minute remaining in regulation time, QB Mike Reilly directed the Eskimos, who played five days ago across the country in British Columbia, on a valiant final drive, from their 35 to the Als’ oneyard line.
Just when it seemed like the inevitable again was going to occur to the hard-luck Als, Edmonton running back John White was stopped on the game’s final play. Strong-side linebacker Chip Cox broke through to hold White up, before safety Mike Edem and linebacker Kyries Hebert put the finishing touches on the tailback, hitting him for a twoyard loss.