A 20-16 win at the expense of the Ottawa Red and Black, however, proved painful for Khari Jones’ men who lost the services of Vernon Adams, who injured his left shoulder late in the game as he was tackled by defensive winger Avery Ellis after a five-yard run.
Adams was rushed to hospital and the exact nature of his injury was unknown to the head coach after the game.
It’s more about left shoulder discomfort more than anything else, Khari Jones said. I have no further details but we thought it best to take him to the hospital to relieve him.
This loss, however, allowed Matthew Shiltz to orchestrate the winning push with two minutes left in the fourth quarter and a three-point deficit. Shiltz had three assists in three attempts for 36 yards and added 18 more over two carries.
I didn’t want to magnify the importance of the moment, Shiltz said. I went to the field to play football. Khari always tells us to have fun and trust each other. It was in this state of mind that I went into the field. I knew we needed a placement to tie the game but I wanted to win the game. That’s why I was there.
And it was Cameron Artis-Payne who scored the winning touchdown with his 21st rush of the day, seven yards long, with 24 seconds to go. Replacing injured William Stanback, Artis-Payne completed his day with gains of 122 rushing yards.
On his first CFL start, the former Carolina Panthers was impressive and kept his cool to score the crucial touchdown.
It’s exciting but I wasn’t nervous, said Artis-Payne quite simply. I knew Shiltz was going to read the situation well and pick the right game.
He was extraordinary, said Khari Jones of Artis-Payne. It was nice to see him take this opportunity. We knew what kind of player he is. We didn’t change the game plan, we played on the floor like we usually do and he rewarded us with his game.
This modest triumph still allows the Alouettes to return to the threshold of respectability with a 4-4 record, identical to that of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2nd place in the East Division. Ottawa’s is now 2-7.
We won a game, Jones said. They played hard and we had our chances but we were banged up. We didn’t talk about it but we had three offensive linemen who were absent. And Tony (Washington) had to return to the game even though it was far from 100 percent. We didn’t have our regular running back. A lot of pieces had to be moved.
We started on fire offensively and defensively, analyzed guard Kristian Matte. In the second and third quarter, we relaxed too much, it didn’t work, we made too many mistakes. But we showed our character, we were able to come back at the end.
Cannon start
The Alouettes had a dazzling start to the game with two sacks from young visiting quarterback Caleb Evans, thanks to Patrick Levels and Jamal Davis.
Then, after three games, Vernon Adams joined Jake Wieneke in the end zone on a six-yard pass. Montreal therefore led 7-0.
Ottawa let the storm calm down, however, and entered the board early in the second quarter with a 35-yard field goal from Lewis Ward.
On their next possession, the Alouettes managed to approach the pay zone, but Adams saw his pass intercepted by Brandin Dandridge at the 16-line.
Constantly driven back deep into their territory by Richie Leone’s judicious puntings, Khari Jones’ men had to concede the first of two safety touchdowns to better position themselves thereafter.
It was 7-5 before a 36-yard run from Caleb Evans saw the Rouge et Noir take the lead with a 21-yard field goal. At the half, Montreal was down to 8-7.
Kickers in evidence
In the third quarter, an eight-game first push, capped by a 45-yard field goal from David Côté, allowed the home favorites to regain a 10-8 lead.
An interception of Najee Murray in the enemy zone then gave a golden opportunity to the Birds to add to their priority. After a sack, Vernon Adams took matters into his own hands with a long 20-yard run. But for lack of synchronism with his receivers, Adams had to resolve to let Côté come back to kick the ball between the posts (25 yards) and increase the cushion to five points.
A similar effort from Ward late in the quarter reduced the gap to two points. It was 13-11 on the board, after 45 minutes of play.
With eight minutes to go, Ward went from his fourth field goal of the afternoon to put Ottawa back ahead by one point. The Rouge et Noir then took the score to 16-13 with another safety touchdown with four minutes on the clock.
