THE CANADIAN PRESS
HAMILTON — Avon Cobourne rushed for two touchdowns as the Montreal Alouettes defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 42-8 Friday.
The Alouettes (10-2) have a daunting East Division lead, now eight points ahead of second-place Hamilton (6-6) after a game that was supposed to be a measure of how far the upstart Ticats had come.
Instead, Anthony Calvillo, the league’s top-rated passer, and Montreal’s top defence proved too much. Before a crowd of 22,083, Hamilton suffered its first loss at Ivor Wynne Stadium since its home opener against Toronto and saw its home winning streak end at five games.
Calvillo was good on 25 of 36 pass attempts for 292 yards and two touchdowns.
Jamel Richardson, Adrian McPherson and Kerry Watkins also scored touchdowns for the Als.
It was a career game for Cobourne, who rushed for 164 yards on 22 carries, scoring from 42 and three yards.
Montreal kicker Damon Duval made two of three field-goal attempts, hitting from 10 and 25 yards and missing from 32.
Marquay McDaniel scored Hamilton’s lone touchdown.
Kicker Nick Setta did not attempt a field goal in the game and kicked a 59-yard punt single for Hamilton’s first point early in the third quarter.
Hamilton starting pivot Quinton Porter completed four of six pass attempts for 28 yards and one interception in the first half. He was replaced on the second half by Kevin Glenn, who threw one TD pass. Glenn was then replaced by Adam Tafralis.
Montreal receiver Ben Cahoon, now in his 12th season with the Als, moved into fourth spot on the CFL’s all-time receptions list near the end of the first half. His 921 catches betters Don Narcisse, who had 919 catches in 13 seasons (1987-1999) with Saskatchewan.
The Ticat defence had to face the league’s top two offences back-to-back. Last Friday the Ticats held Henry Burris and the Calgary Stampeders to just 271 yards, allowing the Ticats to record a come-from-behind 24-17 win at home.
But it was a different story this week. Montreal scored on its first four possessions of the game and had the ball for 22:16 of the first half. It wasn’t until 3:30 left in the second quarter that Duval finally had to punt the ball away.
Meanwhile, the Hamilton offence was facing the league’s toughest defence. Montreal has given up the fewest points and the fewest yards this season. The Ticat offence was held to just 51 yards in the first half.
Hamilton has been outscored by its opponents 103-44 in the first quarter this season, and they stayed true to form against Montreal, trailing 15-0 after 15 minutes. A costly turnover contributed to the lopsided early score as Porter threw interception at midfield that was returned to the Hamilton 26. Five plays later McPherson, the Als’ short-yardage quarterback, capped the drive with a one-yard TD run.
The Als went into halftime up 21-0, having added two Duval field goals — the final one coming at the end of a 26-second, four-play drive to end the half.
It could have been worse for Hamilton. Duval was wide left on a 32-yard attempt to begin the game, and the Ticat defence held Montreal to a field goal from first-and-goal at the five-yard line midway through the second quarter. That particular drive took the Als 85 yards on 12 plays and killed 7:11 off the clock.
The Hamilton defence had contained the Als offence midway through the third, but Hamilton’s Drisan James fumbled a punt return and Montreal recovered at the Hamilton 35. That led to Watkins’ 12-yard TD catch.
Montreal penalties of roughing the passer and pass interference helped Hamilton move the ball down the field, ending the third with a five-yard TD pass from Glenn to McDaniel and a 28-8 score. But Cobourne broke free on Montreal’s next possession with a 42-yard rushing TD in the fourth and later added a three-yard run.
