On Saturday afternoon against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the Montreal Alouettes player got his chance in the final game of the game – playing at home in front of 20,048 at Percival Molson Stadium. The Tiger-Cats (3-7) trailed by 14 points in the third quarter, but the struggling Alouettes (4-6) regained the lead with 2:18 left in the game. Hamilton kicker Seth Small connected on a 53-yard field goal late down the field, setting the stage for Cott’s late heroics. The Als punter sealed the deal with a 48-yard field goal as time expired and his teammates stormed the field in celebration. “A lot of head bangs and people jumping, I didn’t know where I was, but it was pretty cool,” Cote said, describing the feeling after the fight. “All the lads come onto the pitch, we’re all very happy obviously and the crowd too. They made a huge difference and we heard it at the end, it was very powerful.” “I haven’t felt that energy, that electricity on the field since, I don’t know, maybe the last time I was here, like 1999 and 2000 with (Anthony Calvillo) and Mike Pringle and Ben (Cahoon),” he said. coach Danny Maciocia. “There was a lot of energy and the players fed off of it.” The Alouettes were just as pleased as their crowd with the midseason-clinching final result. Montreal started a four-game home streak with their first back-to-back wins of the year and are now 2-2 at Percival Molson Stadium. With the win, the Alouettes still have control of their tiebreaker with the Ticats and remain in contention for the top two spot in the East Division which could give them an Eastern Conference home playoff game. “First of all, we all know that all the East games now are huge for all the teams in the East, so we know how critical it is,” Eugene Lewis said. “We know the situation we’re in. We know our future is determined by us and how we go out there and play and the things we do.” On the other side of the gridiron, the Tiger-Cats were frustrated by the setback. Seconds from their first away win and first back-to-back, they fell to 0-5 away from home. “It’s just tough, it was one of those games,” Ticats coach Orlondo Steinauer said. “We had a chance to keep them there. I’m proud of the way we fought, but we had chances, I believe, but also in the three phases and finally in defense to keep them at least a bigger chance and it didn’t happen.” “We had the whole game in front of us, we had the lead with seconds left and we didn’t pass.” Lewis stressed that the Alouettes need to “be more disciplined” to win consistently. Montreal was twice called for roughing in punt situations, giving the ball back to the Tiger-Cats. “We’re getting better, we’re a better team. “I’m not going to say, ‘We’re the best team, we’re a great team,’” Lewis said. “We are an improving team. I have confidence in this team and we’ve found ways to win these last two weeks and now we have to keep doing that.” Montreal’s Trevor Harris passed for 346 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Goaltender Matthew Shiltz returned to Montreal after four seasons with the Alouettes. Shiltz passed for 303 yards and two touchdowns. Receiver Tim White scored two TDs. The Tiger-Cats took an early lead when Shiltz found White on a 10-yard touchdown pass. White was tackled but reached out to pass the football over the goal line. The Alouettes tried to answer with a touchdown on the next drive, but were stopped in the red zone by Hamilton’s defense. Cote hit his first field goal of the game. Small’s first attempt missed, but he rolled out of the end zone, scoring a single. The Alouettes took their first lead of the game when Harris found Eugene Lewis on a 23-yard pass. Both players combined for the two-point conversion to put the Alouettes ahead 11-8. Small converted a 13-yard field goal to tie the score at 11-11 at halftime. Kaion Julien-Grant single-handedly restored Montreal’s lead in the third quarter. The receiver caught Harris’ pass in the backfield and scampered his way 54 yards and into the end zone. A defensive tackle by Alouettes cornerback Mike Jones brought Hamilton to the one-yard line. Jamie Newman made the QB sneak to tie the game again. The Ticats added another touchdown to end the third quarter. Shiltz passed to White, who ran through the Montreal defense for a 64-yard touchdown play. Montreal regained the lead with 2:18 left in the game. Harris threw to Reggie White Jr. for a 45-yard touchdown. Cote added the one-point conversion to put Montreal up 26-25. MEASURES: Montreal receiver Tyson Philpot went down long after a tackle in the second quarter. The rookie did not return to the game in the second half and entered the concussion protocol. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 20, 2022.
