Montreal defeats argos in final pre-season game


June 19, 2010

By Richard Obrand,
MontrealAlouettes.com

Montreal – With new faces gracing a new stadium on the same old perch atop Mount Royal, the Montreal Alouettes completed their 2010 pre-season schedule with a 31-23 win over the visiting Toronto Argonauts Sunday afternoon at the new McGill Stadium.

For many of the Alouettes who took part in today’s pre-season finale, it may have indeed been the same case for their CFL careers as head coach Marc Trestman and the rest of his coaching staff will make their final cuts in the coming week.

Seeing his first taste of action since last year’s unbelievable win over Saskatchewan in the 97th Grey Cup, quarterback Anthony Calvillo put together a… well, Calvillo-like effort in just one quarter of play as he completed eight of 10 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown to slotback Ben Cahoon to give the Als an early 7-0 lead.

Calvillo’s minimal playing time in the matinee event paved the way for future pivots Adrian McPherson and Chris Leak to strut their stuff for quarterback guru Trestman and offensive coordinator Scott Milanovich.

Now in his third season in Montreal, McPherson found his rhythm early and his legs often by amassing 44 rushing yards and 64 passing yards to go with a touchdown pass to Laval native Danny Desriveaux before leaving the game with a 14-0 lead.

In came second-year Alouette Leak, who didn’t fare too poorly in his second pre-season outing either. Leak completed the touchdown trifecta with a pass to rookie Tim Maypray to give the Als a 31-7 lead, giving all three Montreal pivots a TD in the game. The former NCAA National Champion’s performance may have made the race for Calvillo’s backup a little bit more interesting and more difficult to decide for Trestman.

Making an impression
After being recognized as one of the most dominant defences all through the 2009 season, the Als may have added a few more important weapons to their already impressive arsenal in Sir Snowdon and Alex
Chandler. The two CFL rookies each picked up an interception followed by impressive returns to give the Alouette offence solid field position on each of the ensuing drives.

On special teams, with the elusive Larry Taylor currently trying out with the NFL’s New York Jets, newly-appointed special teams coordinator Richard Kent seems to have a few options to replace No. 25. Sunday afternoon saw both Chad Owens and Brandon Whitaker take off for extra yardage on punt returns, with Owens putting together a very gutsy and exciting return in the second quarter.

Grey Cup hero Damon Duval was also solid yet again for the Alouettes – the six-year veteran garnered 13 points for the Als in the win.

The Alouettes will open the regular season in Regina this July 1 as they take on the Saskatchewan Roughriders in a Grey Cup rematch (7 p.m. – RDSHD, TSNHD, NRJ, CJAD).

Notes
23,112 fans showed up for the Als’ only pre-season home game… Chris Leakled all Alouettes quarterbackswith 97 yards on nine completions… Fifteen different Montreal receivers caught at least one passe… Danny Desriveaux was named the Ernest Player of the Game by the Montreal media… The Alouettes finished the pre-season with a 1-1 record… Both the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets had scouts on hand on Satuday, with the Jets being represented by former Alouettes director of scouting, Brock Sunderland.

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