Argonauts fall flat against Alouettes in season opener
MONTREAL — Davis Alexander threw for one touchdown and 205 yards as the Montreal Alouettes defeated the Toronto Argonauts 28-10 to open their Canadian Football League season on Friday.
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Montreal (1-0) earned its revenge after the visiting Argonauts defeated the Alouettes 30-28 in last year's East Division final en route to their 19th Grey Cup title.
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Alexander — in his first game since the Alouettes traded '23 Grey Cup MVP Cody Fajardo — rushed for 50 yards on four attempts to improve to 5-0 as a starter in the CFL.
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The 26-year-old quarterback also threw one interception on a warm, hazy night as prairie wildfire smoke drifted into Quebec on Friday.
Tyson Philpot caught one touchdown pass, Issac Adeyemi-Berglund returned a fumble into the end zone, and Caleb Evans rushed for a major before 21,480 at Molson Stadium.
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The Alouettes' defence held the Argos to just 34 rushing yards, and Alexandre Gagne tied a CFL single-game record with seven special teams tackles.
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Veteran QB Nick Arbuckle, last year's unexpected Grey Cup MVP, threw for one touchdown, two interceptions and 273 yards on 20-for-32 completions for Toronto (0-1). The Argonauts lineup featured 13 different starters compared to last year's championship game.
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Toronto also started a second consecutive season without starting QB Chad Kelly, who broke his tibia and fibula late in last year's East final.
Montreal kicker Jose Maltos went 2-for-3 with a rouge. Toronto's Lirim Hajrullahu went 1-for-1 on a 45-yard field goal.
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Montreal took a 15-3 lead heading into halftime when Adeyemi-Berglund returned a fumble 17 yards into the end zone after Shawn Oakman laid out Arbuckle with 32 seconds left in the second quarter.
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The play stood after review — instead of being ruled an incomplete pass — despite the fact Arbuckle released the ball before Oakman's hit. The league ruled that Arbuckle did not have a throwing motion before the ball left his hands.
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Things only got worse for the Argos as James Letcher Jr. returned a kickoff 67 yards to open the second half.
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Alexander then ran 12 yards and completed three passes to set up Evans' one-yard QB sneak into the end zone as the Alouettes took a 22-3 lead 4:29 into the half.
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Derek Slywka intercepted Alexander's deep pass with five minutes remaining in the third quarter for his first pick in the CFL.
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Alexander appeared to injure himself late in the third quarter when a Toronto defensive lineman fell on his legs. He rolled round on the field, holding his left knee in pain, but ultimately stood up on his own and returned to play on the next drive.
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