Second-half surge carries Alouettes to 44-24 win over Roughriders
Rob Vanstone
MONTREAL — Five touchdown passes by Davis Alexander powered the Montreal Alouettes to Monday’s 44-24 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders before 23,035 spectators at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.
Montreal, which has secured first place in the CFL’s East Division, improved its record to 13-3 and finished its home schedule at 9-0. Saskatchewan (8-8) lost for the fourth game in succession.
“We’re just not playing in unison,” lamented defensive back Marcus Sayles, who helped Saskatchewan defeat Montreal in the 2025 Grey Cup Game. “I don’t know exactly why we’re not playing in unison but, at the same time, we’ve got to figure out a way.
“We’ve got two games left and everything is in our control. We’re still exactly where we need to be. We’ve just got to figure out how to finish these games.”
The Roughriders and Alouettes are to meet again on Saturday, 1 p.m., at Mosaic Stadium. Saskatchewan will then complete its regular season on Oct. 24 against the visiting Edmonton Elks.
“(Back-to-back home) games are an added thing to help us moving forward, but it’ll still come down to what we do on the field,” Head Coach Corey Mace said. “The location doesn’t matter.
“We’ll have a little bit of help, obviously, from our fan base, but it comes down to, ‘What are we doing as a football team?’ ”
On Thanksgiving Day, Montreal scored 24 consecutive points after Saskatchewan narrowed the deficit to 17-16 early in the third quarter.
“I feel like it spiralled,” quarterback Trevor Harris said. “I don’t really have the words right now.”
The Roughriders opened the scoring with Brett Lauther’s 43-yard field goal at 5:11 of the first quarter. The visitors moved 56 yards in five plays following Sayles’ first interception of the season.
“(Alexander) actually threw it to me twice and I felt like I could have got him both times,” said Sayles, who had a pass knockdown in the end zone on the play that preceded his pick. “He’s just trying to make plays for his team and I was in a great position.
“Shout-out to the coaches for a great play call. I’m going to capitalize whenever I get the opportunity.”
Montreal answered with a nine-yard touchdown pass from Alexander to Tyler Snead at 8:27. Jose Maltos Diaz added the convert.
Saskatchewan went ahead on the final play of the first quarter when Harris threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Kian Schaffer-Baker. Lauther added the convert.
The Roughriders began the scoring possession on Montreal’s 40-yard line after the Alouettes punted from their end zone. A sack by Aubrey Miller Jr. backed up Montreal to its three-yard line.
The Alouettes assumed a 14-10 lead when Maltos Diaz converted a 45-yard TD pass from Alexander to Charleston Rambo at 3:03 of the second quarter.
Lauther’s 39-yard field goal at 6:41 of the second frame reduced Montreal’s lead to 14-13. The Roughriders travelled 25 yards in five plays after a 42-yard kickoff return by Mathew Sexton.
Maltos Diaz concluded the first-half scoring with a 21-yard field goal. He split the uprights with 7.7 seconds remaining in the second quarter to give Montreal a 17-13 lead.
The gap narrowed to 17-16 when Lauther kicked a 51-yard field goal at 3:41 of the third quarter.
Montreal replied 1:14 later, thereby beginning its onslaught, when Tyson Philpot made a spectacular diving catch of an Alexander aerial for a 46-yard major. Maltos Diaz’s convert made it 24-16.
Another Alexander-to-Rambo bomb produced a 51-yard score at 9:46 of the third frame. Maltos Diaz’s convert gave the home side a 31-16 lead.
Alexander’s fifth TD pass of the day — a five-yarder to Snead — made it 37-16 after the convert.
"There’s too many big plays that don’t go in our favour," Mace said after a game in which the Alouettes registered all four plays of 30-plus yards.
Montreal went ahead 41-16 when Maltos Diaz kicked a 40-yard field goal at 8:39 of the fourth quarter.
Schaffer-Baker caught his second TD pass of the day — a 14-yarder — with 2:31 remaining. Tommy Stevens ran for the two-point convert.
Maltos Diaz added a 32-yard field goal with 49.8 seconds left.
“We’ve got to make sure we can carry what we do in the first half and drag that into the second half,” Mace said.
“We understand the situation that we’re in. We knew it was going to be a challenge. We played a really good team and that was something I honestly felt the guys were ready for.
“If we’re looking to get back in the win column, we’re looking to do it versus some of the best teams. We get another opportunity versus (Montreal) next week and then we follow that up with Edmonton.”
Edmonton (12-4) leads the West Division, followed by the B.C. Lions (10-6) and three teams with eight wins — Saskatchewan (8-8), the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (8-8) and Calgary Stampeders (8-9).
"I’ve been with this team for three years and we’re not breaking for anything," Sayles said. "We just won a Grey Cup last year. I’m not trying to bank on that but, at the same time, we’ve got danged near the same players.
"We have so many expectations for ourselves. We know we can make those plays. We’ve made them already. We’ve made them all season, last season and the year before during my three years. We’ve just got to play better. We’re going to practise and get better this week and hopefully we get that win next week."
TREVOR’S TOTALS
Harris has registered the fourth 5,000-yards-plus passing season in Roughriders history.
He finished Monday’s game with 5,117 yards.
Kent Austin threw for a Club-record 6,225 yards in 1992 and followed up with 5,754 a year later. Darian Durant amassed a league-high 5,542 yards in 2010.
On Monday, Harris threw his 30th and 31st TD passes of the season.
Only six times in Roughriders history has a quarterback hit 30. Austin accomplished the feat three times — reaching 35 (in 1992) and 31 (1991, 1993). Durant produced 31 aerial majors during the championship season of 2013. Henry Burris threw for 30 TDs in 2000.
Harris set a career high of 33 with the Toronto Argonauts in 2015. He had 30 with the Ottawa REDBLACKS in 2017.
On Saturday, Harris will likely ascend to seventh on the CFL’s career completions list. With 3,501, he is seven behind Bo Levi Mitchell.
In terms of attempts, Harris is 11th All-Time with 4,935 — eight behind Tracy Ham.
Harris now has 81 TD passes as a Roughrider. For now, Frank Tripucka is fourth All-Time with 83.
Tripucka is also fourth in passing yards (14,387). Harris is next in line at 14,174.
Also of note: Harris is poised to register the second-highest single-season completions total in franchise history. With 404, he is one behind Austin's total from 1993. Austin set the team record of 559 in 1992.
LANDMARK FOR LOGAN
Logan Ferland, a fixture on the Roughriders’ roster since 2021, played in his 100th CFL regular-season game on Monday.
“All I’m thinking about right now is I wish we could have won the 100th game,” the Saskatchewan-born centre said in a quiet Roughriders locker room.
Ferland is a home-grown success story for the Roughriders. Born in Saskatoon, he spent his early years in Kindersley before the family moved to its current home of Melfort.
After starring in the junior ranks with the Regina Thunder, Ferland blossomed into one of the CFL’s premier offensive linemen.
“I hope my journey isn’t even close to done,” said Ferland, 29. “I’ve got a lot more ball to play and I’m just looking forward to the next step.”
What is the next step for the team as a whole?
“We’ve got to keep our foot on the gas,” Ferland said. “This group works extremely hard. We’ve got to be on each other and continue to stay accountable to ourselves and look in the mirror.
“I know it sounds like the same answer every week, but we truly do that as a unit, as a group, as an offence and as a team.
“We’ve just got to look ourselves in the mirror and truly get better. It can’t be try to get better. We have to get better. There’s no choice.”
BRETT’S BACK!
Lauther went 3-for-3 on field-goal attempts to begin his fourth stint with the Roughriders.
He was on the team’s practice roster for portions of the 2015 and 2017 seasons before serving as the full-time placekicker from 2018 to 2025.
Lauther spent most of the 2026 season with Ottawa, hitting 32 of 34 three-point attempts, before being traded back to Saskatchewan on Sept. 30.
“It’s always nice getting back out there, especially with the guys in green,” he said a few minutes after Monday’s contest.
“Obviously, it was a tough one today. I’m more focused on winning and losing games, but it did feel good to get back out there.”
Lauther has now hit 35 of 37 field-goal attempts this season — an accuracy rate of 94.6 per cent.
He is on target to set a personal best, percentage-wise. His best percentage before this season was an even 90 (54-for-60), with Saskatchewan in 2018.
The 35-year-old Lauther finished Monday’s game with 1,270 career points. He is one point shy of Sandro DeAngelis, who is 21st on the CFL’s All-Time scoring list.
Lauther’s 51-yarder on Monday was the second-longest a Roughrider has kicked in Montreal — and the longest at the Alouettes’ current venue.
Paul Watson nailed a 53-yarder to help the Roughriders win 43-23 at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium on Aug. 2, 1981.
As was the case on Monday, the victorious quarterback threw five TD passes. Ex-Alouette Joe Barnes connected for five scores, which then tied a Roughriders single-game record, in the team’s 1981 visit to Montreal.
One more Lauther note: On Monday, he kicked his 24th field goal of 50-plus yards as a Roughrider. Dave Ridgway leads the list at 32, followed by Paul McCallum (29) and Lauther.
McCallum, Rob Bagg and Dan Clark are to be formally inducted into the Roughrider Plaza of Honour at halftime of Saturday’s game.
LATE CHANGE
Offensive tackle Payton Collins was a late scratch due to an ankle injury.
Daniel Johnson, who was to start at left guard, moved to left tackle to assume Collins’ role. Thomas Perry, making his CFL debut, got the start at left guard.
Perry became the 2,184th active-roster player in franchise history — and the first from Middlebury College in Vermont.
In fact, Perry became the first Roughrider from a Vermont-based college to see game duty.
Middlebury, Vermont is only 200 kilometres away from Montreal.
Montreal is 580km from Perry’s hometown of Killingworth, Conn. Before a Monday audience that included family members, he became the Roughriders’ 11th Connecticut-born active-roster player.
Four players with the surname of Perry have now suited up for the Roughriders. The others: Gord Perry (1941, 1950), Bobby Perry (2003-04) and Fred Perry (2005-07).
Gord Perry’s full name: Alfred Gordon Thomas Perry.
SEXTON SPARKLES
Sexton returned seven kickoffs for 174 yards during his first game in three months. He returned to the lineup on Monday after recovering from a broken fibula.
The 174 yards put Sexton in a tie for the 11th-highest total in team history. Seven returns put him in a nine-way tie for second.
Brandon West posted team records of nine returns and 231 yards against B.C. on Sept. 24, 2011.
Sexton’s kickoff return yardage total was the Roughriders’ highest since Loucheiz Purifoy gained 181 yards on five returns in a playoff game against Winnipeg on Nov. 11, 2018.
The seven returns by Sexton represented the Roughriders’ highest total since Greg Morris settled under seven kickoffs at Winnipeg on Sept. 9, 2017.
EXTRA POINTS
• Schaffer-Baker, who had four receptions for 76 yards on Monday, recorded his second two-TD-catch game of the season. He is 39 yards shy of 1,000 for the season. With 961 yards, he has eclipsed his previous single-season high (960 in 2022).
• Dhel Duncan-Busby had a team-high six catches for 62 yards. He is enjoying a career-best season, with 54 catches for 716 yards. Johnny Johnson III added five receptions for 42 yards. Johnson III has 16 receptions over his past three games.
• Sayles intercepted Alexander 3:13 into the 2025 Grey Cup Game and 2:32 into Monday's first quarter.
• Miller Jr. had eight defensive tackles, one sack and a special teams tackle. Linebacking cohort Jameer Thurman added six defensive stops to increase his season total to 90. He is seven shy of his career high, set with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2023.
• A.J. Ouellette paced a productive Roughriders ground game, carrying the ball 11 times for 77 yards. Thomas Bertrand-Hudon added three carries for 21 yards before a home-province crowd.
• Quarterback Jack Coan saw his first action of the season, replacing Harris late in the fourth quarter. Coan went 2-for-2 for 15 yards. Harris had thrown the Roughriders’ first 576 passes of the season.
• Alexander, who went 26-for-33 for 403 yards, is already tied for fourth in appearances by an Alouettes quarterback versus Saskatchewan. Anthony Calvillo leads the way with 30, followed by Tracy Ham (8), Sonny Wade (6), Alexander (4) and Gerry Dattilio (4). Dustin Crum, who relieved Alexander late in Monday's fourth quarter, appeared against Saskatchewan for the fifth time. Crum's previous four appearances were with Ottawa.
• Ex-Roughrider Jerreth Sterns caught eight passes for 124 yards, including a 43-yarder, for Montreal.
• Although Philpot did not register a catch until late in the first half, he finished the game with five receptions for 74 yards. He fattened his 2026 season stats to 124 catches, 1,809 yards and 13 TDs.
• The Roughriders have allowed four or more TD passes in each of their past three games.
• The 44-24 score was the first in Roughriders history, dating back to the franchise's inception as the Regina Rugby Club in 1910.