Aug 29 Alouettes Defeat the BC Lions in a Last Minute Nail Biter 30-25

The Montreal Alouettes improved to 6-3 as they defeated the visiting BC Lions in a game that will surely be talked about at every office water cooler for the next week.

Avon Cobourne rushed for another 100 yards, Ben Cahoon caught for the 100th consecutive game and the Als defense warded off 3 attempts at 1st and goal with no time left allowing the Als to win the contest 30-25 and increase their lead in the East.

Read on for the official Alouettes summary and game stats.

By Richard Obrand,

MontrealAlouettes.com

Montreal – It was unlike anything that had ever happened before in the CFL.

With no time left on the clock, the Alouette defence found itself up by five and on its own one-yard line… BC quarterback Buck Pierce, bent down to take the snap, and instantly found himself yards short of the end zone falling to the turf, looking up at the elation of the 20,202 fans.

Game over, right?

Wrong.

With the drop of an orange flag, Pierce and his Lions offence were given a second life. Again, he bent down to take the snap from centre Rob Murphy, this time handing the fate of the game off to full back Rolly Lumbala. Again the crowd erupted into instant jubilation as Lumbala was brought down several yards short and the Als seemed to have just wrapped up the sixth win of their season; their fourth in a row.

Wrong again.

Again the orange flag was thrown to the turf, and again the Lions would have another shot of obtaining their fifth win of the season.

For the third time, Pierce bent down behind Murphy, this time taking it on his own, sparing his teammates of the pressure of deciding what could perhaps be the most unusual ending to a game in their careers.

He took it; he ran with it, he fumbled it.

No flags.

The most unusual game of the 2008 season was finally over, with the Alouettes winning 30-25 in front of an 82^nd-straight sellout crowd at Percival Molson Stadium.

Enter the clichés.

“We bent but didn’t break,” said safety Étienne Boulay.

“We just knuckled up and went to work,” added Eric Wilson.

It was perfect theatre, the defence which had been the main target in all three of the Alouette losses, running down field, hands in air toward their teammates on the sidelines, who throughout the unusual ending were busy pumping up every single fan in the stadium.

To start off the night’s madness, the Alouettes found themselves punting after a two and out series to start the game.

After kicker Damon Duval booted the ball downfield, Lions’ kick returner Ian Smart fumbled the ball, and the Alouettes recovered on the BC one-yard line.

Unlike the Alouettes, the BC defence was unable stop a one-yard run on the goal line as Avon Cobourne punched his way into the end zone giving the Als a 7-0 lead.

After Duval and Lions’ kicker Paul McCallum exchanged a single and a field goal respectively, Pierce found receiver Khalil Hill in the end zone to give the Leos a 10-8 lead.

Following a pair of Duval field goals, the Als went into the locker room with a 15-10 lead.

The third quarter saw little action, with a Pierce four-yard scamper being the only points put on the board. The Lions led 17-15 heading into the fourth.

The final frame started off with a bang, as quarterback Anthony Calvillo found receiver Jamel Richardson 24 yards downfield, bringing their lead up to five.

Pierce answered back, however, finding Rufus Skillern for a major to put the Lions up by one. A Paris Jackson two-point conversion gave BC a much needed three-point cushion with under three minutes remaining on the clock.

And that’s where the beginning of the end began.

Calvillo marched his offence 49 yards downfield, setting up Adrian Macpherson for a one-yard touchdown to hand the Alouettes the lead yet again before the dramatic finish with the clock reading 0:00.

Get your complete game stats here.

The Alouettes (6-3-0) next host the Toronto Argonauts on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 1 p.m. at Percival Molson Stadium (RDS, TSN, CKAC SPORTS, CJAD, 98,5 FM)

Tags: BC Lions \ cfl \ Montreal Alouettes