The Lions quarterback’s troubles were exposed by the blowout loss to Alouettes

The Montreal Alouettes have their defense to thank for starting bye week with a win.

Impressive play this side of the ball led the Alouettes to a 31-10 win over the BC Lions on Friday night. The Alouettes (5-7) not only shrugged off a tough loss to the Ottawa Redblacks last week, but also broke a nine-game losing streak against the Lions (8-3).

“We showed ourselves defensively,” said Alouette’s general manager and interim coach Danny Maciocia. “We showed ourselves mentally, but also physically. We physically prevailed at the scrimmage line.

“[BC is]probably the only team with three Americans on the offensive line and we were able to get to the quarterback. It’s a great pride for our players and our staff who worked hard to create a game plan and executed it almost perfectly.”

In his first start as an Alouette, defensive lineman Mustafa Johnson defeated Lions quarterback Antonio Pipkin with a safety that started a first-half streak of 21 unanswered points. Johnson had two sacks, including one that forced sales down in the third quarter.

“I’m just excited, you couldn’t ask for a better opportunity to come out on my first start and finish the game with two sacks,” Johnson said. “I’m excited, I love the support I’m getting from all my teammates.”

Maciocia said “it took a little bit to convince Johnson” to join the Alouettes after attending a rookie mini-camp with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. Als’ staff were thrilled to sign him in early August and the 23-year-old started making a difference.

“He’s not someone who smiles or celebrates with his teammates, he’s a footballer that I like to call ‘all business,'” Maciocia added. “For a coach, that’s the kind of player we love.”

On his Alouettes debut, cornerback Nafees Lyon had an interception that he returned for a touchdown, stopping any chance of a Lions comeback.

“It was really big, especially for his first time in the system,” said defender Marc-Antoine Dequoy. “That’s pretty great for him.”

Quarterback Trevor Harris threw 16 of 23 passes for 163 yards for a touchdown and an interception. QB Dominique Davis had a quick touchdown.

With victories against the Lions and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the Alouettes have proven they can take on the best in the CFL. Maciocia jokingly said Montreal should play them more often, but took the past few weeks to believe his side should be up there with the best in the league.

“Sometimes we ourselves prevent the kind of performance we got tonight,” Maciocia added. “If we can avoid self-destructing at critical times, we can run with anyone. It doesn’t matter who it is.”

On his return to Montreal, Pipkin threw for 174 yards on 13 of 24 passes with one interception.

Vernon Adams Jr. also made his Montreal homecoming after the Alouettes sold the quarterback to BC on Aug. 31. Adams served as a backup, playing portions of the first and second quarters and amassing just 17 passing yards.

“I didn’t think our football team as a whole was good enough in the first half,” said Lions head coach Rick Campbell. “That complicates the quarterback situation. When we come out in the third quarter and we play with energy and sharpness and everyone plays together, you can see we’re doing good things. But less than that will not make it.”

The Lions broke the ice with a 36-yard field goal from former Alouette Sean Whyte for the Lions’ only first-half points.

The Alouettes got their first two points on the board when Johnson tripped Pipkin in BC’s end zone for safety.

A few minutes later, Davis found the endzone on a two-yard QB sneak for his tenth rushing TD of the season after a punt blocked by Zach Lindley put Montreal on the Lions’ 25-yard line.

The Alouettes then created a double-digit lead in the second quarter by 13 points.

David Cote hit a 13-yard field goal to give Montreal an 11-3 lead. A few minutes later, the Alouettes increased their lead to 15 points when Harris found Eugene Lewis for a 12-yard score.

Cote added his second field goal of the night late in the quarter to give his team a 21-3 lead before halftime.

Midway through the third quarter, Pipkin and the BC offense decided to tempt fate with the third goal. Once again, Johnson sacked Pipkin to force a turnover on downs.

The Lions defense aided their offense in the fourth with an interception by Manny Rugamba at the Montreal 33-yard line. The Lions made Montreal pay with a short drive that ended in a one-yard sneak from Pipkin and cut the Als lead to 11 points.

Seven minutes later, Lyon intercepted Pipkin and hit with a 52-yard return to put Montreal further ahead.

Cote capped Montreal’s win with his 30th field goal of the season with less than two minutes remaining.