The Montreal Alouettes are heading to the Canadian Football League‘s East Division Final after beating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 27-12 Saturday afternoon.
Ticats QB Matthew Shiltz started and played the overwhelming majority of the game but he could not generate any touchdowns for Hamilton who suffered their seventh consecutive loss against Montreal dating back to the 2022 season.
Shiltz went 13-for-23 for 144 yards and threw one interception. He also ran the ball four times for 34 yards.
Down by 12 points and with 6:21 left in the fourth quarter, QB Bo Levi Mitchell entered the game but could not rally the Cats to victory. He completed only one of four pass attempts for six yards and an interception.
After receiver Kiondre Smith fumbled at the Montreal 28 on Hamilton’s opening drive, Joseph Zema kicked a 51-yard punt single for a 1-0 Alouettes lead.
Hamilton took their first lead of the game on their second drive when kicker Marc Liegghio booted a 23-yard field goal with 2:38 to play in the first quarter.
David Cote put Montreal back on top, 7-3, with field goals from 40 and 15 yards in the second quarter before Liegghio added his second field goal from the 36-yard line.
With just under a minute to play in the first half, a Shiltz pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage and was intercepted by Montreal’s Darnell Sankey at the Hamilton 30.
On the very next play, QB Cody Fajardo threw a touchdown into the hands of wide-open receiver Austin Mack to give the Alouettes a 14-6 advantage going into the break.
The Alouettes picked up where they left off early in the third quarter when Cote booted his third field goal of the game, a 40-yard kick, to extend their lead to 17-6.
Not to be outdone, Liegghio converted a 39-yard field goal, his 15th consecutive attempt going back to the regular season, to make it a one score game again.
Tiger-Cats cornerback Richard Leonard intercepted Fajardo at the Hamilton five-yard line with 4:27 remaining in the third quarter which snuffed out a potential scoring drive by the Als, and the Cats turned the turnover into three points when Liegghio was good from 46 yards.
The Alouettes put the game away when Fajardo connected with receiver Jake Harty on a 14-yard touchdown to stretch Montreal’s lead to 24-12 with just over six minutes to go.
Cote added a 29-yard field goal with 78 seconds left to round out the scoring in front of 20,127 fans at Percival Molson Stadium.
Shockingly, CFL leading receiver Tim White did not make a catch in the game and was targeted just three times while running back James Butler had 13 carries for 83 yards.
Montreal will travel to Toronto for the East Final on Nov. 11.