C.J. Gable scored a pair of touchdowns as the Edmonton Eskimos ended a six-game losing streak with a rain-soaked 42-24 victory over the Montreal Alouettes on Monday afternoon.
The win extended Montreal’s losing streak to eight games and eliminated them from playoff contention for a third year in a row.
Brandon Zylstra, Duke Williams and cornerback Chris Edwards also scored TDs and Swayze Waters added three field goals for Edmonton (8-6). Williams’ 25-yard TD catch with 4:09 left to play came from James Franklin, who replaced starter Mike Reilly to start the fourth quarter.
Tyrell Sutton and defensive back Brandon Stewart had touchdowns and Boris Bede kicked four field goals for Montreal (3-11).
Rain fell throughout the game, leading to turnovers, dropped passes, missed tackles and other mishaps on both sides.
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The Alouettes shot out to a 15-0 lead only to fall behind 23-21 at the intermission.
A blocked punt recovered by Chip Cox gave Montreal the ball on the Edmonton 39 and two plays later Sutton ran in from the nine 2:40 into the game.
Gable fumbled into Stewart’s hands and the defensive back ran it back 55 yards for a touchdown at 4:14.
“When you’re down 15 to nothing and in driving rain, and you’ve had a turnover, drops, whatever else bad that can happen in the early stages you can start to doubt it,” said head coach Jason Maas. “But I never saw that on our sideline, and I’m very proud of that.”
“Those guys kept grinding, got the lead at half, and continued on.”
A 39-yard Stefan Logan kick return set up Bede’s 20-yard field goal at 9:33.
Reilly marched Edmonton back on a nine-play drive capped by Gable’s four-yard TD run at 13:42. Samuel Giguere fumbled the ensuing kickoff to allow Waters to hit from 25 yards only 28 seconds into the second quarter.
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Montreal answered with Bede’s 31-yard effort, but a 56-yard pass to a wide open Zylstra put the Eskimos in position for Gable to take a shovel pass and score from the nine at 5:44.
Zylstra was left open in the end zone for a 28-yard TD reception at 13:54, but Montreal marched back for Bede’s 37-yard placement to end the half.
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Stewart picked off a Reilly pass to set up Bede’s 44-yard boot 6:21 into the third quarter, but the Eskimos answered with Waters’ 26-yarder at 9:56.
“We have too just keep this going. We have a good team,” said C.J. Gable. “And I think we have a good chance to keep going, we just have to keep executing and eliminate the little mistakes and I think we’ll be fine.”
Edwards grabbed a ball that went in and out of the hands of Alouettes receiver Ernest Jackson and went 68 yards untouched into the end zone 6:22 into the fourth quarter.
Montreal linebacker Cox got his 900th career tackle.