Impressive play on that side of the ball led the Alouettes to a 31-10 victory over the BC Lions on Friday night. The Alouettes (5-7) not only shook off a tough loss to the Ottawa Redblacks from last week, but also snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Lions (8-3). “Defensively, we showed up,” Alouettes general manager and interim coach Danny Maciocia said. “We showed up mentally as well as physically. We physically imposed ourselves on the line of scrimmage. “BC is probably the only team with three All-Americans on the offensive line and we were able to get to the quarterback. It’s a great credit to our players and staff that they’ve worked so hard to put together a game and they’ve executed it almost perfectly.” In his first start as an Alouette, defensive lineman Mustafa Johnson beat Lions quarterback Antonio Pipkin with a safety that started a 21-point streak in the first half. Johnson had two sacks, including one that forced a turnover on a third-quarter punt. “I’m just excited, you can’t ask for a better opportunity coming out in my first start and finishing the game with two sacks,” Johnson said. “I feel excited, I like the support I get from all my teammates.” Maciocia said it “took some time to convince” Johnson to join the Alouettes after he participated in a rookie mini-camp with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons. The Als pitching staff was excited to bring him into the game in early August, and the 23-year-old has started to make a difference. “He’s not someone who smiles or celebrates with his teammates, he’s what I like to call, ‘all business,’” added Maciocia. “For a coach, that’s the type of player we love.” In his Alouettes debut, cornerback Nafees Lyon had an interception returned for a touchdown and stopped any chance of a Lions comeback. “It was really big, especially for his first time in the system,” defensive back Marc-Antoine Dequoy said. “That’s pretty awesome for him.” Quarterback Trevor Harris threw for 163 yards on 16-of-23 passing to go along with a touchdown and an interception. QB Dominique Davis had a rushing touchdown. With wins against the Lions and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the Alouettes have proven they are capable of dealing with the CFL’s best. Maciocia joked that Montreal should play them more often, but it has taken the past few weeks for his team to play on par with the league’s best. “Sometimes, we ourselves prevent the kind of performance we had tonight,” added Maciocia. “If we can avoid self-destruction in critical moments, we can run with anyone. It doesn’t matter who it is.” Returning to Montreal, Pipkin threw for 174 yards on 13-of-24 passing with one interception. Vernon Adams Jr. also made his return to Montreal after the Alouettes traded the quarterback to BC on August 31st. Adams served as a backup, playing parts of the first and second quarters and picking up just 17 yards. “I thought our football team wasn’t good enough overall in the first half,” Lions head coach Rick Campbell said. “So that complicates the quarterback situation. When we come out in the third quarter and play with energy and power, and everybody plays together, then you can see we’re doing good things. But less than that is not going to do.” The Lions broke the ice with a 36-yard field goal by former Alouette Sean Whyte for the Lions’ only points of the first half. The Alouettes put their first two points on the board when Johnson brought down Pipkin in the BC end zone for a safety. Minutes later, Davis found the end zone on a QB sneak for his 10th rushing TD of the season after a Zach Lindley block put Montreal at the Lions’ 25-yard line. The Alouettes then built a double-digit lead by scoring 13 points in the second quarter. David Cote hit a 13-yard field goal to give Montreal an 11-3 lead. Minutes later, the Alouettes extended 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 fourth to give his team a 21-3 halftime lead. Midway through the third quarter, Pipkin and the BC offense decided to tempt fate on third-and-goal. Once again, Johnson beat Pipkin with a sack to force the turnover down. The Lions defense helped 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 with a one-yard sneak by Pipkin, cutting the Als’ lead to 11 points. Seven minutes later, Lyon pinned Pipkin and scored on a 52-yard punt return to put Montreal ahead. Cote capped Montreal’s victory with his 30th field goal of the season with less than two minutes remaining.
