The Montreal Alouettes went into Monday’s game – their 2nd of 4 this year – against the Ottawa REDBLACKS already down a star player with RB William Stanback out, but came away with the win 20-16.

Montreal

Much of the slack was picked up by 1st-year Alouette Cameron Artis-Payne, who gained 122 yards on 21 carries, and the game-winning TD on the ground, with 4 catches for 27 yards in the air.

QB Vernon Adams Jr was injured in the final minutes of this game, and was placed on the 6-game injured list on Tuesday. He finished with 157 passing yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. His regular season may also be finished, given that there are only 6 games left, but that’s yet to be determined.

WR BJ Cunningham led Montreal in receiving on Monday with 3 catches for 50 yards. Jake Wieneke had 4 catches for 46 and a TD.

K David Cote was 2-2 with 8 points in the victory, with P Joe Zema adding 7 punts for 310 in special teams.

Ottawa

QB Caleb Evans was kept under 200 yards in Monday’s game, throwing for 125 yards and getting picked off once. Evans added 64 yards on the ground.

REDBLACKS RB De’Lance Turner had 71 yards on 10 carries. WRs Nate Behar and RJ Harris each had 2 catches, with Behar ending with 49 yards, and Harris with 31.

K Lewis Ward was 4-4 with 12 points, and P Richie Leone punted 8 times for 374 yards.

Ottawa LB Micah Awe was the star of the game with 11 tackles, nearly 3 times as many as any Montreal defender, and twice as many as anyone else on his own team.

With Stanback out, and the Alouettes offensive line on the mend, it took a late, game-winning drive, led by QB2 Matt Schiltz to get the victory, and could be a precursor to this week’s rematch (3 of 4 this year between the teams), as Adams will miss the game, and Stanback’s status undetermined. QB Shea Patterson has also been added to the active roster.

Montreal is 2nd in the East at 4-4, and travel to Ottawa for their Saturday matchup against the 2-7 REDBLACKS.