Game Summary

The Rough Riders were hoping for a repeat performance of their last home outing against the Alouettes. In that game, the Riders came away with a 17-6 victory much to the delight of the almost 28,000 fans in attendance. The 14,080 which came to see their hometown team on this Thanksgiving Monday saw K Wayne Lammle put the home side up by 3 early when his 19 yard chip shot split the uprights 3:09 into the opening frame. Montreal P/K Terry Baker got under a punt which was conceded in the end zone for a single. The Riders took a 3-1 lead into the second quarter. Ottawa added to this lead at 9:04 of the second stanza when RB Dave Dinnall electrified the crowd with a dazzling 69 yard rushing TD increasing the Rider lead to 10-1. The fans hardly had a chance to sit down when DB Kenny Wilhite corralled a Baker missed field goal and fought his way through a sea of would be Montreal tacklers 117 yards for the major score. This was the second longest unsuccessful field goal return in CFL history. With the Riders now up by a 17-1 margin, veteran Alouette pivot Tracy Ham took matters into his own hands capping a drive with a 26 yard TD gallop with just 16 seconds remaining in the half. This rounded out the first half scoring sending the teams into the locker room with Ottawa holding a 17-8 lead. The Alouettes came out smokin’ in the third quarter and got on the board at 9:23 when RB Mike Pringle broke through the line for a 31 yard rushing major. This was followed by a 9 yard passing TD from Tracy Ham to Chris Armstrong giving the Alouettes a 22-17 lead, their first of the game. Baker added an early fourth quarter field goal to increase their lead to 35-17. The Alouettes defence then held the Riders to just a single preserving a 25-18 victory.