Late-Game Mistake Costs Alouettes in Nail-Biter Loss to Lions
The Montreal Alouettes let another one slip away and this time, it came down to one bad penalty at the worst possible moment.
The B.C. Lions edged out the Als 21–20 Saturday night at Molson Stadium in a wild finish. That makes five straight wins for the Lions over Montreal, a team that hasn’t beaten B.C. since September 2022.
Montreal was holding a slim 20–18 lead with just 28 seconds left in the game when guard Pier-Olivier Lestage picked up a costly 15-yard penalty for misconduct. That forced Montreal to kick off from deep in their own territory, giving the Lions great field position.
From there, it didn’t take long. Quarterback Nathan Rourke, back from an oblique injury, completed a couple of quick passes, and with 0.2 seconds left on the clock, kicker Sean Whyte nailed a 43-yard field goal to win it.
Lestage didn’t speak to media afterward, but head coach Jason Maas acknowledged the penalty was a game-changer. “He’s remorseful. He let his emotions get the best of him. It’s a team lesson that can’t happen again,” Maas said.
The Alouettes actually started strong. Cornerback Kabion Ento grabbed an interception in the end zone early, and backup QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson led a quick 80-yard drive capped by a 45-yard touchdown to Tyson Philpot.
But Bethel-Thompson, filling in for injured starter Davis Alexander, didn’t do enough after that. He completed 15 of 23 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns but couldn’t get much going after halftime. The Als were limited to just two field goals in the second half.
To make matters worse, Bethel-Thompson briefly left the game after taking a hard hit while scrambling. He returned, but the offence never fully clicked.
“We left too many plays out there,” Bethel-Thompson said. “We can’t keep shooting ourselves in the foot. I’ll be honest 20 points just isn’t enough.”
Montreal finished with 312 total yards and 23 first downs, including 120 yards rushing a big improvement from last week but they only ran 50 plays and had the ball for under 30 minutes.
On defence, the Als gave up two touchdowns. Rourke ran one in himself and later hit Stanley Berryhill III for a 46-yard score after a Montreal defender slipped. Rourke finished the game with 352 passing yards.
After the game, there was a strange moment when B.C. defensive end Kemoko Turay appeared to try to enter Montreal’s locker room. The league is expected to hand down a fine.
The Als are now 3–2 and head into a bye week with plenty to think about. They’ll return to action July 17 at home against the Toronto Argonauts and they’ll be hoping to have Davis Alexander back under center before the season starts to slip away.
