Lewis Ward leads the Ottawa Redblacks to victory over the Montreal Alouettes

OTTAWA – Lewis Ward kicked four field goals to help the Ottawa Redblacks to a perfect 2-0 preseason victory in a 19-13 win over the Montreal Alouettes on Friday.

Ward also scored the game's only touchdown, securing 13 points for Ottawa, including a 17-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.

Dru Brown started as quarterback for the Redblacks and completed 20 of 33 pass attempts for 247 yards with one interception.

Dustin Crum played the fourth quarter as a replacement for Brown and completed three of four passes for 44 yards.

Former Redblack Caleb Evans started at center for the Alouettes, who finished the preseason 1-1, completing four of six passes for 32 yards. James Morgan took most of the snaps and was respectable, completing 13 of 17 passes for 134 yards and one interception.

Morgan had a one-yard run for a touchdown, and Jose Maltos' extra point put the Alouettes behind 19-13 with less than three minutes left in the game.

The Redblacks have a bye in Week 1 and will host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in their season opener on June 13.

The Blue Bombers host the Alouettes in Week 1.

The Alouettes began the third quarter trailing 6-3, and although their first drive of the first half stalled, it ended with a 29-yard field goal by Maltos at the 3:17 mark to tie the game.

On their next drive, Morgan led the Alouettes deep into Ottawa territory, but that drive ended when Morgan threw a pass that ended in a 101-yard pick-six by Tobias Harris. After Ward's extra point, the Redblacks led 13-6 seven minutes into the third quarter.

Ward increased Ottawa's lead to 16-6 with a 26-yard field goal ten seconds before the end of the third quarter.

All goals in the first half were scored by the kickers' feet and the Redblacks went into the break with a 6:3 lead.

Ward scored from 52 yards out less than five minutes into the game, then doubled the lead with a 35-yard field goal at 7:42 of the first quarter.

The most important play of the quarter technically never happened when Devonte Dedmon returned a punt 107 yards for a touchdown, but a holding call against the Redblacks' James Peter nullified the score.

The only point in the second quarter was a 30-yard field goal by David Cote, which brought the Alouettes within three points at 6-3.

Ward had two chances to extend the Redblacks' lead in the final minute of the first half, but a 33-yard attempt missed the right target, and on the final play of the second quarter he sent a 43-yard attempt just past the right post.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 31, 2024.