Football

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Calvillo outduels Riders rookie

By: Bill Beacon

Posted: 09/17/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

MONTREAL -- Veteran Anthony Calvillo got the win against a rookie making his first CFL start but the 40-year-old Montreal Alouettes quarterback wasn't crowing about it after the game.

The Alouettes took the lead in the first half and held on for a 28-17 win over Drew Willy and the Saskatchewan Roughriders on a flag-filled afternoon at Percival Molson Stadium on Sunday.

The Alouettes (7-4) moved into first place in the East Division, two points ahead of the Toronto Argonauts, who will visit Montreal next Sunday.

"What I liked is that when we came back into the locker-room guys were excited that we won but they were also upset at the fact that we didn't perform offensively," said Calvillo. "That's a good sign."

Calvillo threw a touchdown pass to Brian Bratton while Brandon Whitaker and backup quarterback Adrian McPherson ran for TDs as the Alouettes bounced back from their worst loss of the season, a 43-10 setback last week in Vancouver. Sean Whyte added a pair of field goals and a single on a partially blocked attempt.

However, Bratton was injured while scoring his TD and Whitaker, who picked up 102 receiving yards, left with a sore knee in the fourth quarter. Both will have MRI exams Monday and coach Marc Trestman said he does not expect either to play against the Argonauts.

The 40-year-old Calvillo threw for 266 yards, but all but 30 yards came in the first half as Saskatchewan's stingy defence came together in the final 30 minutes. Montreal did not get a first down in the entire third quarter.

Willy made his debut as a starter after looking good in relief of the injured Darian Durant in consecutive wins over Winnipeg. The former University of Buffalo star threw some fluttery balls, but completed 22-of-35 passes for 225 yards. However, after a TD toss to Kory Sheets, he had two picked off to kill drives in the fourth quarter.

"There were some throws I missed that I usually make that I'm not real happy about, but there were some good things and bad things," said Willy. "We could have won that game.

"We stalled on a few drives and it really hurt us. There were a couple there that I've just got to make."

Whether Willy starts again next Sunday when the Riders play host to Calgary depends on how quickly Durant recovers from a hip injury.

-- The Canadian Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 17, 2012 C6

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