Cavaliers break ground on new state-of-the-art training facility scheduled to open in 2027

MONTREAL – The Montreal Alouettes’ defence bounced back in a big way on Monday.

After conceding 37 points in a loss to the Toronto Argonauts before their bye week, the league-leading Alouettes held the Ottawa Redblacks without a touchdown in a 19-12 Thanksgiving win.

“The defence is the heart of our team,” defensive back Wesley Sutton said. “We tried to come out and do our job. We’re a very physical defence. We are the No. 1 defence in this league, we believe that, and we just had to come out today and showcase it.”

Montreal (12-3-1) swept Ottawa (8-7-1) for the second consecutive season, earning an eighth straight win against its East Division rival on a dreary, 8 C day at Molson Stadium.

Sutton made two crucial plays in the second half. The 2022 CFL all-star knocked down an end-zone pass to Andre Miller in the third quarter before intercepting Ottawa quarterback Jeremiah Masoli in the fourth.

“He comes to work every single day ready to play. He’s a calming influence back there, but he is relentless as a ball player,” Alouettes head coach Jason Maas said. “He’s one of the first guys I talked to when I got this job, and I said if we have everyone that thinks like him and plays like him, we’re going to be very good.”

Montreal QB Davis Alexander finished 14-of-24 passing for 208 yards, one interception and one rushing touchdown in his first start since Aug. 17.

Grey Cup MVP Cody Fajardo was absent after his wife gave birth to their second son, Cian, back home in Nevada on Wednesday.

Ottawa held Montreal to six second-half points but dug itself into a hole with a lack of discipline in its fourth straight loss. The Redblacks committed 11 penalties for 117 yards — including 10 for 107 in the first half alone.

“We got to do better as players,” Masoli said. “We got to be more consistent, be selfless out there while we’re going. I know you get caught up in the moment, but we got to play smarter.

“When we get in these playoffs, we can’t afford any of that stuff.”

Masoli was 19-of-34 for 216 yards and one pick. Backup Dustin Crum also took reps with starter Dru Brown still nursing an ankle injury. Top receiver Justin Hardy was also out with an ankle ailment.

The playoff-bound Redblacks failed to regain second place in the East after Toronto beat Winnipeg on Friday. They’ll need a road win on Saturday against the Argonauts to keep their hopes of hosting the East semifinal alive.

“We got to correct things that we’ve had errors with, but look forward to the opportunity that we have,” Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce said. “It’s a short week. We go into Toronto and take care of our business.”

Montreal’s Jose Maltos went 4-for-4 on field goals, including a 47-yarder in the fourth quarter. Ottawa’s Lewis Ward was 4-for-4, setting a new single-season high in field goals with 52.

Maltos put the Alouettes up 16-9 to start the fourth quarter. On the ensuing drive, Sutton intercepted a missed throw by Masoli at the Montreal 17.

Alexander then connected with receiver Austin Mack on a 50-yard pass, leading to another Maltos field goal.

The Redblacks made it 19-12 with three minutes remaining. Ottawa had the ball again in the final minutes, but Montreal forced a turnover on downs with 45 seconds left to ice the game.

In the third quarter, Ottawa reached the red zone twice but settled for field goals both times. Receiver Nick Mardner got the Redblacks to the two-yard line before taking a 10-yard penalty for throwing the ball at Montreal’s players after a tackle.

That’s when Masoli threw into the end zone for Miller, only for Sutton to come up big.

“We would have liked to finish with touchdowns, but at the end of the day a lot of penalties are things that you can control,” Dyce said. “They can’t be selfish things, and that’s the thing that bothers me is — people talking to you at this time of year, what are words, right?

“You got to make sure and be bigger than that.”

The Alouettes opened the scoring eight minutes into the first quarter with a Maltos kick from 32 yards.

Five minutes later, Montreal’s Antonio Moultrie blocked Ward’s 34-yard attempt to keep the Redblacks off the board.

Helped by two Ottawa penalties, Alexander rushed nine yards into the end zone at 13:29 of the second quarter to cap a seven-play, 66-yard drive.

Alexander was hit hard twice later in the half before getting sacked and fumbling the ball, although Montreal recovered. He threw an interception straight into the hands of Damon Webb on the next drive.

UP NEXT

Alouettes: Visit the BC Lions on Saturday.

Redblacks: Visit the Argonauts on Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2024.

WABAMUN, Alta. – Mounties in Alberta say a 5-year-old girl is dead after a canoe overturned on a lake west of Edmonton.

RCMP say they received a report of a capsized watercraft on Wabamun Lake near the provincial campground just before 3 p.m. on Sunday.

They say a 5-year-old girl was pulled from the water by bystanders, but despite life-saving efforts by emergency officials, she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say a 35-year-old woman was also pulled from the water from other watercraft in the area.

They say the office of the chief medical examiner has been called in and the investigation is continuing.

Police say part of the investigation is determining the use of any personal floatation devices in the canoe.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2024.

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TORONTO – An especially warm fall in Ontario means the province may not get the colourful array of fall foliage that usually transforms treetops this time of year.

Some parts of Ontario, particularly the Greater Toronto Area, experienced higher than normal temperatures in September, and that weather pattern leads to duller colours, experts say.

“The weather that really promotes bright fall colours — strong fall colours — is a combination of sunny and cold, and we have been more sunny and warm,” said Susan Dudley, a professor of biology at Hamilton’s McMaster University.

While temperatures have dropped recently, she said it might be too late for the physiological process that triggers trees to change their colours.

“The weather has been strange, (it) has been very warm up till recently.”

Daylength, tree species and weather conditions are three key factors that determine the colour of autumn leaves, according to experts.

Eastern parts of North America in general, and Ontario in particular, typically have the right combination of these three factors, resulting in vibrant yellow, orange and red foliage, Dudley said.

Ontario’s fall can also be stunning because the province has a longer and colder fall season with enough daylight, and is home to different kinds of woody plants, including maple trees that usually produce beautiful golden and red pigments.

Since weather is the only component that varies from year to year, it has a greater impact on the kind of foliage people can expect, Dudley continued.

Experts say three chemicals play a vital role in the production of pigments in a leaf.

Chlorophyll is responsible for green colour during the growing season, and carotenoids give them a yellow hue that becomes more visible after chlorophyll breaks down.

The third chemical is anthocyanins, which is specifically formed when sugar concentration increases in the leaf. It’s responsible for the red, orange and golden pigments.

Sean Thomas, a professor of forest ecology at the University of Toronto, said close to freezing temperatures — but not frost — combined with bright sunlight is vital to brighter foliage.

“We’ve had pretty summery temperatures until the last week or so and still nothing close to that, say, one-to-two degrees Celsius overnight temperatures” that is needed, he said.

Fall colours are more vibrant in areas north of the Greater Toronto Area where the weather has been colder, Thomas noted.

Climate change has brought with it a steady rise in temperatures, warmer fall seasons and more precipitation and cloud cover, experts say.

That suggests duller and less colourful falls might become more common in the long run, they warn.

“This year really captured those (changes), especially the higher precipitation inputs and that in general is not a good long-term forecast for vibrant fall colours,” Thomas said.

Ontarians still have a chance to see some tree colours before the province is blanketed with snow but it won’t last as long as previous years.

Thomas said that while weather conditions were not favourable in September, cold snaps in the past week could bring beautiful foliage before the fall ends.

“We will see something, but, likely not, you know, quite what we saw last year,” he said.

“We’re still in the window where if we get those cold (snaps) some trees will give us a show.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2024.