Caleb Evans and the Alouettes breathed a sigh of relief after beating the Rouge et Noir 25-24 in Ottawa on Saturday night.

After a very difficult first half with three turnovers, the quarterback used head coach Jason Maas’ confidence to bounce back. It was Evans himself who scored the game-winning touchdown with 14 seconds remaining as he reached the end zone on the run.

A spectacular ending to the game, capping a two-tiered performance from Evans, capable of both good and bad. The Alouettes thus recorded their fourth win in a row.

Watch Evans’ game-winning touchdown in the main video.

After an inspiring 47-yard pass to Austin Mack, Evans and the Alouettes scored their first touchdown of the game early in the third quarter. It was Tyler Snead who caught the ball after a seven-yard throw from Evans in the end zone. Snead hit his second touchdown in the game, his fifth of the season, with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Until mid-September

With a 6-3 record, the Montreal club are in a very good position overall as the coming weeks will be very challenging. Since the start of the season, the Alouettes have now won three of their four away games after losing to the BC Lions in Vancouver in early July.

Speaking of the coming weeks, the Alouettes only have a few days to prepare for their next game, as head coach Jason Maas’ team has an appointment with the Blue Bombers (8-2) in Winnipeg on Thursday. This is followed by a difficult mission against the mighty Lions (7-2) on Saturday, September 2 at Percival Molson Stadium, followed by a return trip against the Toronto Argonauts (7-1).

In the event of a loss in Ottawa, the Alouettes could have struggled to stay above the respectability threshold, a record .500, through mid-September. Montreal have surprised on the upside since the start of the season and, as we saw in Ottawa, should never be considered pre-beaten, even against the heavyweights of the Canadian Football League. The next few weeks will be exciting.

• Alouettes rookie Austin Mack, who gained 116 yards in the game, is the Canadian Football League’s most prolific receiver since the start of the season. After nine games, he now has 773 yards.
• Quebec linebacker Frédéric Chagnon did well against his former team, notably managing five tackles on defense.