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Alouettes hang on to beat Eskimos

Jul 26, 2013 - 3:26 AM Montreal, QC (Sports Network) - Sean Whyte made six field goals and John White was stopped an inch short of the goal line in the final seconds as the Montreal Alouettes held on to upend the Edmonton Eskimos, 32-27, at Percival- Molson Stadium.

Whyte's final field goal gave Montreal a five-point lead with one minute remaining, but Mike Reilly brought the Eskimos right down the field.

Following four straight long completions, White looked like he was on his way into the end zone with 10 seconds to go before Ejiro Kuale stopped the running back just short. There was no review of the play, and with time ticking away, White was swallowed up behind the line of scrimmage on the final snap.

"Montreal made a very good play on the last sequence, and we did not execute that play," Eskimos head coach Kavis Reed said.

Brandon Whitaker carried the load offensively for the Alouettes, amassing 202 yards from scrimmage, including 162 and a touchdown on 24 carries.

Anthony Calvillo threw for 202 yards and a score on 19-of-29 throws for Montreal (2-3), which ended a three-game skid heading into its bye week.

Reilly, despite being benched in the first half, finished with 262 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in the Eskimos' (1-4) third straight loss.

Cary Koch caught Reilly's go-ahead TD pass early in the fourth and had scintillating punt return for a score a earlier.

The Alouettes squandered a 24-point lead against Calgary last week and were ahead 26-13 early in the fourth Thursday before the Eskimos rallied to take the lead.

Reilly scrambled for 21 yards and hit Calvin McCarty in the right flat on the next play. McCarty broke a tackle along the sideline and side-stepped his way to a 19-yard score with 12 1/2 minutes remaining.

On the next play of the ensuing drive, Whitaker lost a fumble at his own 24- yard line, and Reilly found Koch on a fade down the right sideline for a touchdown two plays after the turnover.

Whyte, after pinning Edmonton deep in its own end, put Montreal back on top, 29-27, with a 14-yard chip shot with 4:12 on the clock.

Edmonton went two-and-out on its next possession, and stopped Whitaker short of a touchdown to bring on Whyte yet again for a 9-yard field goal.

"It was a hard-fought game," Montreal head coach Dan Hawkins said. "They battled back hard, but we had a good rhythm going with Whitaker running and we stayed in that rhythm."

Reilly threw an early interception that led to a Montreal touchdown. He was pulled in the second quarter for Jonathan Crompton, who was promptly picked off on his second attempt.

Linebacker Shea Emry was on the opposite end of both interceptions, the first setting up S.J. Green's 6-yard grab in the right corner of the end zone late in the opening quarter to give Montreal a 10-3 lead.

Whyte, who hit a 32-year field goal to open the scoring, added a 31-yarder 5 1/2 minutes into the second quarter, and Grant Shaw followed up his 26-yard kick in the first frame with an 18-yarder with 6:09 remaining in the half.

Whitaker capped an 8-play, 61-yard drive with a 13-yard TD run to give the Als a 20-6 lead at halftime, and the only touchdown of the third quarter came less than five minutes in when Koch went untouched for an 81-yard punt return.

Whyte answered with a pair of 24-yard field goals, the second coming 1:18 into the fourth quarter.

Game Notes

Montreal has won seven straight meetings against Edmonton ... Calvillo has thrown a touchdown in a career-high 22 straight games ... Fred Stamps led Edmonton with six catches for 103 yards ... Edmonton hosts the only team it has defeated this year, Hamilton, next week.