Alouettes avoid epic collapse to defeat Blue Bombers in East semifinal

The Montreal Alouettes avoided an epic collapse to reach the CFL's East Division final.

Davis Alexander threw for one touchdown and rushed for another in a 42-33 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the East semifinal Saturday. Montreal pulled out the victory after squandering a 22-point lead earlier in the game.

The Alouettes led 25-3 in the second quarter and held a 25-6 advantage at halftime.

The script quickly flipped early in the third quarter when Winnipeg stunned Montreal with three straight touchdowns to take the lead.

Montreal regrouped and advanced to the division final for the third consecutive year.

A 12-yard field goal from Jose Maltos Diaz, after consecutive clutch rushes from Alexander and Stevie Scott III to gain first downs, sealed Montreal's win with 33 seconds left.

The Alouettes travel to Hamilton to face the Tiger-Cats on Nov. 8. The winner advances to the Grey Cup in Winnipeg on Nov. 16.

The Blue Bombers' streak of five consecutive trips to the Grey Cup came to an end.

Winnipeg crossed over to the East after finishing fourth in the West with a 10-8 record this season. No crossover team has reached the Grey Cup in 13 attempts.

Alexander, who set a CFL record with 11 straight wins as a starting quarterback to begin his career — including seven this season — remained undefeated after his first playoff start.

Montreal's Tyson Philpot scored two touchdowns — one rushing, one receiving — while Scott ran for two TDs before an announced crowd of 19,785 on a windy, 7 C day.

Several empty seats lined the Molson Stadium stands, largely due to a transit strike that shut down all public transportation, except adapted transit, on Saturday.

Maltos Diaz went 1-for-2 in field-goal attempts with a rouge. Winnipeg