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Antonio Pipkin and the Montreal Alouettes ended a miserable season on a positive note.
Pipkin threw a touchdown pbad and scored two more while Montreal won 30-28 against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the regular-season final for both teams on Saturday night. The Alouettes (4-14) will miss the CFL playoffs for the fourth year in a row, but finish the season with two straight wins.
"It was very important," Pipkin said. "We were 3-15 last year and did not finish what we wanted and that leaves you a bad taste in your mouth.
"In finishing with a win here, it just shows that we have participated in a lot of ball games, and even though teams are changing every year, we are able to come back next year."
Hamilton (8-10) came in second in the East Division and rested most of his starters, including quarterback Jeremiah Masoli. Ticats welcome BC The Lions in the semifinal of the conference next Sunday had a series of three consecutive losses.
Hamilton tried his luck in the last-second win, but Lirim Hajrullahu missed a shot at goal at 49 yards in the final game.
"I have the impression to watch the game as we have a chance to win," said Hamilton head coach June Jones. "That's what we wanted to do and what we did, we just did a little bit short.
"We are where we want to be, now we have a home playoff game and a chance to win and go to Ottawa. [for the East final]. We gave ourselves a chance to make it happen. "
Pipkin's one meter runner at 14:24 of the third quarter gave Montreal a 30-18 advantage. It was set up by Ty Cranston's recovery of Terrell Sinkfield's fumbles when Hamilton's 19-meter line was sent off.
Ticats quarterback Dane Evans, on his first start in the CFL, found Mike Jones on a 26-yard touchdown pbad at 4:34 of the fourth. This reduced Montréal's lead to 30-25 before the generous announcement of 23,381 at Tim Hortons Field.
Evans led Hamilton to the 19-yard line in Montreal, but the Ticats had to settle for Hajrullahu's 20-yard goal at 12:42 of the fourth to reduce Montreal's lead to 30-28.
Evans completed 22 of 37 pbades, totaling 315 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Mike Jones had five catches for 114 yards and TD Bralon Addison had seven receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown while John White had 88 yards in nine races.
Pipkin takes the reins of Manziel
Quarterback Johnny Manziel made his eighth start for Montreal. He completed four of his five pbades for 59 yards before giving up his place to Pipkin in the second quarter with the Alouettes leading 7-3.
"I would have liked to play every game of the entire game," said Manziel. "But with the clichés I had and the three records we had, I thought we should have had more points than the seven we got.
"But to get there early in the game, move the ball, which we have not done for six, seven, eight games and mark the first. [was good]. "
Manziel reiterated the importance for Montreal to end its season in strength.
"Just to have a chance to win two points and finish on the right note and integrate next season, I think that's the biggest part about it," said former Heisman Trophy winner . "We did not look back at what happened earlier in the season or anything like that.
"We were focused on finishing the season in the right direction and building and moving on to what was going to happen next year."
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