Montreal Alouettes QB Davis Alexander blasts B.C. Lions’ Mathieu Betts for ‘horsesh*t’ tackle

The Montreal Alouettes’ quarterback was hauled down as he stepped up in the pocket and appeared to have his arm bent awkwardly on the play, as Betts maintained his grip long after the two had gone to the ground. The sequence sparked an immediate reaction from the 27-year-old, while the defender was later penalized for a horsecollar tackle after review.

Alexander felt the play crossed a line.

“This is horsesh*t,” he told 3DownNation post-game. “He’s a great football player, but take that sh*t out of the game.”

Alouettes’ head coach Jason Maas admitted he hadn’t yet seen the play in question, but said he was concerned by what his quarterback described to him after the game.

“When he tells me what’s been done to him, it’s not right,” he said. “I don’t think you want any of it happening in a football game. Football is violent enough; it doesn’t need to be any extracurricular.”

The incident ignited tensions between the two teams, and they had to be separated as officials sorted out the flags. Alexander was repeatedly seen getting in the face of the two-time Most Outstanding Defensive Player during the delay.

Betts was later disqualified from the game after being assessed a second major penalty in the fourth quarter and was not made available to the media post-game. B.C. defensive back Ronald Kent Jr. filled in to provide some insight into what sentiments Alexander shared following the play.

“It’s a lot of mother-effers, for sure, ” he said. “No hard feelings. He’s just a competitor that likes to talk, and he plays behind his mouth.”

The battle between Betts and Alexander dates back to last week, when the two players were caught on camera in the midst of a heated interaction following a Montreal turnover. Both elected to downplay the incident, though Betts indicated to 3DownNation that Alexander had a greater propensity for trash talk than any quarterback he had previously faced in the CFL.

Several Alouettes players came to their quarterback’s defence after the questionable tackle this week. Veteran defensive back Najee Murray, who was out with an injury, even took to social media to back his teammate, suggesting that the play deserved a suspension.

Alexander appreciated the response.

“I love these guys to death. I know that they have my back. They showed it,” he said.

Betts’ tackle was the first of two controversial incidents between the Alouettes and Lions in Week 15. Midway through the third quarter, receiver Tyson Philpot was penalized for a late hit out of bounds on B.C. defensive back Cristophe Beaulieu, which prompted illegal retaliation from Kent Jr. A scuffle ensued on the Montreal sideline, with receiver Tyler Snead also drawing a penalty.

“Our guys have each other’s backs,” Maas said of the incident. “You saw when Tyson stands over a guy, and he gets pushed in the back, our team reacts. They had the same thing when they came to our building last year and did some stuff like that on our sideline. It didn’t go well either. We’re not getting pushed around in that regard. Our team is not built that way.”

Beaulieu indicated in the locker room that he did not believe Philpot’s hit was intentionally dirty, stating that he would not speculate as to his intent. Kent revealed that he had apologized for his role in the incident.

“I just saw red. I didn’t like that at all. I felt like it was very dirty, and I just reacted instead of responding,” he said.

“We’re okay. I talked to Philpot after the game and apologized to him because I’m not that type of guy. It was a cheap shot too.”

Alexander, who was one of the first handful of players into the fray, made no such apologies, believing his team made an important statement through the way it responded.

“We sent the league a message,” he said. “This is the Montreal Alouettes. If you want to go out and have an alley brawl, then we’ll have an alley brawl.”

The growing hostility between the two clubs dates back to at least last year, when former B.C. defensive lineman Kemoko Turay prompted a post-game altercation in Montreal, which saw him suspended for one week. However, both head coaches attempted to downplay that aspect this week, chalking the intensity up to the stakes of the matchup.

“I respect the heck out of them. They’re coached well. They play hard. The chippy stuff, that’s guys maybe playing on the edge a little bit, but these are two teams that understand where they could go and what they could do,” Lions head coach Buck Pierce said.

“It’s hard to win in this league; that’s the bottom line,” Maas added. “Everybody plays hard and goes hard, and that’s why I give them a lot of credit. They play hard; they are a physical team. The extracurricular stuff, it’s always going to get heated. It’s a sport played by a lot of alpha males. Whenever you’re getting pushed around at times, people respond.”

If there was any doubt about the feelings between the Alouettes and Lions, Saturday’s game provided another reminder that neither side is willing to back down. If the teams meet again in the playoffs, the intensity likely won’t be any lower.

Editor’s note: This article contains key files obtained by 3DownNation lead writer J.C. Abbott.