Johnny Manziel throws 1st CFL TD in Ticats' pre-season win over Alouettes

Johnny Manziel went 12-for-20 for 88 yards and a touchdown as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats scored 30 unanswered points to defeat the Montreal Alouettes 30-15 Saturday afternoon in the second and final pre-season game for both teams.

Johnny Manziel throws 1st pre-season CFL touchdown

6 years ago

Duration 1:09

Manziel connected on a three-yard pass to Alex Green for his first career Canadian Football League touchdown in pre-season action.

Alex Green had a receiving touchdown for Hamilton, Joel Ross scored a TD off an interception and Sean Thomas-Erlington punched the ball in from one yard out in the fourth quarter.

Kicker Lirim Hajrullahu converted two field goals for the visiting Ticats and Felix Faubert-Lussier added another.

Manziel came into the game four minutes into the second quarter after starter Bryant Moniz went a paltry 3-for-7 for 17 yards and an interception.

Quarterback Drew Willy, Montreal's likely starter when the season gets underway next week, left the game early in the third quarter after going 10-for-18 for 105 yards.

His replacement Garrett Fugate went 3-for-6 for 37 yards. He fumbled the ball once and threw an interception.

Manzielhas instant impact

The sparse and quiet 12,325 fans at Percival Molson Stadium gave Manziel, the former Heisman Trophy winner, a subdued cheer when he walked onto the field in the second quarter.

Down 14-0, Manziel had an instant impact on the encounter when he completed back-to-back passes to running back Green for the first Hamilton first down of the afternoon.

He followed that up, on the same drive, with a three-yard pass to Green for the touchdown to cut Montreal's lead to 14-7.

Manziel, who made his CFL debut last week in Hamilton's 36-18 loss to Toronto, was 4-for-6 for 21 yards and a touchdown at halftime.

In the third quarter, the former first-round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns led his team down the field on two good drives that ended in field goals.

Seventeen seconds into fourth, Ross picked off Fugate and returned the ball 30 yards for the touchdown. The Tiger-Cats then added another field goal before Thomas-Erlington's one-yard TD run gave the visitors a 30-14 lead.

Dane Evans took over from Manziel in the fourth and went 5-for-6 for 65 yards.

The Alouettes went up 14-0 in the first half on a touchdown by Tyrell Sutton, a field goal by Boris Bede, a safety and two singles.

Both teams play their season openers next Saturday. Hamilton is in Calgary to play the Stampeders while the Alouettes face the BC Lions on the road.