Adrian McPherson passed for 110 yards and ran for a touchdown to lead the Montreal Alouettes past the Toronto Argonauts 37-24 in the first CFL exhibition game for both teams Wednesday night.
McPherson, getting the start with incumbent Anthony Calvillo not dressed, completed nine-of-12 passes to stake Montreal to a 21-7 lead in the first half.
The former Florida State star also ran seven times for 68 yards before giving way to Chris Leak in the second half in front of a sparse gathering of 18,241 with the roof closed on a rainy night at the Rogers Centre.
McPherson impressively moved Montreal's offence, effectively mixing the run with the pass.
McPherson's performance won't move him up the depth chart вЂ" Calvillo was the CFL's outstanding player last year вЂ" but provide the defending East Division champions with solid insurance should Calvillo be injured.
Rookie Ricky Santos cemented the win with a six-yard TD run and connected with Brandon Whittaker on the two-point convert with 3:21 remaining to play.
Lowber suffers neck injury
Play was halted for about 15 minutes late in the third quarter after Toronto rookie receiver Todd Lowber suffered a neck injury.
Lowber, who didn't play football at Ramapo, a college in New Jersey, required a neck brace and his head to be stabilized before being carted off the field.
However, he was able to move both his arms and legs.
Kerry Joseph's three-yard TD strike to Tyler Scott at 14:54 of the second cut Montreal's half-time lead to 21-17, a score that flattered Toronto considering the Alouettes blocked two punts in the first half.
Joseph finished nine-of-19 passing for 123 yards and two TD tosses while running six times for 60 yards.
