Johnny Manziel Throws 1st CFL TD Pass in Preseason Win vs. Montreal Alouettes

Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Johnny Manziel threw his first career touchdown pass in his second CFL preseason appearance against the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday.

Johnny Football entered the game in the second quarter and finished with 88 yards and one touchdown on 12-of-20 passing, as well as 19 rushing yards on four carries in Hamilton's 30-15 win at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium in Montreal.

Manziel's touchdown toss came with just over four minutes remaining in the first half, as he found former Green Bay Packers and New York Jets running back Alex Green in the flat for a three-yard score:

The 2012 Heisman Trophy winner is known for celebrating his touchdowns in style, but as pointed out by TSN's Matthew Scianitti, there was nothing over the top about his reaction:

Prior to Manziel taking the field, Hamilton was trailing Montreal 14-0 and struggling to get anything going offensively.

Starter Jeremiah Masoli didn't play Saturday in preparation for the regular season, which led Hamilton head coach June Jones to give Bryant Moniz the start.

Moniz went just 3-of-7 for 17 yards and one interception during his stint.

Manziel's second drive was more challenging, as Jabar Westerman set him back with a sack on second down, leading to a punt:

The Ti-Cats got the ball back shortly thereafter, and the former Cleveland Browns signal-caller went to work with his legs:

Manziel and Co. could not muster any additional points, though, and they entered the locker room trailing 14-7.

Late in the first half, Montreal linebacker Henoc Muamba took down Manziel with a late hit.

In a halftime interview with Didier Ormejuste of RDS (h/t Scianitti), Muamba seemingly admitted to trying to send Manziel a message, saying he wanted to show Johnny Football "we're here, and we're not going to back down."

Manziel didn't appear to be shaken, as he remained in the lineup to start the second half and kept the Ti-Cats offense moving.

Arguably his most impressive play of the game came early in the third quarter when he rolled to the left, threw against his body and completed a pass for a first down:

That drive led to a field goal, and Manziel followed that up with another field goal drive to cut Montreal's lead to 14-13.

A pick-six then put the Tiger-Cats on top by a 20-14 margin before Manziel extended the lead to 23-14 with another drive that ended in a field goal.

The key play on that drive was another accurate first-down pass while Johnny Football was on the move:

That drive marked the end of Manziel's day, and it was a successful outing considering Hamilton scored 23 unanswered points after he entered the game.

Manziel is set to serve in a backup capacity to Masoli to start the regular season, and the Tiger-Cats' first game will take place next Saturday against the Calgary Stampeders.