The BC Lions came back from an early 14-0 deficit to eke out a 24-21 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The victory lifts the Lions record to 8-7, and has them only a single point behind the 8-6-1 Rough Riders and Stampeders for first place in the West after the conclusion of Week 16.

It was Travis Lulay, on in relief of the injured Buck Pierce, who saved a game marred with turnovers and penalties to lift the Lions over the Bombers. Lulay’s thirty yard connection with recently activated  running back A.J. Harris with about thirteen minutes left would cap the scoring for British Columbia.

Pierce may be done for the season according to Vancouver Sun reporter Ian Walker, who was covering the game from Canad Inns Stadium in Winnipeg. Pierce was knocked out of the game with what is reported to be a shoulder injury before the end of the first quarter after failing to complete a pass to one of his Lion teammates on two attempts. Pierce’s first attempt, on BC’s third play from scrimmage was picked off by Jovon Johnson, who returned it thirty-two yards to the BC 31 to set up the Winnipeg offense with good field position. The Bombers were unable to move the ball, though, and settled for a single to make the score 8-0 at that point after an Alexis Serna miss wide-right from thirty-nine yards.

The Lions would start to move the ball on the ground with Pierce and Harris before Pierce’s injury. Adding to the indignity, Pierce would also lose the ball on a fumble, giving the ball back to the Winnipeggers on their own 44 yard-line. Fred Reid would rip off a fourteen yard run before the Lions defence would stiffen and force another Serna field goal attempt, this one good from thirty-nine yards out.

The turnovers kept mounting, as Ryan Grice-Mullen coughed the ball up three plays into the ensuing possession, leading to yet another Serna attempt, this one good from thirty yards to push the score to 14-0 in favour of the home side, where it would stay to close out the first quarter.

The Lions would start to play the field-position game to their advantage early in the second when an illegal block penalty on Winnipeg’s Lenny Walls after a forty-seven yard punt from Paul McCallum pinned the Bombers on their own seven. After Anton McKenzie stuffed Fred Reid for a loss on first-down, the Bombers’ erratic Michael Bishop started the comeback for the Lions, throwing a pass directly to the Lions’ Dante Marsh, who scampered eighteen yards for the touchdown to cut the margin to seven.

After a two-and-out from the Bombers, the Lions’ offense would start moving the ball, Lulay running for thirty yards on a second-and-ten to key the drive resulting in a thirteen-yard field goal from Paul McCallum narrowing the gap to four. Another two-and-out, with Bishop missing Otis Amey twice and a poor Serna punt of only twenty-eight yards gave the ball back to BC. The Lions mustered only one first down before stalling, but ended up adding a single to the tally when a booming McCallum punt rolled out of the back of the end zone to make it 14-11 in favour of the Bombers.

Korey Banks would come up with a sack and forced fumble recovered by Aaron Hunt which led to another field goal from McCallum to knot the score, this one from thirty-seven yards.

Bishop would manage to connect on a long throw to Terrance Edwards on the next possession for the Bombers to move the ball to the BC 33. An eighteen-yard penalty against Stephen Williams- which also resulted in Williams’ being sent off- moved the ball down to the BC 15 and Fred Reid would carry for eleven more down to the four before the Lions’ defence shut the Bombers down and forced the Serna field goal to put the home side up by three with under half a minute remaining in the half.

A good return from Harris and a pair of completions from Lulay to O’Neil Wilson would set up a forty-seven yard McCallum field goal to end the half with the score deadlocked at seventeen.

Both teams would duel in the middle of the field for the majority of the third quarter, with the only real sustained drive resulting in yet another chip-shot field goal from Winnipeg’s Serna, this one from seventeen yards to break the tie.

The Lions would go from their 31 to the Winnipeg 20, only to come away empty-handed when Lulay was intercepted by Jonathan Hefney. Michael Bishop answered with an interception toss of his own, hitting the Lions ‘ Barron Miles who had dropped into double coverage, and who returned the pick to the Winnipeg 28. Two plays later, it was Lulay to A.J. Harris for thirty yards and six points, Harris’ first touchdown in the CFL and as a BC Lion. The McCallum conversion made it 24-20 in favour of the Lions with just under thirteen minutes in the game.

Winnipeg would add another single on a Serna miss wide left from forty-seven yards out to close to within three. The Bombers’ offense would be largely stuck in neutral for the remainder of the game with Bishop returning to his erratic form. By the time Bishop threw his second  interception to a wide-open Barron Miles, the Lions’ chances of victory seemed greatly enhanced, and the team held on to run out the clock and seal the win.

There will be words in both locker rooms and for the Lions on their flight back to Vancouver about turnovers and discipline, as both teams combined to turn the ball over nine times. Penalties were also a factor in the game, with the home-standing Bombers being penalized nine times for a total of eighty-six yards and the Lions flagged seven times for eighty-six, with each team having a penalty declined.

A big tip of the hat to Andrew Bucholtz of Sporting Madness for keeping this reporter both entertained and informed during today’s game despite the lack of a viable TSN web feed for the game. Andrew, you’re a gentleman and a scholar as well as fine company with which to cover a game.