The BC Lions defeated the Edmonton Eskimos 36-1 Friday Night (Photo Perry Nelson: Edmonton Sun)

The BC Lions knew they had to take care of business tonight against a depleted Edmonton Eskimos squad at Commonwealth Stadium, and take care of business they did. The Lions rolled over the Eskimos picking up their 2nd win of the season. With the win the Lions moved into sole possession of 3rd place in the CFL west and regained the crossover spot from Toronto who also moved to 2-6 the night before.

Defence was the story,  picking up four interceptions and 8 sacks on the night. Edmonton had no answer for the BC pass rush and without Ricky Ray had little time to get in sync with a makeshift group of receivers that included former Lions Ryan Grice-Mullen and recent cut Dobson Collins.

While the Eskimos offence was depleted with injuries their defence also struggled badly. Travis Lulay redeemed himself after poor outing against Winnipeg going 22 of 37 for 343 yards, 4 TD’s and one interception. The offence sputtered on it’s first couple of drives, but got rolling on a great 56 yard catch and run effort by Akeem Foster to put the Lions up 7-0. The Lions built up a 20-1 lead by the half with two Paul McCallum field goals and the first touchdown by Arland Bruce as a BC Lion.

Bruce had a great game in his second appearance as a Lion, racking up two touchdowns and 129 yards on 9 catches. Rookie Kierrie Johnson also had a strong game for the Lions. The small but speedy receiver is making the most of his chance to crack the lineup and 6 catches for 84 yards. Johnson would leave the game in the 3rd quarter however with what the team is calling a bruised shoulder.

The most impressive part of the win was the fact the Lions kept their foot on the throats of the Eskimos in the second half, keeping the pressure on Ray and moving the ball. Ray eventually gave way to Kerry Joseph who wasn’t much more effective than his predecessor. The Lions defensive line was in the backfield on almost every play and the secondary played with some swagger (sorry Winnipeg) once again.

The Lions now head into the bye week on a high and can really get themselves back in the playoff picture with string back to back efforts against the Toronto Argonauts.

Quick Hits:

• The Eskimos have given up 18 sacks in the last three games, including eight to the Lions.
• Geroy Simon passed Darren Flutie to move into 3rd place all-time in receiving yards. His 87th touchdown also ties Willie Flemming for the most in Lions history.
• The game balls were awarded to Marco Iannuzi (Special Teams), Jacques Chapdelaine (Offence) and Mike Benevides (Defence).
• Kudos to the Eskimos fans who donated over 109,000 pounds of food for the Purolator Tackle Hunger program, 5,000 more pounds than their Calgary rivals down the highway.

Game stats (CFL.ca)

Post game video blog (Lowell Ullrich, The Fifth Quarter)

Oh, as a Lions’ fan, how sweet it is. The drought has ended.

This week, for the first time since the preseason, our boys in orange and black don’t have to walk off the field with the bitter dregs of defeat in their mouths. Also, this week, instead of getting the standard sports report write-up of the game [I did spend a few years writing sports desk a little over a decade and a half ago], you’re getting a fan’s report. If you want the other sort, I’m sure you can find the Sun or the Province, and either of them will have solid enough reportage describing the game.

But, like me, you’re fans. Chances are you were at the game, or watched it on television- whether on TSN, or for those of us stuck on the southern side of the border, the NFL Network, or listened to it on the radio.

It’s a win, and one which looks fairly decisive on the scoresheet. 24-11 looks solid- a two-score margin of victory, and breaking the winless streak feels pretty darn good. For that matter, up until the final few minutes of the first half we saw the Lions play the way the team did in the preseason and dominate the game.

Travis Lulay was pretty good for the first half of the match, and Geroy Simon had the sort of evening that recalls Superman in his prime, closing the night out with seven catches for 134 yards and a touchdown while setting up another one. Lulay ended up 18 for 27 for 257 yards with one interception coming on a bad read in the third quarter.

Jamal Robertson had ten carries for 56 yards; Tim Brown had a carry for a touchdown- set up by three successive Lulay to Simon passes.

Inside the three-minute mark of the first half, the Lions were looking like Empire emperors, keeping the Saskatchewan offense in check and moving the ball fairly regularly, and showing off a 20-3 edge. That final Rider possession of the half likely had some fans- myself included- a little uneasy. It was the one series where the defence showed some of the little mistakes which have plagued the team in the year to date, culminating in a Darian Durant to Chris Getzlaf major to cut the lead to 20-10.

Coming out to start the second half, neither side could establish much in their first possession, and the Leos moved the ball but stalled on their second, leading to Durant starting to march the Riders down the field for them to end up coming away empty handed when Eddie Johnson’s 35-yard attempt clanked off the upright. The visitors would have another crack at the scoreboard to close out the third quarter, but would settle for a single on another Johnson miss.

The fourth quarter was a chance for the Leo D to show its stuff, keeping Saskatchewan in check while the offence sputtered and failed to capitalize on a brilliant opportunity, managing only a Paul McCallum field goal after a shanked punt and ensuing no-yards penalty gave the Lions the ball inside the 30 yard line. A later punt rouge would round out the scoring.

It was a solid showing by the defence, and a good enough one by the offence to stake out the victory over a struggling opponent; and showed some promise. By and large, the errors which have plagued the team were kept to a minimum, the defence showed that they could pin their ears back and sustain pressure on one of the league’s most mobile passers.

Solomon Elimimian led the defence with a stunning twelve tackles and registered one of the three sacks absorbed by Durant, and he and Keron Williams rarely missed an opportunity to lay a big hit on anyone wearing green and white.

The defensive backfield wasn’t spectacular, but was solid enough, with newcomer Tad Kornegay showing he knew a bit of the Rider offense. More importantly, none of the d-backs were burned on long completions, not yielding a completion netting more than 21 yards nor getting victimized on penalties. The Lions only took three on the evening, and benefited from 12 flags being thrown against the Riders.

Next week, the Lions will face a stiffer challenge at home, as they host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (5-1), who this week knocked off the previously undefeated Edmonton Eskimos in a battle of surprise Division leaders.

Quick Hits:

• A crowd of 25,238 took in the game. Just over a 1000 more than watched the Hamilton game. So much for half a stadium of green. There were Rider fans, but in very small pockets. Despite another debunking of “the myth” it’s always a good atmosphere when the Riders come to town.
• The crowd at last night’s game seemed to know the importance of it. They were more into the game then previous ones this year.
• The Lions had a moment of silence for the late Richard Harris before the game.

Travis Lulay fends off the Bombers Jonathon Hefney – Photo Credit: John Woods – Canadian Press

The BC Lions just can’t get a break. It also seems can’t they make one of their own and Thursday night in Winnipeg, the Lions dropped their 5th game in a row to remain winless in 2011, losing 25-20 to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers who moved to 4-1 on the year.

The Lions had maybe their best performance of the season, but once again drops at key times and defensive breakdowns cost them the game. To add insult to injury they let Bomber backup QB Alex Brink drive 64 yards in the 4th quarter to give the Bombers the win. Brink entered the game in the 3rd quarter after Buck Pierce left with what appeared to be another concussion.

The Lions defence had played well up until the Brink drive, going toe to toe with the best defence in the CFL. But when it counted the most, Ryan Phillips let Terence Edwards walk right by him over the middle, and the the seas parted for Brink who ran a QB draw up the middle for a huge gain. The drive ended with Edwards beating Davis Sanchez for the winning touchdown and the Lions failing to respond on their 2nd to final drive. BC were facing a 3rd and 10 with just over two minutes remaining but Lulay’s pass to Geroy Simon sailed onto the turf after Simon was blatantly interfered with by Merrill Johnson and no call was made. The Lions  got the ball back with 28 second left on the clock but it was just a formality.

The Bombers were playing on an emotional roller coaster after the passing of defensive line coach and former Lions coach Richard Harris to a heart attack earlier in the week. The two teams met at the middle of the field for a tribute to the popular coach prior to kick off.

Both teams started slowly, but both Pierce and Lulay began to move their teams after the first quarter. The Lions took a 13-6 lead to the half after a great catch by Geroy Simon and a run by Jamal Robertson. Paul McCallum added a late field goal.

But Winnipeg came out and took less than four minutes to take the lead. On their first drive, Bombers’ rookie slotback Clarence Demark caught an 82-yard reception, resulting in a Winnipeg touchdown.  With 11:28 left in the third quarter, Justin Palardy connected with a 38-yard field goal giving the Bombers into the lead by a score of 16-13.

Palardy connected with a 24-yard field goal, extending the Bombers’ lead to 19-14 after a McCallum single, and the Lions would manage two more field goals to take a one point lead.

It was then time for Brink’s heroics. After the go ahead touchdown the Bombers failed to covert on their two point attempt after a delay of game penalty pushed them back to the 15 yard line, leaving the Lions down by five, but BC couldn’t generate anymore offence.

The Lions must now look at making changes. It’s unlikely coaching changes will occur unless Wally Buono resigns, or David Braley has seen enough. However, Braley has been fiercely loyal to Buono and that seems unlikely at this time. With the team moving into a new BC Place stadium and hosting the Grey Cup this year, the season could not be off to a worse start.

Let the airlift begin.

Quick hits:

• The Lions have yet to officially announce it but the club has signed DB Tad Kornegay who was released by Saskatchewan last week. With more secondary blunders it’s highly likely someone could be cut to make room for him.
• Dobson Collins may have run out of chances with three more drops and a dumb penalty for taunting.
• BC Lions centre Angus Reid tweeted “Sorry” to the fans after the game. If everyone had his effort and passion for the game, the Lions wouldn’t be in this spot.
• Travis Lulay continues to struggle at times, missing receivers at key times in the game. That said against the Bombers he was running for his life a lot. Winnipeg had six sacks to add to their league leading total, while the Lions had four.
• Lions fans can have the chance to checkout  BC Place stadium this Sunday from 12:00-3:00pm. Enter at the west end of BC Place at Pacific Boulevard and Terry Fox Way.

Game stats 

Next game: Friday, August 5th versus Saskatchewan Roughriders at Empire Field.

Travis Lulay and the BC Lions offence couldn’t get on track against the Eskimos
Photo Credit: Canadian Press / Ian Jackson

There is an old saying that says “The defence rests”. Saturday afternoon in Edmonton the Lions defence never got that chance as the Lions fell to the 3-0 Edmonton Eskimos by a score of 33-17.

An inept offence kept the defence on the field for most of the game and it was too much to ask against an Edmonton offence firing on all cylinders to start the season. With the win the Eskimos sit alone at the top of the CFL West division while the Lions are sharing the basement with the equally hurting Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The Eskimos set the tone for the game early, methodically marching down the field and in the process using up half the first quarter on a drive that saw Ricky Ray go 7-8. Edmonton failed get a major but opened the scoring on a 20 yard Damon Duval field goal.

The Lions proceeded to go two and out on their first possession, and that would be the story of the first half. With the Lions defence settling down after that first drive they gave the offence the chance to get going by keeping the score close. But fatigue would soon set in.

Last week’s game saw Lulay the victim of drops by his receivers. But on this night he saw his passes bouncing off the turf or thrown over his targets head. The running game was once again not utilized, and the Eskimos defence barely saw the field.

Even when the defence appeared to make a stop, there were penalties that kept drives alive. An Eric Taylor offside penalty kept saw the Eskimos take advantage on the next two plays, with a 17 yard pass to Jason Barnes and then 42 yard pass and run to Fred Stamps for the game’s first touchdown. The Eskimos led 10-0 with the Lions only touching the ball four times.

The Eskimos would add a single on the ensuing kickoff after Tim Brown bobbled the ball in the end zone and the Lions ineptitude on offense continued as two more passes went incomplete with Lulay still looking shaky. Lulay was 1 for 6 for 7 yards in the opening frame.

When the 2nd quarter began, the Lions defence was again trying to do their part, forcing the Eskimos to punt on their first possession of the 2nd quarter. But the offense continued to sputter and after another two and out Edmonton blocked a Paul McCallum punt and things started going from bad to worse for the Lions.

With the Eskimos scrimmaging at the Lions 35, Ray drove the Esks into field goal position and Duval extended the lead to 14-0. The Lions looked to build on their 7 yards of offence but an end around to Shawn Gore went nowhere and Lulay couldn’t connect on a 2nd and 5 forcing the Lions to punt once again. McCallum pinned the Eskimos deep and the Lions defence who had practically been on the field for the whole game were able to get a stop and the Lions had great field position to start at the Eskimo’s 45 after the punt. Lulay completes a 7 yard pass to Geroy Simon but the Lions couldn’t convert on 2nd and 3 after Jamall Robertson was stuffed. BC sent out Paul McCallum to try a 45 yard field goal and he connected to get the Lions on the board, making the score 14-3 with just over four minutes remaining in the half.

The fatigue of being on the field for the whole half started to show on the Lions defence. Marcus Henry caught a pass in front of Dante Marsh for a nice gain, before Adarious Bowman went on a 46 yard romp after a missed tackle by David Hyland. The Eskimos punched it into the end zone on the next play with a Ricky Ray pass to Daniel Porter and it was 21-3 Eskimos.

The Lions got their first 1st down of the half with just over 2:00 minutes remaining. The set of plays saw a big completion to Geroy Simon of 38 yards as the Lions looked to get some points before the half. They accomplished that when Lulay found Simon in the end zone with 1:34 remaining and the Lions were amazingly only down by 11.

But with just over a minute left Ray wasn’t satisfied and marched the Eskimos into Lions territory. Once again sloppy tackling was a key by a tired defence. To make matters worse, nose tackle Eric Taylor had to leave with a leg injury and the Lions didn’t have a backup leaving the defensive line thin. The Eskimo drive stalled and a 44 yard Duval field goal sailed wide for a single, making the score 22-10 at the half.

The Lions received to start the 3rd quarter and scrimmaged from inside their 25. A two yard toss to Andrew Harris and a 2nd down conversion to Akeem Foster saw things start more promising for BC. The drive continued with completions to Dobson Collins and Kamau Peterson but stalled on the next two plays, forcing the Lions to punt.

The Eskimos first possession of the 2nd half started at their own 21. Daniel Porter ran for 8 yards to start the drive but the Lions stuffed him in the backfield on 2nd down and the Eskimos had to give the ball back. A great return by Andrew Harris on the punt was nullified by a Rolly Lumbala holding call however and the Lions scrimmaged from their 35 but failed to generate anything more than a first down.

On the next drive Ray scampered for 27 yards. The Lions had the Eskimos facing third and five, but Edmonton caught the Lions sleeping on a fake punt and direct snap to Mathieu Betrand to extend the drive. The move paid off for the Eskimos as even though the drive was stopped again it got them into field goal range. Luckily for the Lions Duval pushed it wide again for another single, extending the lead to 23-10.

The defence had kept the score within a couple of touchdowns and on the Lions next drive they decided to start using Jamall Roberston and it started to pay off. But then the wheels came off as Lulay threw a pass to the sideline that was jumped on by TJ Hill. Lulay did save a touchdown on the play by hustling back to make the tackle on Hill, but the Eskimos were threatening again. After a too many men in the huddle penalty on the Eskimos, Ray ran for a first down then found Jason Barnes to set the Eskimos up first and goal at the five. They only needed one play from Daniel Porter to punch it in, and the Lulay interception proved a costly one, extending the Eskimos lead to 30-10.

That seemed to suck the life out of any momentum the Lions had and the Eskimos added a field goal before Akeem Foster scored a late touchdown to make the final 33-17.

Quick Hits:

• Geroy Simon was one of the lone bright spots on offence for the Lions and surpassed the 14,000 yard mark for his career with a catch in the 4th quarter.
• The Lions rushed the ball just 8 times for 56 yards.
• Ricky Ray has yet to throw an interception in 3 games this season, and was 24 of 33 for 320 yards and 2 touchdowns.
• The Lions next game is Friday July 22nd at 7:00pm against the Hamilton Tiger Cats at Empire Field.

Apologies to Vanya Tucherov for the late posting of this recap. I was without internet for a few days while I moved. It may be old news now but as we attempt to be your fan blog for BC Lions coverage, it still needs to be posted.

After a lacklustre first half which saw the Calgary Stampeders score a last second touchdown to take a 7-6 edge into the locker room, the BC Lions came out and went toe-to-toe with the Stamps, with the Lions tallying four second half touchdowns to Calgary’s three and a pair of Rene Parades field goals, leaving the visitors to take the 34-32 victory over the Leos at Empire Field.

While the first half last week in Montreal saw the BC secondary victimized, this week, neither side could get the offense untracked, resulting in an ugly, sloppy display from both sides with Travis Lulay only managing three completions for 25 total yards passing, with the rushing attack equally anaemic, mustering a total of 17 yards- two rushing losses and a Lulay keeper for 19 yards. Lions receivers dropped five passes in the half, and Lulay missed several of them on mid- to long-range seam routes.

The second half, both offenses made adjustments, while the defences suddenly became inept. The half opened with Henry Burris leading the Stamps down the field, and capped with a Burris to Jon Cornish touchdown. Not to be outdone, Lulay and his recievers started to find ways to hook up, finding non-import reciever Akeem Foster with the 54-yard strike for the major to bring the Lions back to within one after the McCallum conversion.

Burris would bring Calgary right back to tally another TD, this time finding Landan Talley from 16 yards out to stretch the lead back to eight points. Matching the Stamps drive for drive, Lulay brought the Lions back to match, sharing the load between Andrew Harris and Shawn Gore, with Gore doing the honours from eleven yards out.

Not to be outdone, it was Burris again, taking only three plays to take Calgary back to paydirt, connecting with Nik Lewis on a 61-yard strike to restore the lead at eight to close out the third quarter.

Opening the fourth, the Lion offense missed a step, going two-and-out on their opening possession, but the defence got good pressure on Burris and got the ball back following a pair of Joffrey Reynolds runs. Lulay found Geroy Simon for 30 yards on the first play of the ensuing possession, then S. J. Black for another eight down to the Calgary 17 yard line. Jamal Robertson carried for three yards, and Tim Brown took the ball in from six yards out on what looked like a broken option pitch play. The Lions went for the two-point conversion, but missed, with a Lulay pass falling just off the fingertips of Jamal Robertson.

Stanley Franks would snare the third interception of Burris on the first play from scrimmage after the touchdown, but the Lions would prove unable to capitalize, going two-and-out again.

Although the Lions special teams unit managed to hold the Stamps deep in their own end on the ensuing punt, the run defence would look a little suspect, giving up a 19 yard gallop to Cornish, followed by Burris completions of fifteen yards apiece to Romby Bryant and Talley before another pair of runs by Larry Taylor and Cornish again would set up the first of Parades’ field goals to stretch the lead back to five points.

Lulay would get victimized for the second time on the evening, with Keon Raymond snagging the errant pass and returning it 24 yards before being brought down by Jon Hameister-Ries. The defence would hold, with Aaron Hunt coming up with the big sack on Burris on second-and-two from the 14, forcing the Stamps to settle for another field goal and an eight point edge with just over two minutes remaining.

The Lions weren’t ready to surrender the field yet in front of the opening night crowd at Empire, with Lulay hitting Dobson Collins for a 45 yard gain, followed by quick strikes to Gore and Simon of eleven and ten yards respectively to take the ball inside the Calgary 10. After an illegal contact flag on Calgary’s Robert McCune, Lulay took the ball in himself from five yards out, diving to break the plane of the end zone on a scramble to his right, bringing the Lions back to within two points with just over a minute remaining.

When the attempted conversion was dropped Geroy Simon, it looked as if the night might be over, but fate showed that there is a reason games are played until the final gun regardless of how bleak the outcome may seem. With fifty-nine seconds remaining and no timeouts available, it looked as if the Stampeders would just run out the clock- but Burris handoff to Reynolds on first down was about eighteen inches too high, resulting in a loose ball recovered by the Lions Solomon Elimimian at the BC 49 with 55 ticks left. A run, an incompletion, and two short passes later, the Lions had moved to the Calgary 48, but a final incompletion left them facing third-and-8 there, down two points. Paul McCallum came on to attempt the 55-yard field goal into the wind, but left it short and to the right, and keeping the confines of Empire Field not so friendly to the homestanding Lions, who now drop to 3-7 at the facility.

Quick Hits:

• No one stands out as exceptional on the offensive side of the ball. Travis Lulay’s line for the evening: 17 of 39 for 279 yards and 2 TDs, but also a pair of interceptions. He was also the only Lion to carry the ball more than three times or net more than ten yards, carrying four times for 28 yards and a touchdown.
• Among the receiving corps, Shawn Gore shows the benefits of the tutelage he’s been getting from Superman, catching seven balls for 96 yards, while Andrew Harris and Akeem Foster made their solitary catches count, each earning a major- Foster from 54 yards, Harris from 11.
• On the defensive side, defensive tackle Eric Taylor led the way with eight tackles and a sack, while Solomon Elimimian had five and was credited with the fumble recovery which made the last-ditch McCallum try possible. Adam Leonard and Dante Marsh also had fumble recoveries; while Marsh, Ryan Phillips and Stanley Franks had interceptions on the night and Aaron Hunt had the other sack. Special teams were not as strong as last week, yielding over two hundred return yards- 150 to Talley on five kick returns.
• This week the Lions travel to Edmonton to take on the Eskimos on Saturday. Edmonton, is the surprise of the early CFL season and the hottest team in the west, defeating Saskatchewan and Hamilton to open their season 2-0.

Against a lesser team, the BC Lions possibly escape with a victory. Unfortunately, tonight they faced off against the two-time defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes instead and a valiant second half rally fell short by a 30-26 score.

With the first possession of the game, the Als managed to do what neither Calgary nor Saskatchewan could during the preseason, score a major on the Lions defence. Diamond Ferri took the opening kickoff from Paul McCallum at the Montreal 14 yard line, and the season was underway. Ferri would be brought down after a 23 yard return by Anthony Reddick and six plays later, Anthony Calvillo found S. J. Green behind the Lions secondary and the 51-yard scoring toss drew first blood, putting the Alouettes up 7-0 after the conversion.

While Montreal may have gotten exactly the start they could have hoped for, the same could not be said for the visiting Lions, who went 2-and-out on their opening possession, yielding a sack on the first play under centre followed by an incompletion from Lulay intended for Jamal Richardson, leaving McCallum to kick the ball away.

The little errors and untimely penalties which plagued last year’s edition of the Lions looked as if they might recur when an unnecessary roughness penalty against Aaron Hunt tacked fifteen yards onto a Brandon Whitaker 28-yard run, moving the ball inside the Lions’ 25, leaving BC in danger of dropping ten or more points in arrears less than halfway into the first quarter. The Als were unable to convert, however, with Sean Whyte hitting the right upright on a 35-yard attempt.

The Lions were able to capitalize somewhat on the momentum shift after the Whyte miss, moving the ball sixty-four yards in eleven plays before getting on the board with the first of McCallum’s four field goals on the night. On the drive, Geroy Simon caught a sixteen-yard toss from Lulay to move into fourth place among the CFL’s all-time receiving leaders.

The Lions secondary in particular looked shaky for most of the first half, letting the Als stretch the defensive backfield and tally 27 points by the half with the Lions only managing to add a late touchdown throw by Lulay to Akeem Foster on a drive kept alive on a 2nd-and-10 completion from Lulay to rookie receiver Dobson Collins good for 49 yards.

The second half would see the Lions come out and move the ball downfield only to stall when a blown coverage allowed Ferri to drop Jarious Jackson, who had come in on the short-yardage play with the Lions looking at first-and-goal from the 2 yard line for an eleven yard loss. Rather than punching the ball in for the touchdown, the Lions settled for McCallum’s second FG of the night to close to 27-10.

Reddick would continue his strong play on defensive special teams with a big hit on Tim Maypray which seemed to set the tone for the Lions’ play when Montreal had the ball in the second half. The Alouettes generally had the better field position through the third quarter, but the BC defence proved stalwart when needed and kept their hosts from capitalizing.

With three minutes left in the third quarter, Tim Brown managed to pull off something which had the Lions’ faithful (and your BCLionsDen.ca staff) asking “Yonus who?” as he returned a Whyte punt 97 yards for the touchdown bringing the black and orange to within ten. If Brown can continue with the play he showed this evening, his predecessor as Leos’ kick returner will surely be forgotten in the “ecstasy” of the Lions’ coaching staff and fans.

Montreal would close out their side of the scoring ledger with a Whyte field goal in the waning seconds of the third quarter and would take the final turn up 30-20. Bracketing the opening of the final frame, Lulay would find Simon and Collins for 36 and 14 yards respectively before the drive would fizzle when Lulay just slightly overthrew Collins in the end zone. McCallum would tally his third field goal of the night from 39 yards, and it seemed as if the comeback might be on.

In the end, though, Lions’ fan’s hopes to steal a victory from the beast of the East were dashed as the team started to win the field position battle, forcing Montreal coach Marc Trestman to elect to have Sean Whyte punt from fifteen yards deep in his own end zone up by seven points with under three minutes to play. The Lions started to move again, but without a timeout came up a bit short and settled for McCallum’s fourth field goal of the night to round out the scoring.

Coach Buono’s decision to kick the field goal on third-and-five rather than going for the conversion will certainly be questioned at some length before next week’s tilt at Empire Field against the Stampeders. With the momentum and field position favouring the Leos and Lulay having success finding several receivers, the call seemed an overly conservative one, as with no timeouts left and 1:42 left on the clock at the change of possession, the Lions were unable to get the ball back to take one more shot at the victory.

Quick Hits:

• Travis Lulay had a good statistical evening, going 26 of 45 for 366 yards and out-throwing Calvillo, who ended up 22-of-30 for 312.
• The offensive line for the Lions showed significant improvement in their pass protection, only allowing the opening drive sack of Lulay and the blown coverage which dropped Jackson down in the red zone.
• Tim Brown had five punt returns for 132 yards, including the 97-yarder; and added 50 yards on three kick returns, with Andrew Harris netting 59 on the other three.
• On the defensive side of the ball, Solomon Elimimian led the charge with seven tackles, while Anthony Reddick tallied five and a pair on special teams.
• Geroy Simon, Shawn Gore and Jamal Robertson each had five catches, followed by Dobson Collins, Akeem Foster and Nick Moore with three apiece. Simon’s catches netted 115 yards, rookie Collins finished with 85.

CFL.ca Game Stats

BCLions.com Recap

Game Photos

Next game: Friday July 8th versus Calgary at Empire Field. 7:30pm. Tickets

BC Lions fans woke up this with the knowledge that their team had qualified for the CFL’s 2nd season. They also rushed to the shower to wash whatever remnants of green were left on them.

It was a draining day for fans of the orange and black, as they had to sweat out a close 23-21 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Hamilton and then watch nervously as the Edmonton Eskimos battled the Saskatchewan Roughriders to determine their playoff fate. In the end it all worked out, but boy did the teams involved make it tough.

The Lions started slowly against their feline counterparts. Hamilton QB Kevin Glenn came out firing on all cylinders and his performance led his team to a 21-14 halftime lead. Coach Wally Buono said his team regained composure at halftime.

“We weren’t good in the first half,” said head coach Wally Buono. “We were a little bit lethargic on defence. We were not as into the game as maybe we would have thought. They regrouped at half time. They made some plays. We kind of won ugly again. But we won, right?”

It was ugly at times, but regroup they did. The Lions held Hamilton pointless in the second half; while Lulay went on to have easily his best game in the CFL. Despite one interception the improving Lions QB was 30 of 41 for 424 yards and one interception on the day, and made several big plays with Emmanuel Arceneaux being his favorite target. The Lions receiver had a huge game with two touchdowns and 164 yards on 8 catches, despite battling the flu.

To the surprise of many, the Tabbies left Kevin Glenn in the game in the 2^nd half but he went cold thanks in large part to several dropped passes by his receivers and backs. On his one deep drive in the third quarter and threatening in the red zone, the Lions defence stepped up with a huge interception by rookie Anthony Reddick that snuffed the drive and kept critical points off the board.

The Lions themselves could only manage three field goals in the 2^nd half, despite moving the ball, but it would be all they needed. They got critical points on one drive where former Lions Otis Floyd lost it for a series and took two unnecessary roughing penalties on Lulay that put the Lions in position to win the game in the 4^th quarter.

“We just didn’t make enough plays,” said Glenn. “We had opportunities to make plays and put the game out of reach, or get some momentum and we didn’t.”

Despite the win, the Lions had to keep celebrations muted and nervously watch the Eskimos and Roughriders to learn their fate. After a less than impressive first half performance in the first half to make the Lions and their fans sweat, the Riders finally got on track in the 2^nd half and gave the Lions playoff life.

Ironically, the Lions will now try and spoil the party in Regina next weekend, and with the team continuing to improve and having been in playoff mode the whole 2^nd half of the season, it makes for an interesting matchup, particularly with the Riders struggling of late.

Any given Sunday right?

Game Stats

Quick Hits:

• The Lions were in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in 14 years.
• Yonus Davis was kept in check by the Ticats 19 yards on two kick returns and just 13 yards on 6 punt returns.
• Stanley Franks had a tough time dealing with Maurice Mann, but led the team with 6 tackles.
• Emmanuel Arceneaux went over 1000 yards for the first time in his career.

Brian Wawryshyn, BCLionsDen.ca

The BC Lions held a 21 point lead in the second half and ended up losing in overtime to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 47-35, and missed a huge chance to put a stranglehold on a playoff spot in the process.

What was responsible for the Manitoba meltdown? Untimely penalties, undisciplined play, poor special teams and the inability to move the ball in the 4th quarter all played roles in the most disappointing loss of the season to date.

Both teams started slowly on offense, and for awhile those suffering from an overdose of turkey induced comas had little hope for a remedy from watching this game. With the score 11-8 at halftime, and the Winnipeg faithful having little faith in QB Alex Brink, the Lions started to put some things together, an were spraked by yet another highlight return by Yonus Davis, who gave the Lions a 15-11 lead with a 73 yard punt return. A botched fake punt set the Lions up in the redzone and Travis Lulay found Geroy Simon in the endzone and then found Emmanuel Arceneaux to put the Lions up 32-11 heading into the fourth quarter.

Travis Lulay evades Winnipeg tacklers. Photo: BCLions.com

But with Lulay finding a rhythm, he was forced to leave the game with an injury to his right hand, and Casey Printers entered the game to hopefully take the win home…yeah, no.

Trailing 32-11 heading into the fourth quarter it was Winnipeg QB Steven Jyles who entered the game, and who would guide his team to a win with his team on playoff life support. The fans had been calling for Jyles after Brinks was continually ineffective. Jyles got the team in position to get a 45 yard field goal, then found Terrence Edwards in the endzone to cut the Lions lead to eleven points. Following that TD, Davis Sanchez lost it and racked up 25 yards in penalties  and the Bombers easily added a single on the ensuing kick off cutting the lead to ten.

You could feel the game slipping away from the Lions, and Casey Printers had no response leading the offense. Jyles would find Greg Carr in the endzone late, cutting the lead to three at 32-29 with under a minute to play. All the Lions really needed was a deep kick, some solid special teams and a stop or two and the game was over. Instead, Jovan Johnson took the kick off into Lions territory, setting up a 43 yard Justin Palardy field goal to send the game to overtime and sending the Winnipeg crowd into a frenzy.

The Lions could only manage a Sean Whyte field goal after procedure penalties hindered any progress the Lions could make. Then, with the Lions defence on the field, the Bombers appeared to be taken out of field goal range on a sack, but Khalif Mitchell was ejected from the game after losing his cool and punching a Bomber player in the pile. The mental mistake cost the Lions dearly, as the Bombers tied the game with a field goal of their ow and the teams went to the second half of overtime tied at 35-35.

The Bombers had the ball first and drove for a touchdown, missing the two point convert. The pressure was on the Lions, and QB Casey Printers, and more penalties hampered the offence. In the end facing a second and long, Printers threw an ill advised ball that was picked off by Deon Beasley and returned for a touchdown, also returning the playoff hopes of the Bombers in the process.

One would hate to be a player in the Lions locker room following the game as they have no one to blame but themselves for the meltdown. What was more disappointing was the people taking the penalties. Veteran’s like Sanchez who need to be leaders have to be smarter and more composed.

Quick Hits:

• Travis Lulay started slowly, but used his feet well. He was 13/22 147 yards and no interceptions. He did have a couple of fumbles.
• The Bombers started Alex Brink in a controversial move, and they nearly paid for it. They gave the QB plenty of time to find his way, much to the displeasure of the Bomber faithful. He finished 4/18 for 61 yards before being pulled.
• Angus Reid left the game in the 4th quarter, an injury that could have huge ramifications to the offence next week if he can’t go. Being a short week, it appears Justin Sorensen could be the centre against Edmonton.
• The Lions missed a huge chance to secure a playoff spot with the loss. Had they won, they would have been two games up on Edmonton and three up on the Bombers in a crossover scenario, making next week’s home game versus the Eskimos huge.
• Geroy Simon’s touchdown was the 90th of his CFL career.

Vanya Tucherov – BCLionsDen.ca

The BC Lions’ venture into McMahon Stadium to do battle with the CFL-leading Calgary Stampeders was fraught with many of the same horrors which have plagued the Lions all season – sloppy execution, shaky play from the offensive line and turnovers, but, as a direct result of a resolute defence and some stellar special teams play, the result was a 29-10 triumph over the Stampeders.

The game started well for the Leos as Yonus Davis took the opening kickoff 73 yards and Geroy Simon caught an eighteen yard strike from Casey Printers. Suddenly the Lions had the ball at the twelve yard line looking to make an emphatic statement early in the game. Instead of punctuating the statement with the exclamation mark that a touchdown would have been, after two Casey Printers overthrows of Simon, Paul McCallum came on to draw first blood with the field goal.

Henry Burris would take two plays to throw his first interception of the game, finding Dante Marsh to give the Orange and Black the ball again in Calgary territory.

Second verse, almost the same as the first. This time, the chosen receiver was Paris Jackson, who caught a seven yard hitch and was then overthrown on second and three, leading to McCallum’s second of the game, this one from forty-two yards, and the Lions were up 6-0 less than five minutes into the game; but with the feeling that perhaps it should have at least been 10-0.

Given the way the year has gone, it was hard to stay positive. Watching the Twitter feed of Lions’ fans talking about the game, there was more than a little fatalism, as viewers wondered how long it’d take for the failure to convert the majors to come back to haunt the Leos.

The Stamps weren’t getting anything established with the ball either, which led to generally positive field position for the Lions on both sides of the ball. A pair of punts later, the Lions D held the red and white to a two-and-out down in the shadows of their own goalposts, and Yonus Davis’ twenty-nine yard return of Burke Dales’ punt from the Calgary ten netted twenty-six yards and gave the Lions a third possession in Stampeders’ territory. Like the previous two, though, this one stalled quickly and ended up with a third McCallum field goal on the board, rounding out the scoring in the first frame with the Lions out to the 9-0 edge.

When Printers fumbled at the Lions’ thirteen on the team’s second snap of the second quarter, the collective groan seemed to be that the tide was about to turn with the Stamps this time having excellent field position. The groan grew in timbre when Burris found Romby Bryant to move the ball down to the one-yard line. Two rush attempts later- and two times Calgary players were credited with recovering the ball after putting it on the carpet- the Lions had taken ten of those twelve yards back, and forced Rob Maver and the kicking team onto the field for the Stamps. Maver banged his attempt off of the top of the right upright, and suddenly, the Lions weren’t the only team leaving points on the field.

Three non-descript possessions and ensuing punts later, the Stampeders were deep in their own end again when Burris made another mistake, throwing an interception to Korey Banks and giving the Lions possession at the Calgary six-yard line after Banks’ pick was initially returned into the end zone for an apparent touchdown- which was overturned after Calgary coach John Hufnagel challenged the ruling on the field.

Again, the Lions would fail to capitalize on the gift. Tearrius George would break through the BC line and tally the sack on Printers, knocking the ball loose in the process. George would also come up with the recovery, and more potential points were orphaned. Printers would be benched for the balance of the evening, winding up four of nine for 62 yards, but losing two of three fumbles and often overthrowing his receivers badly on the incompletions.

Travis Lulay wouldn’t have an exceptional evening on in relief, winding up five-of-twelve for only eighty-five yards, but would manage to guide BC into McCallum field goal range on the final two possessions of the half, aided in the first by a 27-yard pass interference penalty on Calgary’s Brandon Smith and in the second by an unnecessary roughness flag against Brandon Browner as the Lions took a 15-0 lead to the locker room at the half.

Receiving to open the second half, the Stampeders moved the ball downfield, but the Lion defence stiffened and forced the Stamps to settle for a twenty-yarder from Maver to break the shutout bid.

Andrew Harris took the ensuing kickoff twenty-six yards to give the Lions a first down at their own 41 yard line, but the offense could only muster a single first down before kicking the ball back to Calgary, but pinning them at their own 4 yard line.

The Stampeders would take to the ground and gain the first down on a Drew Tate plunge on third-and-one from their own thirteen. Burris would break loose on the next play for twenty-eight yards, but lost the ball at the end of his run, with Dante Marsh pouncing on the loose ball at the Calgary 42.

The offense would move the ball, racking up two first downs- one by penalty, but would again bog down and settle for McCallum’s sixth of the night from 28 yards to run the score to 18-3. The BC defence would flex its muscle again, breaking up a Burris pass attempt to Romby Bryant and following it with a huge sack by Solomon Elimimian for a loss of 26, leading to Burke Dales conceding the safety on 3rd and 42.

Yonus Davis would come within a shoelace of breaking another return on the free kick, bringing it back 58 yards to the Calgary 32 moments before the end of the third quarter. McCallum’s magic would miss this time, registering just the single point.

Drew Tate would come in to relieve Burris, whose stat line would read an uncharacteristic 11 of 26 for 136 yards, two interceptions and a lost fumble. McCallum would have a rare miss- hitting the right upright from 38 yards after the teams swapped two-and-outs.

After more offensive stagnation, McCallum would tally another rouge on a 61-yard punt with under four minutes remaining. Calgary would use a minute and fifty seconds of that before turning the ball over on downs as Tate was unable to connect with Ken-Yon Rambo on third and sixteen from midfield.

Jamal Robertson would provide one of the few bright spots for the Lions offense, breaking loose for the touchdown with a gallop from there. The conversion made the score 29-3 with 1:45 remaining. Calgary would get a late touchdown, Tate finding Landan Talley from twelve yards out, but it was far too late as the Lions locked up the win.

Game Stats

Quick Hits:

• Yonus Davis had two kick returns for 131 yards and seven punt returns for 108.
• Jamal Robertson’s 140 yards rushing amount to seven fewer than Printers and Lulay managed through the air.
• Paris Jackson and Geroy Simon each had three catches for 69 and 55 yards respectively.
• Solomon Elimimian led the defence with ten tackles and a sack. Keron Williams and Anthony Reddick also added sacks, while Dante Marsh and Korey Banks had interceptions.

Vanya Tucherov, BCLionsDen.ca

Should the BC Lions miss the playoffs this season, there will be a number of significant points during the season at which they can look back, but few would seem to encapsulate the year-that-could-have-been as neatly as Saturday’s loss at Empire to the visiting Hamilton Tiger-Cats, 35-31.

After three quarters, the Lions had the edge, leading 28-16, but were again unable to hold the lead as the clock counted down, tallying solely a Paul McCallum field goal in the closing frame while surrendering nineteen points to their feline foe.

As has been the case for entirely too much of this season, it was inopportune penalties, poor execution, and turnovers which led to the Leos’ lurching loss, as five BC turnovers in the second half opened the door with an invitation the Ti-Cats couldn’t refuse.

The fourth quarter opened with Hamilton driving the ball on the ground, with DeAndra Cobb registering 32 of his 155 yards on the possession which wrapped the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarters and culminated in a 37-yard field goal from Sandro DeAngelis.  Casey Printers was intercepted on the ensuing possession, and two plays later Kevin Glenn connected with Maurice Mann from fifty-one yards out to close the score to 28-26.

In review, the CFL director of officials Tom Higgins has acknowledged a missed penalty call- an illegal block by Hamilton’s Peter Dyakowski on Anton McKenzie- which should have nullified the Mann touchdown, but just as hindsight is 20:20, excuses are for losers, and the Lions would proceed to lose the ball twice more, the key one coming on a Jerome Messam fumble deep in Lions territory leading to a Glenn to Chris Baumann touchdown. Sandro DeAngelis added another field goal to add the final insult to the reversal on the scoreboard, the latter coming with a mere forty-two seconds left in the game.

And, as has also become commonplace this year, no insult would be complete without the concomitant injury- this time a torn bicep which will shelve Lions’ defencive tackle Steve Williams for the remainder of the season and will put a big strain on the defensive line with injuries already to Aaron Hunt, Domini Pittman and Jeremy Geathers.

In the first half, the Lions’ offense looked to have continued the trend of the last two games, and the defence was at least workman-like, if not exceptional. Casey Printers was showing signs of his circa-2004 flair, distributing the ball to his recievers and backs, including an 11-yard touchdown toss to Geroy Simon in the first quarter and a forty-yard strike to Stephen Black to round out the scoring in the first half; with the tandem of Jerome Messam and Yonus Davis providing just enough of a ground attack to keep the Hamilton defenders from keying on the pass.

Unfortunately, with the rains picking up in the second half, the deluges seemed to wash away those reflections of days past. In the end, four sacks, two interceptions and three fumbles lost in conjunction with seventy-seven yards in penalties was to prove fatal, particularly with four of those five turnovers coming in the final sixteen minutes.

The loss was a tough one to take, with the Lions having the win in the palm of their hands. Their record dropped to 3-8 with their next game in Calgary against the division leading Stampeders, who will be in a surly mood after losing last week in Regina.

Quick Hits:

• Former Lion Jason Jiminez did little to endear himself to his old squad-mates, making an illegal and dangerous block from behind and at the knees  on Brent Johnson.  Jiminez also took a taunting penalty near the end of the first half.
• Jiminez wasn’t alone in the abuse factor, with Jeremy Gibbs flagged for running over Paul McCallum after the conversion to make the score 19-16. Former Lion Otis Floyd also got tempers incited, taunting the BC players during warmups.
• The season-ending loss of Steve Williams left the Lions with only three able-bodied defensive linemen dressed for the game.
• Look for a signing this week or for UBC alumus and home-grown talent Sean Ortiz or import defensive tackle Richard Jones to be activated from the practice roster.