Lightning never strikes twice? Tell that to the BC Lions who for the second straight game saw a win slip away in the fourth quarter against a team that they really could have buried in the CFL West. Instead, they now share a 1-4 record with the Edmonton Eskimos, and with the next four games on their schedules against CFL powers, have dug themselves a pretty deep hole.

This game was as sloppy as the rain-soaked turf at Commonwealth Stadium as the Edmonton Eskimos eked out a 28-25 win over the BC Lions as the Lions were again victimized late.

Late turnovers were the killer again, with Travis Lulay picked off by the Esk’s Chris Thompson on another ill-advised throw just before the three-minute warning completing a momentum shift. On the Lions’ ensuing possession, Lulay lost the ball on a questionable fumble, the ball being ruled to have come out of his hand before his arm started forward in a throwing motion. This thwarted a burgeoning drive which had seen the Lions go 55 yards in five plays and position themselves at least well enough for Paul McCallum to attempt a game tying field goal in the final minute.

As with the other losses, there were bright spots in this, with Yonas Davis ripping off an 88-yard kickoff return keyed by a Jason Arakgi block after the Lions forced Edmonton to concede a safety, lifting the Lions to a 25-21 edge with under eight minutes to play. Davis Sanchez had a 54-yard interception return for a touchdown very similar to the one BC gave up late against the Argos last week.

Sanchez was by far the defensive player of the game for the Lions, with the touchdown off of the interception and a game-high nine tackles. The running game was improved again, racking up 163 yards on nineteen carries, with Jamal Robertson accounting for 84 of those on eight carries, among them a sixty-nine yard gallop which keyed a ninety-nine yard, five play drive culminating in Lulay finding pay dirt from nine yards away just in time for an electrical storm to knock out power in the stadium and lead to an early halftime observance/weather delay lasting forty minutes, leaving the Lions with a 10-6 advantage.

Unfortunately for the Lions, the power came back on, and both the lights and the Eskimos proved resurgent. After emerging from the locker room, the balance of the first half ended harmlessly, with Noel Prefontaine attempting and missing a 49-yard field goal.

The power was back on for Edmonton, though. Their first possession of the third quarter culminated in a Prefontaine FG from thirty-five yards. Lulay’s first of two interceptions to Thompson gave the Eskimos the ball back at the BC 42, and three plays later Ricky Ray found Kelly Campbell in the end zone for the major to put the Lions down 16-10 at the nine minute mark of the third, and the tide had again turned against the visitors.

The Lions would sputter deep in their own end of the field and concede two more points after a two-and-out from their own seven. Edmonton was unable to sustain offence either, setting the stage for Sanchez’ pick-six to open the final frame. The two-point conversion attempt would fail, with Paris Jackson catching Lulay’s toss but being ruled down after falling at the two.

Prefontaine would tally another three, making it 21-16 early in the fourth, but it was clear that Edmonton was finding their wheels at the same time the Lions were struggling mightily to keep theirs from all coming off.

Paul McCallum saw his consecutive field goal streak snapped, missing wide right from forty-five yards at 9:50 of the fourth, and it was just one more ominous sign that things weren’t going to end on a positive note for the Lions.

The Lions now face the monumental task of digging themselves out of this deep hole. Their next four games are against CFL powerhouses and if they continue to falter, this season could be over by the midway point.

Game Stats

Quick Hits:

The win by the Eskimos was their 100th all-time versus the Lions with 53 of them at Commonwealth Stadium.

Quotable:

“You’re in field goal range. If it’s not there, you’ve got to be smarter. You’ve got to take a quick look and throw it. If you don’t…” – Wally Buono

“The reality of our offence is, we make too many mistakes and our quarterback is too inconsistent.” – Wally Buono

On Sunday in Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium, the BC Lions kicked off their 2010 campaign the right way, riding the feet of Jamal Robertson and Paul McCallum to a 25-10 win over the Eskimos. The new Lion Robertson racked up 168 yards and the team’s only touchdown, while elder statesman McCallum kicked the conversion and six field goals to account for the team’s tallies.

Robertson and McCallum were far from the only bright spots for the Leos.

Newcomer Derick Armstrong led the recieving corps, catching six passes for 73 yards while Geroy Simon and Paris Jackson snagged four apiece for 59 and 58 years respectively. The Lion defence, though, were the difference in the game, holding the Esks in check for most of the game.

On the opening drive, Edmonton seemed to be testing rookie defensive back Stanley Franks, but a Korey Banks forced fumble snuffed out the Eskimos’ hopes to capitalize early– and seemed to serve to ignite the Lion defence. The Leo stalwarts would pressure Edmonton quarterback Rickey Ray, racking up five sacks on the night- two by Banks and one each by Anton McKenzie, Aaron Hunt and Solomon Elimimian.

Keron Williams would recover the Ray fumble forced by Banks on the opening drive, turning the Esks away at the one-yard line. Between the resolute stands of the Lion D and McCallum’s feet, the BC offense was afforded the opportunity to find its footing, with McCallum accounting for the only scoring on his first of the night, a 44-yard field goal in the expiring seconds of the opening frame.

McCallum would take the second tally as well, striking from fifty yards to spot the Lions a 6-0 cushion, which would grow to 13 with 6:35 remaining in the half on a 61-yard gallop for the major from Robertson, who was turned loose by a great block from Jon Hameister-Reis.

Edmonton would answer with just under two minutes remaining in the half, with Arkee Whitlock making it into the end zone from four yards out.

McCallum would respond with his third field goal of the evening in the last half minute of play, putting the score at the half at 16-7 in favour of the visitors.

If the Lion offense never got fully untracked in the game, it didn’t particularly matter, as the defence and special teams were up to the test. Five minutes into the third quarter, the Esks would tally three more points on a Noel Prefontaine field goal from thirty yards out, but that would be all the scoring Edmonton could muster. McCallum wasn’t done for the Lions, though, registering  two more FGs in the quarter, from 28 and 18 yards, before capping the scoring with just under three and a half minutes remaining in the final frame to hand the Lions the final margin of victory.

The BC Lions woke up this morning needing a helping hand from the Hamilton Tiger Cats if they hoped to play in the CFL playoffs next weekend. Their feline cousins in the east came through with a decisive 39-17 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to knock them out of the playoffs and give the Lions another one of their nine lives.

Of course, the Lions put themselves in this position with an embarrassing 45-13 loss to the Edmonton Eskimos Friday night at BC Place.

The night started poorly for the Lions when on his fifth play from scrimmage, Casey Printers injured the thumb on his throwing hand and could not continue. Buck Pierce would be done 15 plays later and the Lions hopes fell on the shoulders of young Zac Champion, who has been on and off the practice roster all year. But even that wouldn’t matter, because the Lions defense was shredded for 260 yards rushing, and another 248 in the air.

It was like the team quit, and for the third time this season at home, fans left BC Place in droves in the third quarter of a game.

The Eskimos ran the ball right down the Lions throats with Arkee Whitlock amassing 165 yards of their impressive total on the night. Ricky Ray went 19 of 26 on the night, with one TD and one interception.

Even the troubles with short yardage were evident again. With BC needing less than a yard at midfield to sustain a drive, they were stuffed as they have been too many times in the last two seasons, and the result was a 14 point turnaround for the Eskimos to end the half. Things just went from bad to downright embarrassing in the second half with no resistance on defense, and and offense that couldn’t move the ball under the guidance of a young and green QB.

Then there was the penalty for two many men on the field that gave the Eskimos seven points instead of three. Whatever could go wrong, went wrong.

“It’s unbelievable,” said slotback Geroy Simon. “We can’t keep a quarterback healthy to save our lives.”

“This is amazing. It’s like we’ve never played football before. How many quarterbacks do we need to go through in a season?”

“This game is the story of our season. It’s biggest game of the year and we don’t show up to play.”

Indeed, it seemed when Printers went out of the game, so did the Lions fight and that was the most discouraging thing of all for the crowd of over 31,000 in attendance.

The Lions will have their work cutout for them next week against a Hamilton club that swept them this year and ran through them much like the Eskimos and other clubs have done all year. With an uncertain quarterbacking situation and many issues to work through over the next week, the Lions will be clear underdogs in the first playoff game to take place in the the Steel City since 2001.

Reports Sunday indicated that Printers thumb my not be as bad as first thought, and Province beat writer Lowell Ullrich reported on his blog that the thumb was definitely not broken, and that Pinters could be ready to practice Tuesday. Travis Lulay is also reportedly ready to start practicing this week, leaving a possible QB rotation of Printers, Lulay and Champion for the game.

The defense will have their pride tested and will have to solve their run stopping deficiencies in a hurry. The Ticats DeAndra’ Cobb will head into the game against the Lions with the confidence he can have success against their run defense after he racked up 369 yards of offense on the Lions in two games, 267 of them along the ground.

The game will also feature a number of former BC Lions facing their old team. Otis Floyd, Jamal Johnson, Matt Kirk and Markeith Knowlton are all former Lions, as well as GM Bob O’Billovich who was with the Lions for years. Should Printers be able to go there would certainly be an interesting storyline there as well.

Friday night’s game was the last game that will be played under the roof of BC Place Stadium. The team will return to it’s roots and a temporary 30,000 seat facility to be built on the old Empire Stadium site at the PNE next season.

In a stunning last-minute pair of game-shifts, the Lions gave up the lead, reclaimed it with less than twenty seconds left to play on a 62-yard touchdown by Geroy Simon, and went on to defeat the Edmonton Eskimos 34-31.

It was a rough opening quarter in chilly Edmonton for the host Eskimos, and not merely on the thermometer. As cold as it was on the field, to open the game, the Esks were colder, as the BC Lions defence kept Edmonton from registering a single first down in the first quarter.

The Lions’ offense wasn’t much warmer, but still generated a Paul McCallum field goal in the quarter. After what appeared to be another botched short yardage attempt by the Lions on 2nd and short was aided by a face masking penalty by Maurice Lloyd Pierce connected on a 39-yard strike to Geroy Simon on the second play of the second quarter, putting the Lions u 10-1.

Continuing in the second, things looked to be heating up for the Lions, who capitalized with a ten-yard run by Martell Mallett after a James Yurichek interception of a third-down pass attempt/fake punt by Edmonton kicker Noel Prefontaine. The “Hammer’s” touchdown made the score 17-1 in favour of the visitors from British Columbia.

The Eskimos’ offense finally started to thaw, with a seven play, eighty yards drive, capped off with a forty-yard touchdown reception by the Esk’s Fred Stamps. The teams would trade field goals to head into the locker room with the Lions up by 9, 20-11.

To open the third quarter, the Lions offense would roar once again, with Pierce throwing to Ryan Grice-Mullen for the major, giving the Lions what looked to be a reasonably comfortable 27-11 lead.

From there it was all Eskimos, with the confines of Commonwealth Stadium finally warming to the hosts. Edmonton clawed back into the game with a touchdown and two Prefontaine field goals to pull within a field goal at 27-24. The Lions struggled on offense and couldn’t get valuable first downs. The field position started to shift in Edmonton’s favour. After another sloppy series, a shanked 20 yard Paul McCallum punt left the Eskimos with the ball on the Lions 28 yard line. They would drive the ball down to the one and Ricky Ray plunged in from the there to give the Eskimos a four point lead with just under a minute to play. It was starting to look as if the Lions may end up snake-bitten in spite of what had been a fairly solid effort on both sides of the ball.

With just fifty-seven seconds remaining in the game, the Lions got the ball back seventy-five yards from pay-dirt and trailing by four. Short completions from Pierce to O’Neil Wilson and Simon netted the Lions thirteen yards, but at the cost of about a third of their remaining time.

A Pierce incompletion intended for Wilson would stop the clock with just twenty-two ticks remaining, and then the Lions caught lightning in a bottle. Pierce found a seam in the Eskimos’ secondary and despite double coverage connected with Geroy Simon on a 62-yard touchdown to pull out the victory.

The Lions’ defence managed to keep Edmonton QB Ricky Ray from getting comfortable in the pocket, registering four sacks, with Anton McKenzie, Jeremy Gibbs, Korey Banks and Ricky Foley each collecting one. Banks and McKenzie’s both came at crucial junctures when it seemed that Ray had finally uncovered something in the BC secondary, helping to keep the Esks out of the red zone and forcing them to settle for the second of Prefontaine’s field goals in the fourth quarter.

Special teams play definitely noted the absence of Sean Whyte, as McCallum’s eight punts on the night only averaged thirty-two and a half yards- likely due in part to the cold temperatures- but with the last two of the evening traveling only thirty-one and twenty yards, each with double-digit yard returns, the stage was set for the Eskimos offense with a short field.

Tonight belonged to the receivers, though, even in the absence of the injured Paris Jackson. Geroy Simon led the way with nine catches for 170 yards and the two long touchdowns. Emmanuel Arceneaux also had a solid performance, reeling in seven balls for eighty-eight yards before leaving the game with a hand injury.

The win lifts the Lions to 7-7 on the season, only two points back of division-leading Calgary and tied for second with Saskatchewan. The Riders host Toronto tomorrow, while Calgary faces off with Montreal at Percival Molson Stadium in the opener of the Thanksgiving Day doubleheader.

On a personal note, to my friends back in the Home and Native Land, happy Thanksgiving on Monday. May you enjoy the holiday with friends and family and really appreciate all that you have; and keep warm thoughts for the man and women of the Canadian Forces in their peacekeeping roles around the world who may be spending the time far away from their loved ones.

Down here in the States, my family will join with you, even in absentia, probably in the company of another expat family.

Until next Sunday, when the Lions tangle with the Blue Bombers, I wish you well!

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Well after the Lions 48-10 beat down at the hands of the Stampeders last night, hopefully we can enjoy and talk about a real football game this afternoon. Join us for today’s game at 12:45 to talk a little CFL football, and we can also dissect last night’s debacle under the dome.

I’ve been a CFL fan, and a BC Lions fan in particular, for most of my life. When I was a child, my parents took me to games at Empire Stadium. Later, I attended games at BC Place. My mother was an Edmonton Eskimos fan and used to torture the family by screaming as she watched them on TV. She must have been happy in those years, as some of my earliest CFL memories included the Eskimos hosting the Grey Cup. Unfortunately, none of my friends were interested in going to games and most of my thirst for the Lions and the League in general were satisfied through newspapers and television. That was until 2002.

It was in that year that I met other fans through the internet and in 2003 I was back under the dome, attending games. By 2004 I had bought my own season tickets.

One of the greatest pleasures I’ve experienced since returning to games has been the wonderful people I have met across Canada. I have made friends and acquaintances from, literally, every CFL city. Over the last few years, many of these people have become good friends, and we routinely visit each other throughout the regular season and every year during Grey Cup week.

This latest road trip took me to the province of Alberta – to both the Eskimo Empire and the land of the tailgate party in city of the Grey Cup Champion Calgary Stampeders. The following words and pictures tell that story.

Thursday July 16th

My flight is at 7:00 am so it’s up early. It’s funny how when you go on a trip you have no trouble waking up. The flight to Edmonton is great – just over an hour long. I am greeted at the airport by Brian Edwards, a long time CFL and Edmonton Eskimo fan. Brian and his wife Linda are gracious hosts every time I visit their city.

Our day starts with a little breakfast, followed by a trip across Edmonton’s high level bridge on an old Japanese streetcar. The streetcar was built in 1921 and then rebuilt in 1947. It remained in service in Osaka until 1990, before coming to Edmonton. The train leaves from a location near the old landmark Strathcona hotel. It travels over the High Level Bridge and back, providing a breathtaking view of the city and the North Saskatchewan River.

It was a hot trip, so from there it was a no-brainer that we hit Julio’s Barrio on Whyte Avenue for some lunch and a few Bulldogs. Bulldogs are double margaritas with a bottle of Corona placed upside down in the glass. Let me just say…tasty and potent folks! Julio’s is a must stop for me on every trip to Edmonton. I was also thinking that stopping for drinks on Whyte Avenue will be good karma for new Lions kicker Sean Whyte, who would start his first CFL game that night.

After returning home and having a brief rest…err letting the Bulldogs wear off, it was off to Commonwealth for the Lions vs. the Eskimos.

Dante Marsh sent a tweet this morning on Twitter that the team is ready and he’s preparing by riding the bike and doing some stretching. He calls tonight’s game “huge,” and I have to agree. You can now follow Dante on Twitter: @dantemarsh

The Lions have gone 2 and 2 at the games I’ve attended at Commonwealth. It’s a great place to watch a game and it’s supposed to be nice tonight, so sitting outside in an open air stadium will be a treat.

We arrive at Commonwealth around 6:30 pm. The atmosphere around the stadium is noticeably retro. The 60’s version of the Eskimos fight song is playing. Cheerleaders are dressed like they were in the 60’s – shiny gold suits with big belts and headbands. They look really good!

Inside the stadium, I see lots of Lions fans in orange and black. As I get my first view of the field, I see the Lions warming up and instantly become a fan of the retro uniforms. It is, hands down, the best look I have seen the Lions wear. My Eskimo hosts tend to agree, and their team looks sharp as well.

The game starts a bit slowly. However, after Buck Pierce goes out with an injury, the Lions pick it up with Jarious Jackson at the controls and go on to a big 40-22 win on the road. Despite the lop-sided win, the atmosphere in the stadium is great, the weather is awesome, and I realize on nights like this one outdoor football cannot be beat.

After the game, we head to a downtown pub called 1905 to discuss the game and have a bite to eat. We run into another happy BC Lions fan who chats with us for a while. He’s a transplanted Lions fan from BC with Eskimo season tickets, so tonight he celebrates (but states the Eskimos are his second favorite team).

After a nightcap back at my hosts’ place, it’s off to bed as tomorrow we drive to Calgary for Friday Night Football.

Friday July 17th

During the drive to Calgary, we were entertained by the comedic talents of Russell Peters on the radio. We talked about stories of past CFL road and Grey Cup trips. Don McAskill has joined Brian and I for the trip, and I look forward to meeting up with friends in Calgary at the tailgate party – a huge highlight for me on any Calgary road trip.

After checking in and waiting for our friend William “Hoof” Allen to arrive, I head over to meet friends on the west side of McMahon Stadium. As I stroll through the parking lot, the smell of barbeques fills the air – Canada’s best tailgate party is well under way. Elaborate tailgate setups are the norm here and there’s some serious grub being grilled throughout the lot.

Finally, I meet up with my old college friend, Brian Allan, his son Zach and his new wife Catherine. With them is Brian’s friend Ray, who’s been a regular at the tailgates for years and is known to put on a nice spread for friends and guests alike. I get to sample my first Spolumbo’s sausage, and it lives up to its famous reputation. TSN stops buy to do a promo shot of the sizzling grill and mock dust up between Ray and a visiting Argos fan. Thanks again to Brian and Ray for the hospitality they showed me that day and a great tailgate party experience.

I head into the stadium and find I have great seats courtesy of Ken and Jacky Smith, two Stampeders fans who have moved away from Calgary but still keep their season tickets. They can’t make it to the game, so there I sit on the 50 yard line. I am joined by my friend Hoof, Jacky’s sister Rande, Rande’s husband Mike and their friend Ryan – great people who made it a really fun night.

These two teams also look sharp in retro, although it took a while for me to warm up to Calgary’s. For some reason, the Argos were the only team with their names on their jerseys all weekend.

Much like the Lions and Eskimos, the first half of this game was close. However, the Stampeders opened the floodgates in the second half and shut the Argos out the rest of the way. In the end, it was another blowout, this time by a score of 44-9, setting up a battle of two 1-2 teams the following week when Calgary would visit BC

Ralph the dog tried to steal my Lions hat, but I head faked him, took my hat off and put it on his head (much to the chagrin of fans around me). You have to be quicker than that Ralph! I think you need to get on the same training regiment as Leo the Lion!

While in Calgary, I had the chance to visit another great CFL fan – Scott Oberg. Scott’s a great guy and I thank him for the hospitality he showed me.

Following the game and some parking lot mingling, it was off to the Big T Barbeque across from McMahon for some delicious pulled pork and more banter among friends. This was followed by a few drinks at the hotel. Another great day of CFL football fun for the books!

Saturday July 18th

After driving back to Edmonton, we watch the Hamilton vs.Winnipeg game, followed by parts of the Saskatchewan vs.Montreal contest before heading out to dinner. My BlackBerry revealed that a storm may be heading to Edmonton and, sure enough, I got to witness a good old-fashioned prairie thunderstorm – complete with lightening, rain, hail and wind. The storm knocked out power to the Edwards’ house and surrounding area. From a spectator’s point of view, the light show was spectacular and the storm very impressive, but unfortunately it caused a lot of damage throughout the city. After a late night, it was off to bed for an early flight back to Vancouver.

The best thing about being a CFL fan is the opportunity to meet other fans you from across the league, and then reunite with them, year after year, to share a common passion for Canadian football. At the end of the year, all of these friends gather at Grey Cup to celebrate the season, meet new people, develop new friendships and plan future road trips when we’ll meet again to enjoy the experience of the CFL.

Take a look at the trip through photos!