CFL B.C. Lions

Lions and Riders to Rock Empire Saturday Night Presented by 7-Eleven

Published on July 10, 2010 under Canadian Football League (CFL)
B.C. Lions News Release


The BC Lions (1-0) play host to the Saskatchewan Roughriders (1-0) in the first regular season game played outdoors in Vancouver since November 6th, 1982. The Lions come off a convincing 25-10 road victory over the Edmonton Eskimos on Sunday to face a Saskatchewan club that fought back from a three-touchdown deficit at home to defeat the Montreal Alouettes 54-51 in Canada Day thriller that had provided enough fireworks for an entire country.

In 2009, the clubs split their four-game series with each club winning two games on home turf. The Leos and 'Riders have met 10 times in the past three seasons with the Leos holding a 6-4 advantage over that period. Their last meeting was a thrilling affair in October as the Green and White topped the Lions 33-30 in overtime which was also marked Casey Printers' first start at quarterback after returning to the club earlier in the fall.

Fast forward to 2010 and the two clubs look to renew ill feelings and start their seasons with 2-0 marks. Lions GM and head coach Wally Buono was pleased with his squad's performance versus the Eskimos and noted the play in the trenches as the key to the win. "Our defensive line played well at the point of attack and brought pressure to the quarterback. In games versus a quarterback like Ricky Ray you need to dominate the line of scrimmage and we did that on Sunday."

On offence, quarterback Casey Printers probably won't be penning another book based on his Edmonton numbers (20/34, 218, 1TD) but what's not factored into some of his incompletions is the fact that he was able to avoid large scale losses and give the offence reasonable second down distances. Printers will face a Saskatchewan defence that is likely to turn in a far better performance than the one it had versus Montreal to whom they surrendered 417 yards of offence.

Up front, it took the Lions a hard-fought half of football to get their feet under them in a revamped front five which features Jon Hameister-Ries who will start just his second game at right tackle on Saturday. In the end, however, the offensive line led the way to 395 yards of net offense and will need to keep it rolling against a Saskatchewan front that racked up four sacks and brought some heat to Anthony Calvillo despite the Als' 51-point explosion.

Running back Jamal Robertson enjoyed an outstanding debut in Black and Orange on Sunday with a 168 yards on just 10 carries which included a 61-yard TD romp for a steep 15.5-yard per carry average. A balanced attack is exactly what the Lions will need versus the Riders.

Newcomer Derick Armstrong was the club's top receiver in the season opener with 73 yards on six receptions. The Texas native who sat out all but one game in 2009 could be a key part of the Lions offence if for no other reason than to take the heat off Geroy Simon who notched four receptions of his own for 59 yards. Paris Jackson got the offence's first big strike of the year on the very first offensive play with a 41-yard reception. Emmanuel Arceneaux had 26 yards on three receptions and will look to make a bigger contribution on Sunday.

On defence, the Lions come off their best effort in Edmonton in 20 years, holding the Esks to just 10 points last week. It wasn't the 30-8 win of October of 1990 when the Leos rolled out the likes of Parker, Stumon, Kevin Konar and Larry Crawford, but 20 years from now they may be talking about Korey Banks who had arguably the game's biggest play with his first of two quarter sacks on Ricky Ray which also forced a fumble and extinguished a promising Eskimo drive.

Banks' play typified the night for Ray who was under constant pressure from the defence especially along the line where Aaron Hunt and Montrell Craft provided plenty of push. Rush end Keron Williams scooped up the first quarter Ray fumble in his debut as a Leo and for defensive tackles before being hobbled somewhat with a groin strain. Williams will be a game day decision on Saturday.

The Eskimos did manage 116 yards on the ground last week courtesy of running back Arkee Whitlock and the task of keeping Wes Cates under wraps will be a tall order. Cates enjoyed a 113-yard performance on 11 carries including a TD versus Montreal.

At linebacker, newcomer Joe Henderson certainly turned some heads as the rookie led all defenders with seven tackles and added another on special teams. Fellow rookie Solomon Elimimian also got on the board with a tackle, a special teams stop as well as one sack and a forced fumble. Anton McKenzie, who's spending extra time with Henderson outside of meetings, notched three tackles of his own along with a sack and a forced fumble.

In the secondary, the Leos received outstanding performances from the aforementioned Korey Banks and a standout game from corner Dante Marsh who made a return to the field after serious knee injury in the East Final in 2009. Rookie halfback Stanley Franks was the focus of the Eskimos offence for a lot of last Sunday's game and came through with five tackles and a strong debut. New safety Tad Crawford also turned in good game as he begins his fulltime career as a starter taking over for future hall of famer Barron Miles.

On special teams, Wally Buono clearly knew what he was doing when he elected to begin the season with Paul McCallum who was good on all six of his field goal attempts. Interestingly, the veteran leg who is in his 18th season, accounted for 19 of the club's 25 points which is the same amount he had in the club's 2006 Grey Cup win over Montreal (25-19). With this year's Grey Cup slated for Edmonton, Lions fans are hoping it's a sign of good things to come from their club.

Special teams coordinator Chuck McMann was very impressed with the play of J.R. LaRose who picked up the club's first weekly 'teams' award "The Hammer." Among the rewards is the opportunity to lead the club onto the field for player introductions this Saturday carrying a 12-lb black and orange sledgehammer.

The legends of Empire will undoubtedly be awakened Saturday as the Leos take to the field in front of a sellout crowd for what's sure to be the first game in a memorable season at their old stomping grounds.

A very limited amount of tickets are still available - fans are encouraged to call 604.589.ROAR or visit ticketmaster.ca to purchase single game seats. Click here for the complete Lions 2010 schedule.

Check out the B.C. Lions Statistics

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Canadian Football League Stories from July 10, 2010


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