CFL B.C. Lions

Lions and Als tangle Friday night presented by River Rock Casino Resort & Boulevard Casino

July 24, 2008 - Canadian Football League (CFL)
B.C. Lions News Release


The BC Lions Street Party powered by Pepsi and presented by The Beat 94.5 kicks off two hours prior to the game on the corner of Beatty and Robson streets. In addition to live music by Canadian pop recording artist MARIKA, the Felions Dance Team and Leo the Lion will be on hand and there will be plenty of family activities, including face painting, inflatable games and poster making. Exciting new Lions merchandise and great food will also be available.

Game overview

The BC Lions (2-2) host the Montreal Alouettes (2-2) as the Leos conclude their three-game string versus the East Division. Winners of two emotion-packed games over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers including a come-from-behind 27-18 victory last week, the team and the organization now tries to forge ahead after losing team president and CEO Bob Ackles on July 6th. Now on the winning track, the Lions face a frustrated Montreal squad traveling in the opposite direction after two straight losses.

Montreal enters Friday's game a little road weary after a tough 41-33 loss at the hands of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and four additional days spent in Regina in advance of their trip west to Vancouver.

Lions' GM and head coach Wally Buono has seen his club come together on and off the field in the face of adversity and disappointment and will now attempt to guide the club to a run of sorts before entering the bye week in mid-August.

On offence, quarterback Jarious Jackson overcame some sputtering drives last week to finish the game with 396 passing yards (23/38) including a 56-yard TD to Geroy Simon in the fourth quarter which put the Lions ahead to stay. After throwing for just 164 yards in his first start, Jackson has now passed for 736 yards and six TD's over the past two weeks. Most notable from Friday was Jarious coming through when needed most as he threw for 183 yards in the fourth quarter after entering the final frame trailing 18-11.

Up front, the Lions started their ‘Frightful Five' of Murphy, Bates, Reid, Haji-Rasouli and Jimenez for the first time since Week 1 but it didn't last long with Sherko Haj-Rasouli reinjuring his hamstring and making way for Dean Valli. Look for the third-year Lion to start Friday versus the Als. Through four games this season the Lions have surrendered a league-high 11 sacks - an equal number that Montreal's defence has put up to date which ranks third in the league.

At receiver, the Lions triple threat of Geroy Simon, Jason Clermont and Paris Jackson will feel a bit more pressure after losing teammate Cory Rodgers to an Achilles injury that may likely cost the second-year Lion his season. In the meantime, Simon who enjoyed a fantastic 117-yard performance versus the ‘Bombers is just four yards shy of surpassing Jim Young (9,248) as the club's all-time leading receiver.

Paris Jackson turned in his first 100-yard performance of 2008 with six receptions for 114 yards and a lofty 19-yard average per catch - good enough to earn Canadian of the Week honours. Jason Clermont added another five receptions and 68 yards to his total on the year with a steady outing and newcomer Clarence Coleman added a vital 39-yard reception late in the game to help seal the win. The Lions offence is likely to start receiver Rufus Skillern in place of Rodgers on Friday.

At running back, the 2008 version of Logan's Run has become an interesting tale. The shifty second coming of Charles Roberts who might be appropriately nicknamed Half-blink, had a couple of slick runs versus Winnipeg including a 24-yard rumble that ended in a collision with Willie Amos. Logan's ability to make people miss in tight quarters helped him slip out of the backfield on a number of runs but the absence of Joe Smith was noticeable as the Lions had to settle for a field goal inside the Bomber three yard-line after two running attempts were stopped dead. The injury to Cory Rodgers had some believing that Buono may field a line-up with both Smith and Logan in the backfield but the coach wasn't tipping his hand early in the week. Look for Smith to start tailback Friday. The forgotten man in the backfield, Lyle Green chipped in two catches for 48 yards including a clutch 33-yard reception late in the game.

On defence, the Lions were up to their usual tricks with four sacks, three interceptions and a turnover on downs in the win over the Bombers. Most notable on the ‘D' was Korey Banks who turned in a fabulous performance with five defensive tackles, another stop on special teams, two sacks and of course, two interceptions - one of which was returned for a 37-yard touchdown. Coordinator Mike Benevides will be putting in long hours this week scheming against a pass-happy Montreal offence that ran the ball just five times in Regina last week. Als' QB Anthony Calvillo tops the CFL charts with 1,377 passing yards and a lofty efficiency rating of 113.6.

The Lions defensive line continues to terrorize opposing offences with Cam Wake and Aaron Hunt registering sacks last week. Fellow linemen Brent Johnson and Tyrone Williams added another seven tackles between them in the win and as a unit they effectively shut down Winnipeg's running attack allowing just 52 yards on the ground. The Black and Orange currently lead the CFL sack charts with 14 to date - Cam Wake leads all linemen with six.

At linebacker, both Javier Glatt and Otis Floyd had relatively quiet nights with just three tackles between them which again speaks volumes about the play of the defensive line. Glatt still leads the club with 21 stops on the season while Floyd sits tied for third with 17 through four games. Jason Pottinger and Jamall Johnson also contributed on defence but continue to do most of their damage on special teams where they rank one-two with nine and six tackles respectively. Pottinger racked-up four special teams stops last week.

The Lions secondary has begun to inflict some serious damage on opponents with no less than seven interceptions in the past two games with Korey Banks equaling Javier Glatt's pair of pick in the rematch with the Bombers. Ryan Phillips also notched his first on the season after leading the CFL last season with 12. Dante Marsh and LaVar Glover remain in the shutout column but as a unit the defence has given up the fewest passing yards (972) and leads the league in interceptions with 11.

On special teams the Leos continue to get excellent work from Ian Smart who ranks second in kickoff returns and fourth in punt returns - his return numbers also add up to place him third in the CFL with 597 combined yards. Bret Anderson who normally performs kickoff duties dressed for last week's game but was sidelined with a hamstring injury - the veteran utility man should be good to go on Friday. Paul McCallum averaged 57 yards per kickoff last week but Buono would prefer to save his leg for field goals exclusively. McCallum missed on a 43-yard attempt last week and currently ranks sixth with 33 points - he is six for nine in the field goal department through four games.

The Lions will face another East Division opponent coming to BC Place looking to get back in the win column after a disappointing loss the week previous. Matching the opposition's intensity from the opening whistle is one way to get off on the right foot and the Lions hope to do that versus a grumpy Montreal club far from home and into their second week living out of a suitcase.

Check out the B.C. Lions Statistics



Canadian Football League Stories from July 24, 2008


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