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CFL B.C. Lions

Lions and Eskimos ready to battle Friday night

October 10, 2008 - Canadian Football League (CFL)
B.C. Lions News Release


The BC Lions (9-5) host the Edmonton Eskimos (8-6) in a crucial West Division Friday night tilt under the dome at BC Place. The Lions come into the first half of the back-to-back tilts riding a five-game winning streak and in a three-way tie for top spot in the Wild West. The Leos won a close one last week on Toronto by a 24-20 margin while the Eskimos come to Vancouver after a 36-22 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The Lions' 4-0 record through September and the win last week have now put the club in position to control their own playoff destiny in 2008. Win-out the remaining games on the schedule and they will host their fifth consecutive division final, but the schedule now turns difficult again with two games versus Edmonton and a road finale versus Calgary broken up by a home game against the Argos.

Head coach Wally Buono has described his team's return to form as "climbing the mountain" and the trek will be tricky versus an explosive Eskimo club that can air it out and enjoys the fast track of BC Place. The Lions and Eskimos have split their first two meetings this season with the Green and Gold exploding for 18 fourth quarter points in a 35-24 win on July 31st. The Leos returned the favour with a 40-34 win on August 8th.

On offence, the Lions will have Buck Pierce under centre Friday despite his early exit last week with a tweaked ankle. Pierce was good on 15 of 22 attempts for 169 yards and two TD's - most important again were the absence of an interception and the overall ability of the offence to control the ball for almost 36 minutes. Back up Jarious Jackson was good on three of eight attempts for 45 yards and twice led the team from inside its 15 yard-line to better field position before being forced to punt.

At running back, rookie Stefan Logan took the majority of the load running for 144 yards on 18 carries (8.0 avg.) and added a TD through the air (10 yards). Charles Roberts also put up a major on a one-yard run and finished with 19 yards on five carries. The Eskimos limited Winnipeg to just 84 yards on the ground last week with 36 of that coming in one run by Fred Reid. As a team the Lions rank 5th with 1,597 rushing yards on the year. The Esks rank seventh against the run (1,641, 117.2).

Head coach Wally Buono continues to believe that the team's success will be a direct result of the play of the offensive line. While a total of 180 yards on the ground was a welcome number the sack count was not (four) and the O-line will have to be sharp versus a strong Eskimo front-four that sacked Kevin Glenn three times a week ago.

Not a single Lions receiver topped the 50-yard mark in Toronto, but with seven different players catching passes including newcomer O'Neil Wilson's two grabs for 34 yards and a dazzling one-handed TD, the club continues to get contributions from everybody on offence. Geroy Simon's three catches for 42 yards don't include the 31-yard pass interference call he drew on Toronto's Byron Parker which eventually set up Charles Roberts' one-yard plunge. Simon sits just two yards shy of 10,000 as a Lion.

Jason Clermont appears to regaining strength in a shoulder that was giving him problems for the past few weeks - the rugged slot back had three catches for 33 yards. Paris Jackson added three grabs of his own for 36 yards while Clarence Coleman chipped in with a pair of receptions for 29 yards.

On defence, the Lions were a bit of a mixed bag picking up another two interceptions pushing their league leading total to 25, but allowing two long runs for TD's by Toronto's Jamal Robertson. Despite the overall total of 143 yards on the ground allowed by the defence, only 13 yards came after halftime as the Argos went to the air racking up 200 yards in the final two frames. A recent change in the secondary that saw Jerome Dennis step into the lineup ahead of Reggie Myles has become a permanent move with Myles being released early in the week. The Lions have retained the services of newcomer BJ Tucker and have added him to their 46-man roster.

Up front, Cam Wake spent two days explaining the team success the Lions have enjoyed on defence to the Toronto media including an appearance on TSN's Off the Record and then turned in a one-sack, one-tackle performance versus a revved-up Toronto offensive line. Teammate Brent Johnson also got to Kerry Joseph for his 10th sack of the year and added three defensive tackles. Tyrone Williams and Aaron Hunt combined for three other tackles on the night.

At linebacker, Javier Glatt was limited to two tackles while fighting through a mild case of turf-toe on a slick Rogers Centre surface. Teammate Otis Floyd chalked up a vital late game sack with Toronto threatening in the fourth quarter. Jamall Johnson notched both a defensive and special teams tackle while third-year 'backer Jason Pottinger made some noise on special teams with four stops of his own.

In the secondary, Barron Miles added to this CFL lead in interceptions picking off Kerry Joseph in the Lions' end zone for his eighth on the season. Korey Banks picked up his sixth of the campaign to close out the win as Joseph looked for a miracle ending trailing by four points. As noted earlier, the Leos surrendered 200 passing yards in the second half including five completions for 24 yards or more and one for 19. Big plays are something the Eskimos make with regularity with Ray connecting on no less than seven plays for 15 yards or more versus Winnipeg. The Lions rank 3rd versus the pass (3,724, 266.0) with Edmonton's passing attack ranked 2nd (4,720, 337.1).

On special teams, kicker Paul McCallum was good on his only field goal attempt versus Toronto (18 yards) and currently sits in fourth spot among fellow kickers with 145 points. Ian Smart continues to dominate the kickoff return charts with 1,442 yards on 56 attempts. He also sits third in punt return yardage with 562 yards on 63 attempts. Fans will see two of the league's best in Smart and Edmonton's Tristan Jackson who scored on a 67-yard punt return last Saturday. Three Lions sit atop the special teams tackles standings: Jason Arakgi (25), Jamall Johnson (20) and Jason Pottinger (19) and they will have to be sharper against Edmonton after allowing Toronto's Keith Stokes a 55-yard kickoff return and a 35-yard punt return.

The Lions have overcome a number of obstacles in 2008 and now have their sights firmly set on top spot in the West. Two tilts versus a resurgent Eskimo club, means the race for home field will likely go down to the wire.

For more information on the BC Lions Football Club please visit our website at bclions.com.

Game Date: Friday, October 10th, 2008

Location: BC Place

Kickoff: 7:30 pm (Gates open at 6:30 pm)

Game Sponsor: SUBWAY® Restaurants

Radio: TEAM 1040 (Rick Ball, Giulio Caravatta) - Fans can catch the Lions pre-game show starting at 5:30 pm.

Halftime: In a Salute to Amateur Football, halftime will feature mini-games presented by SUBWAY® Restaurants.

Merchandise: The new 2008/2009 Felions Calendar is still available to purchase during the game at Section 12 on the Level 2 concourse or at any merchandise kiosk.

Pre-Game: The BC Lions Street Party powered by Pepsi and presented by JACK fm kicks off at 5:30 pm on the corner of Beatty and Robson streets. In addition to live music by Grand Theft Audio, 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.

Friday is Fan Appreciation Night under the dome with numerous prizes and giveaways to be handed out on game night - including a limited-edition team poster to be handed out post-game to 10,000 lucky fans!

Check out the B.C. Lions Statistics



Canadian Football League Stories from October 10, 2008


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