It wasn’t a defensive battle throughout. In a low-scoring game, the B.C. Lions made a few more plays than the Ottawa Redblacks to prevail 24-16 at B.C. Place on Friday night.
The Lions improved to 4-6 with the win to keep up with the playoff race with not only the crossover but West Division as well.
D-Line Dominance
Odell Willis and Shawn Lemon are really starting to bring it.
The former Mayor of Swaggerville had three sacks in the contest, bringing his season total to eight, second-most behind Charleston Hughes.
Meanwhile, Lemon has six sacks in the five games that he’s been in B.C. I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t necessarily sure how much the two-time Grey Cup champ had left in the tank when he was traded to the Lions. But at the end of the day, I think he’s been surpassed a lot of people’s expectations. If Lemon and Willis can continue at this pace, the Lions young secondary will continue to thrive in the passing game as well.
In total, the Lions defensive line accumulated six sacks on the night. If you get close to that number each week, you’ll probably come out on top.
Quarterback Carousel
Four different quarterbacks had a go in this one.
Travis Lulay had it tough from the get-go. On the first series, he had grass pellets get into eye after an awkward tackle.
And then late in the second quarter, Lulay was completely sandwiched between two Redblacks players, his head taking the brunt of it all. Lulay never took another snap as he entered concussion protocol.
Lulay is one of the nicest athletes you’ll meet, and it’s just awful that he’s had to go through several different injuries dating all the way back to 2013.
Jonathon Jennings did a very good in replacement of Lulay. Jennings went 10/12 for 68 yards and a touchdown. J.J. played it fairly conservative and didn’t try to do too much, which was a good step-back for him.
Trevor Harris had easily his worst performance of the year. 216 yards throwing with two interceptions shows something is off for Harris right now, considering he was in the M.O.P. conversation just a few weeks ago.
Former Atlanta Falcon Dominique Davis saw a little bit of action. Problem is, he went 1/3 for 12 yards and an interception.
Collins Jr & the cavalry are coming
Ricky Collins Jr. was an exciting signing for the Leos in the offseason but had only 400 yards receiving through nine games.
But on Friday, Collins had his best night in the orange and black, with 10 catches for 105 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown pass to lead off the scoring.
It’s expected that someone would step up with the awful ACL tear to Emmanuel Arceneaux. Collins and the rest of the receiving corps will get an extra boost with the Friday signing of former Argo and 2017 Grey Cup M.O.P. DeVier Posey.
Posey was cut by the Baltimore Ravens after appearing in three pre-season games.
Other Notes:
- Lions centre Cody Husband left the game on a cart on the first play. Let’s just say the snaps from back up Chris Greaves were a little off-target, to say the least.
- Friday night and raining in Vancouver, and B.C. Place was completely empty tonight. Looking forward to seeing attendance numbers.
The Lions are back in action next Friday when they travel to Montreal to take on the revived Alouettes.
Main image credit: Embed from Getty Images
