Lions, Als both desperate to snap three-game losing streaks

VANCOUVER Wally Buono relaxed on British Columbia’s picturesque Sunshine Coast for a couple days before taking a trip up to Whistler. Solomon Elimimian visited friends south of the border and found himself at a Seattle restaurant eating fried grasshoppers.

No matter how or where the B.C. Lions chose to unwind during their bye week, the three consecutive losses that helped push them into the basement of the CFL’s ultra-competitive West Division loomed overhead like the smoky haze from wildfires that continue to blanket the region.

“You can’t separate yourself from what you do,” said Buono, the Lions’ head coach and general manager.

“It’s always on your mind,” added Elimimian, B.C.’s standout linebacker and the league’s leading tackler.

Seemingly in good shape a month ago, the stumbling Lions (5-5) will look to get back on track Friday when they host the Montreal Alouettes (3-7) — a club equally desperate to snap its own threegame slump.

“Adversity and difficulties bring teams together,” said Elimimian. “It makes guys focus.”

Much of the focus from a Lions’ perspective is on Buono’s decision to start veteran quarterback Travis Lulay after the ineffective Jonathon Jennings was pulled at halftime of a 31-24 loss to the Ottawa Redblacks in the nation’s capital on Aug. 26.