Lions lose Lulay, but come away with key victory

B.C.’s veteran QB suffers injury in win over Ottawa

VANCOUVER (CP) — The B.C. Lions held on for a crucial win Friday night, but lost a pair of key players in the process.

The Lions prevailed 26-14 over the Ottawa Redblacks at B.C. Place.

Veteran quarterback Travis Lulay threw for 108 yards and one touchdown before a hard double hit forced him from the game.

Jonathan Jennings took over in the second half, throwing for 68 yards and another TD.

Ottawa starter Trevor Harris passed for 186 yards.

Lions receiver Ricky Collins Jr. opened the scoring 4 1/2 minutes in, catching a 33-yard rocket from Lulay in the end zone. It was the 26-year-old’s second touchdown of the year. Ty Long made the conversion, giving the Lions an early 7-0 lead.

The play followed a shaky start for B.C., which lost offensive lineman Cody Husband when the New Westminster native went down with a leg injury on the first play of the night. He had to be carted off.

The Lions said in a tweet that Lulay also got poked in the eye in the first series of the game, but the veteran continued playing until near the end of the second quarter, when he was hit by Ottawa’s Rico Murray and J.R. Taval simultaneously. He appeared to take a helmet to the chin and had to be evaluated by medical staff for an “upperbody injury” under concussion protocol.