B.C. registers sorely needed win against Eskimos
B.C. finally shows it can beat teams with winning records after dispatching rival Eskimos
For all the storylines it’s produced, for all the drama and intrigue over the last five months, you can sum up the B.C. Lions’ season with two sets of numbers.
Against teams under .500, their record is 8-1. Before Saturday’s meeting with the Edmonton Eskimos, their record against teams over .500 was 1-5.
To repeat: 8-1 against crummy teams, 1-5 against good teams.
I mean, you didn’t need advanced analytics to understand what that data said about the Lions, and because they’re going to meet one of those plus-.500 teams at some point in the playoffs, it’s kind of relevant.
The Eskimos, as it happens, were one of those teams. At least, they were before Saturday.
Now? Well, the Lions’ win keeps them in the conversation for second place in the West. But, more importantly, they proved to themselves, and the rest of the CFL that they can close against a quality opponent.
“It’s at a point now in the season where it’s kill or be killed. No home boys, no friends,” said the irrepressible Manny Arceneaux, the principal architect of the Lions’ 32-25 win.
“You have to have the mindset: ‘It’s my job to impose my will on my opponent or he’s going to do it to me.’ ”
Or put another way, “We played smarter today in the sense we didn’t kill ourselves,” said head coach Wally Buono. Quite. The Lions, who have been looking for a defining victory all season, may have found one on Saturday against an Eskimos team that was riding a three-game winning streak and closing fast in the standings. In the proving ground at B.C. Place, the Leos opened an 18-5 halftime lead, watched as the Esks got off the mat and put together two long touchdown drives in the third quarter, but then iced the win with a determined effort on both sides of the ball in the fourth quarter.
Along the way there were some nervous moments. Aren’t there always with this team and with Andre Proulx officiating?
But every time the Lions were pushed by the defending Grey Cup champs, they pushed back. Every time they were put under pressure, they responded. That hasn’t always been the case this season, but it showed up in a big way when it was needed most.
“We talked about getting back to the basics of football — being aggressive, tackling,” said Ryan Phillips who played in his 200th career CFL game.
“These are the things you do in football, and the best part is, we did it as a defence.
“It wasn’t one or two guys. It was everyone flying around and making plays. That’s what it takes to make a playoff run.”
The Lions’ win, in fact, was underpinned by a physicality that’s been sporadic this season. The defence surrendered the two long touchdown drives in the third quarter but still held Mike Reilly and company in check.
Quarterback Jonathon Jennings, meanwhile, has had bigger games statistically this season, but he threw for 273 yards and two touchdowns, and had a clean sheet in the turnover department.
The running game accounted for 164 punishing yards — 108 for Jeremiah Johnson — and allowed the Lions to control the line of scrimmage and the clock.
Then there was Arceneaux. The quizzical one has had some big games in his Lions’ career, but in terms of impact, in terms of meaningful plays, this might have been his signature performance.
There was style — the 70-yard catchand-run for a touchdown in the second quarter.
There was substance — he ended up with eight catches, most of them in traffic, most at key moments.
And he did it all while keeping up a lively running dialogue with the Eskimos’ defence.
“For some reason, everyone on Edmonton’s defence talked to me reckless,” the receiver said. “You this. You that. Beep. Beep.’ All the words.
“My thing is the main focus is to remain focused and go and make some plays.” And he surely did. Like the rest of the Lions, Arceneaux has been good this season, but he hasn’t always been at his best when it mattered most.
Like a lot of things, that changed in one afternoon.
“When we hit these rough patches, (Buono) puts it on the vets to get this thing going,” Arceneaux said.
“I have to lead by example. You have to look at the top. If we’re going to get this right it’s going to start with me and Solomon (Elimimian) and Biggie (Adam Bighill) and Jovan (Olafioye). That’s how it is.”
And how it will have to be.