‘DISRESPECT’ FIRES UP HOME TEAM
A physical defence and an explosive aerial attack powered an angry group of Lions past Grey Cup champion Edmonton by a 32-25 count on Saturday night at B. C. Place. The far from settled CFL West playoff race heats up again this weekend as the Lions travel
LIGHT MY FIRE
Loucheiz Purifoy can be a nasty, ornery, pit-bull type of defender, even without provocation. But the Eskimos placed the Lions nickel back in a state of high dudgeon before kickoff when they took to the field, en masse, and disrupted the Lions individual player introductions. Extracurricular pushing and shoving was the predictable response.
“It was disrespectful. It’s not their field, it’s our field,” Purifoy said later. “All it did was get us more hyped up. That’s what they did. It backfired.”
Purifoy had four tackles, broke up a pass with safety Mike Edem and recorded the Lions’ only sack against Edmonton quarterback Mike Reilly for an 11-yard loss in the fourth quarter.
CATCH THEIR ACT
It’s been three weeks of feastor-famine for the Lions’ go-to receivers, Manny Arceneaux and Bryan Burnham, who upstaged the heralded Esks duo of Adarius Bowman and Derel Walker on Saturday.
Between them, Arceneaux and Burnham had 210 receiving yards (Arceneaux had 132 of that total and two touchdowns).
A week earlier, the Lions receivers were held to six catches for 64 yards, after exploding for 358 yards the week before against the same Blue Bombers.
“It’s always tough to play a team back-to-back. They’re going to make adjustments,” said Burnham, whose one-handed grab for 33 yards in the third quarter Saturday was a thing of beauty.
CENTURY MARK
Team 100 — linebackers Solomon Elimimian and Adam Bighill — became the first teammates to record 100 defensive tackles apiece in the same season after Bighill took Troy Stoudermire to the ground in the fourth quarter. Bighill has made 101 tackles, the third time he’s reached that plateau. Elimimian has a leagueleading 117 tackles.
“It’s something that’s expected,” Bighill said. “We pride ourselves on making plays when we have to, not the numbers.”
Other than one glaring instance, when John White bounced off Bighill on a 31-yard touchdown run, the Lions’ tackling was sure-handed. The Eskimos were limited to 55 yards on their other 13 rushing attempts.
WILD ROSE CUP?
An all-Alberta Grey Cup game in Toronto? Could happen — if the Eskimos cross over to the East Division playoffs and the Calgary Stampeders maintain their regular season dominance.
Edmonton, Winnipeg and B.C. could still finish in a three-way tie at 10-8, in which case the Eskimos would end up second in the West and the Lions fourth, based on B.C.’s results against the Esks and Bombers (1-3).
“It’s (being a crossover team) a real possibility for us now,” said Reilly of the 8-8 Esks.
“It’s going to be really hard to catch Winnipeg and B.C. But I’m more worried about regaining some momentum for the playoffs. Whatever happens, happens.”
NEXT GAME
The Lions will be involved in the farewell game for old Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field next Saturday (4 p.m. TSN, TSN 1040 radio) when they play the Roughriders in the first of back-to-back games to close out the regular season.
Saskatchewan, 5-11, had a fourgame win streak stopped by the Montreal Alouettes, who won 19-14 on Saturday in Regina in the debut game for quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. as a starter. In May, Lions traded the CFL playing rights of the former Oregon/ Eastern Washington quarterback to the Alouettes for a first-round draft pick in 2017. Adams began the season as a short-yardage specialist.