A long time coming for Lulay
One-time Grey Cup MVP rewarded for biding time after losing starting QB job
Travis Lulay is living proof of just how important a backup quarterback is in the CFL.
The 33-year-old threw for a careerbest 436 yards and three TDs Saturday night in leading B.C. past the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 41-26. Lulay set a CFL record for most passing yards coming off the bench, replacing injured starter Jonathon Jennings on the Lions’ first possession.
“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a special moment for me to be able to come off the bench and help my team win,” Lulay said. “Being a (backup) you never know when or how it’s going to happen.
“Last year it didn’t happen, this year it happened on the second play of the game in a game on the road that my team needed me in. The first two plays I got hit really good, that kind of jarred my senses into the game.”
Lulay led B.C. to a Grey Cup title in 2011 and was the game MVP after being named the CFL’s outstanding player. In January 2013, Lulay signed a two-year contract extension reportedly worth $450,000 annually. But he suffered a shoulder injury that season that required surgery and limited him to just four games — and one start — in 2014.
Lulay started 10 games in 2015 before suffering a torn medial collateral ligament. Jennings won the starting job while Lulay was recovering. To remain with B.C., Lulay had to not only swallow his pride but also take a significant pay cut.
Lulay led B.C. (3-1) to a third consecutive road win over an East Division opponent. He relished teaming up with Nick Moore, who missed much of last year with a torn ACL suffered while celebrating a touchdown.
Moore, 31, had 10 catches for 220 yards and a TD versus Hamilton.
“An ACL on a receiver is like a throwing shoulder on a quarterback so I know what he went through,” Lulay said. “I was really pulling (for Moore), I’ve always been a really big Nick Moore fan.
“He’s a very smart football player, he reminds me a lot of (former Lions star receiver) Geroy Simon in that sense. It was really fun to be on the field with Nick.”
Lulay hit Moore with a 10-yard TD strike in the second quarter to put B.C. ahead 21-13.
“The fade I threw him, the backshoulder ball for a TD, we threw the same exact ball on a two-point conversion the first week in 2013 against Calgary,” Lulay said. “I said, ‘You remember the last time we threw this fade ball? Let’s throw one.’
“So we threw one in warmup. Little did we know we’d be throwing that in a game an hour or two later.”
REDBLACKS FEELING BLUE: The Ottawa Redblacks’ bad luck continues.
The defending Grey Cup champions are 0-3-1, the losses being by a combined seven points. Ottawa lost 23-21 in Edmonton last Friday after missing a potential game-tying twopoint convert in the final minute.
On Wednesday, they’ll host a Montreal Alouettes squad that beat the Calgary Stampeders last Friday.
And then Ottawa will head to Toronto on Monday for its third game in 11 days and face an opponent that will have had 11 days off.
PRO TIPS ON MONEY: The CFL Players’ Association agreed Monday to a partnership with Enriched Academy, a financial education and awareness company.
The deal will provide CFL players with assistance in managing their finances while offering career help.
“Enriched Academy is an innovative company working with more than 10,000 clients and many major businesses and institutions to provide financial education that lasts a lifetime,” said CFLPA president Jeff Keeping.
“This initiative starts by empowering the players and their families with the financial knowledge and resources they need,” said Enriched Academy president Todd Peterson. “But with this partnership, the CFLPA and its players will be helping to inspire and engage many other Canadians right around our country.”