Lions fall short in season opener
Balanced Bombers attack led by QB Nichols leaves B.C. feeling blue in front of home crowd
The passing game looked better, which you would expect when you’ve spent $3 million on a quarterback, but the B.C. Lions might need Mike Reilly to play defence as well.
Here’s what we learned from the B.C. Lions season-opening 33-23 to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday night in front 18,058 at B.C. Place.
AS ADVERTISED
Reilly came as advertised in his Lions’ debut, completing 22 of 38 passes for 324 yards and a touchdown while directing a multi-faceted aerial attack. Six different Lions caught passes by Reilly, led by Bryan Burnham who finished with five catches for 153 yards.
That was the good news for the Lions. As for the bad news, sit down, this may take a while.
Reilly’s productivity was offset, and then some, by a balanced Blue Bombers’ attack, led by running back Andrew Harris and quarterback Matt Nichols. Harris finished the night with 148 rushing yards on 16 carries and another 27 receiving yards while Nichols threw three touchdown passes, including two to Drew Wolitarsky.
The Bombers took the lead late in the third quarter when they moved the ball from their own six to the Lions’ 24, resulting in a 30-yard Justin Medlock field goal. On that drive, Harris contributed a 31-yard run and a 20-yard reception. He chipped in with a 19-yard burst on the Bombers’ fourth-quarter touchdown drive which gave the visitors a 10-point lead.
“We gave up too many rushing yards,” said Lions defensive back T.J. Lee. “We let Andrew Harris get the best of us.”
LEAD LOST
The Bombers’ second-half rally was ignited by, of all things, a blocked Lions convert which resulted in two points for the visitors.
With the Lions holding a 17-14 halftime lead, Reilly’s first pass on the third quarter was picked off by the Bombers’ Jeff Hecht which set up a seven-yard Nichols to Wolitarsky touchdown pass. Reilly responded with consecutive completions to Duron Carter for 32 yards, Burnham for 23 and 15 yards Lemar Durant for the touchdown.
Alas, Sergio Castillo’s ensuing convert attempt was blocked and former Lions Chandler Fenner went 80 yards for two points. Instead of taking a three-point lead, the Lions left the sequence in a tie game.
Ten minutes later, the Bombers held a 10-point lead which they never relinquished.
It took Reilly all of two possessions to put his stamp on the Lions’ offence. Starting from their own two-yard line, Reilly first speared Burnham with a 41-yard arrow before hitting Burnham for 56 yards on the next play. The drive ended with a 23-yard Castillo field goal.
Early in the second quarter, the Lions again started deep in their own end before Reilly completed five straight passes. A sixth resulted in a pass interference call on Burnham which resulted in Castillo’s second field goal of the first half.
The problem was, while the Lions were putting threes on the board, the Bombers were responding with touchdowns. Winnipeg quarterback Nichols found Darvin Adams for a five-yard touchdown drive early in the second quarter, then hit Wolitarsky for a 15-yard major later in the second frame. Harris was instrumental in both touchdown drives, racking up 50 yards on 10 carries.
Reilly put together another drive that ended with Castillo’s third field goal of the half. Over the first 30 minutes, the former Eskimos quarterback was a snappy 16 of 21 for 208 yards but the Lions’ biggest play of the half came on special teams when Rutley took the kickoff following Wolitarsky’s touchdown, made one man miss, got to the edge and went 108 yards for a touchdown. Reilly then hit Duron Carter on the twopoint conversion, tying the game.
“I just saw open field,” said Rutley who played just one game for the Lions last season before blowing out his knee. “I wanted to spark the team.”
NEW FACES, NEW CHALLENGES
With upwards of 15 new starters in the lineup, it figured the Lions would struggle in a couple of areas. The offensive line, which starts four Canadians, provided adequate protection for Reilly who was sacked once. The running game, however, produced just four yards on four attempts by John.
The larger issue with the Leos was a defence that let the Bombers control the scoreboard, the clock and field position. Winnipeg produced 322 yards in total offence but the more telling stat was their time of possession. They had the ball for 10 more minutes than the Lions.
Elsewhere, the Bombers didn’t turn the ball over while recording two interceptions by Hecht.