Lions win crazy game that sees a little bit of everything!

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The recap from TSN.ca

The turning point: It’s easily the craziest play you’ll see all season and it’s a play that can only happen in the CFL…  With the Riders up 14-12 with 52 seconds left in the first half and about to get the ball back after a Lions two and out.  Lions kicker Sean Whyte punts the ball from his own 25 yard line but kicks it out of bounds causing a penalty and a re-kick situation.  On the re-kick Saskatchewan kick returner Gerran Walker attempts to field the ball but it hits him in the knee and bounces away.  In the scramble for the ball, Lions linebacker James Yurichuk alertly kicks the ball further down field and keeps it in-bounds.  O’Niel Wilson then sprints ahead of the pack to scoop up the loose ball on a hop and runs into the endzone.  Kicking the ball forward like that is a completely legal play in the CFL and instead of a two point (or more) lead at the half, the Riders are down by seven.

The game ball goes to: Quite a few Lions had great games, but my game ball in this game goes to Barron Miles who made one of the most amazingly athletic plays with perfect timing I’ve ever seen.  The Riders had just scored a touchdown on a Chris Szarka one yard run to bring the Riders within eight points of the Lions.  The Riders were most likely thinking ahead to attempting an onside kick to get the ball back with just less than a minute left on the clock, but on the extra point attempt Miles timed the snap perfectly, leapt over the center and had an easy block to keep the Lions lead at eight.   It was Miles record setting 13th career blocked EP/FG kick.  Granted the Riders failed to recover the following onside kick and the Lions quickly put the game away with yet another TD shortly after, but Miles block turned what would have been an unlikely but still doable situation for the Riders into a near impossible situation.  QB Buck Pierce had a great game, as did running back Martell Mallett with 99 yards rushing and a TD.  Sean Whyte was a perfect four for four on field goal attempts and defensive end Brent Johnson had three sacks and a forced fumble.  For my money though, Miles athletic play on special teams gets the nod from me for game ball.

Random game thoughts: The Riders again played both QBs, although Steven Jyles didn’t see action until about the ten minute mark of the 4th quarter.  Darian Durant went 10 of 19 passing with 189 yards, 2 TDs and 2 INTs.  Jyles was 7 for 13, 96 yards and 1 INT  …  The game started off as a disaster for the Lions as three of their first four possessions ended in turnovers (two interceptions and a lost fumble)  …  Their play on special teams didn’t start much better either as four of the first five special teams play saw the Lions taking a penalty  …  After a 2 TD and 100+ yard receiving game last week, Riders wideout Chris Getzlaf had only one catch for 13 yards – a catch that came with 13 seconds left in the game  …  Canadian Rob Bagg had a great game for the Riders getting 120 yards receiving off of 5 catches, 2 of them for TDs  …  Jason Clermont in his return to BC as a member of the visiting team caught his first pass early in the 2nd half, a catch that put him over 6000 yards receiving in his career.  The Lions fans gave him a very warm reception with that catch.

Final grades
Riders Offense: C+
Riders Defense: C-
Riders Special Teams: C

Lions Offense: B+
Lions Defense: A
Lions Special Teams: A

Defense, special teams paves way for TiCats offense in win

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The recap from TSN.ca

The turning point: There was a point where the Lions looked like they were going to take a stranglehold of this game…  Early in the 3rd quarter with the Leos up 18-17, after a bad INT throw from Cats QB Quentin Porter the Lions drove it down the shortened field and with first down on the Ti-Cats one yard line brought in Jarious Jackson to make the dive for six.  Former Lion DB Markeith Knowlton though had other ideas and stripped Jackson on his dive attempt to give the ball back to Hamilton on their one one yard line.  From there Porter and the Cats marched methodically down field with a great series of short passes.  They took well over ten minutes off the clock as they practically owned the ball in the 3rd quarter.  The drive ended in just three points, but on the ensuing kickoff Lions returner Ryan Grice-Mullen fumbled the ball at his 30 yard line which put the tired Lions defense right back on the field and they quickly gave up a rushing touchdown to super rookie DeAndra’ Cobb.

The game ball goes to: Tiger-Cats running back DeAndra’ Cobb was all over the place and the Lions had no answer for him.  17 caries for 167 yards and 2 TDs, he also had 2 catches out of the backfield for 27 yards.  Honorable mention goes to the Hamilton offensive line for opening up huge gaps for Cobb.

Random game thoughts: How much do the Lions miss Cameron Wake?  …  Leo fans can’t really pin this loss on Buck Pierce, 23 out of 36 passing for 282 yards. He did have 2 INT’s, but one was caused as a result of a Lions receiver stumbling  …  Arland Bruce (da third) who came over from the Argos in a trade earlier this week saw only very limited playing time on offense and special teams.  He also wore #4 which is a number he first wore with the Bombers back when he broke into the league  …  Ti-Cats LB Jamall Johnson led his team with 10 tackles  …  This was the first time the Ti-Cats have swept a season series against the Lions since 1992

Final grades
Lions Offense: C
Lions Defense: C
Lions Special Teams: D

Ti-Cats Offense: B+
Ti-Cats Defense: B+
Ti-Cats Special Teams: A-