Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca
VANCOUVER — It wasn’t pretty, but by the end of a 45-38 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday night in Vancouver the BC Lions may have grown a little bit.
After all, it was only two weeks ago when Head Coach Wally Buono’s team surrendered a 15-point lead with under 3:00 remaining before losing in overtime, 44-41, to the Calgary Stampeders.
In a game featuring the return of Ticats quarterback Zach Collaros, it was shades of that Week 6 loss for a Lions team that surrendered a 20-point halftime lead vs. Hamilton.
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Emmanuel Arceneaux played a key role in the Lions’ win over Hamilton (Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca)
This time, though, things turned out different. When Brandon Banks scored a game-tying touchdown, Jonathon Jennings and Emmanuel Arceneaux quickly went to work and hooked up for a 30-yard game-winning score that would hold up to be the winner
“This (finishing) is something two weeks ago we couldn’t do in Calgary so if there was a little growth in that respect then so be it,” Buono told BCLions.com following his team’s victory.
The win helped the Lions keep pace with the first-place Stamps, who won earlier in the night in Regina. Calgary (5-1-1) remains a point ahead of BC (5-2) at the top of the West Division standings, and the two sides will play for the third and final time on Friday night with the season series notched at one apiece.
For now, though, while there isn’t much time, the Lions will have at least a moment to take a deep breath, collect their thoughts and enjoy becoming the second team in the league to reach five victories.
Jeremiah Johnson scored twice, giving him three touchdowns over the last two games, while Arceneaux had 105 receiving yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning 30-yard score with the game tied with 1:23 remaining.
Jennings threw for 306 yards and three touchdowns on 24-of-40 passing, becoming just the fourth quarterback in franchise history to eclipse 300 passing yards in four consecutive contests.
The Lions were outscored 26-6 in the second half before scoring the game-winning points, when Jennings evaded pressure and found the check down man in Arceneaux over the middle. Arceneaux made the first man miss before notching his second major of the game.
“All I thought to myself was I got one opportunity to make a play and I just ran,” Arceneaux said afterwards. “My thing was just make the first man miss and the rest is history.
“You look at where this team was at last year and where we’re at now, it’s something that we’re building.”
After his fumble led to a Bryan Burnham touchdown following the Ticats’ first possession, Collaros settled in to throw for 331 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on 24-of-40 passing.
With the Ticats down 20 at the half, Emanuel Davis’ interception on Jennings set up a Luke Tasker touchdown grab to pull the Ticats within 13 points.
Head Coach Kent Austin’s team continued to chip away at the deficit, while the real turning point came with 4:15 left in the game and the Lions up 38-30 when Richie Leone had a chance to put the Lions up two scores with a 37-yard field goal attempt.
His kick sailed wide and Banks, doing what Banks does best, returned the kick 126 yards for the game-tying touchdown.
The Lions responded with exactly the type of five-play, 72-yard game-winning touchdown drive that was missing back in Calgary.
“There are things that make winning more difficult and I think we did all of that – whether it was a bad throw or missed coverage or a penalty,” said Buono.
“At the end of it, we’re 5-2,” he added. “That’s a good football team we played and I think we’re a much better football team than how we played in the second half.”
The Lions’ true measuring stick will come against a Stampeders team they’ve been on par with in two meetings this season. BC won the season-opener against Calgary at BC Place, 20-18 on the strength of Chris Rainey’s game-winning punt return.
In the second meeting the Lions seemed to have Calgary’s number but coughed away the contest late.
BC could easily be 7-0 this season, the Lions’ two losses coming in games that could’ve gone either way against Toronto and Calgary — but a win against Calgary would erase all of ‘what could have been’ and elevate the Lions to top spot not just in the West but in the entire league.
The Lions continue to show growth, but in Week 9 we’ll find out to what extent.
– With files from BCLions.com
