THE CANADIAN PRESS

HAMILTON, Ont. - Having already fumbled one catch, rookie B.C. Lions receiver Emmanuel Arceneaux knew he needed to make amends.

With the Lions at second-and-15 on their own eight-yard line, Arceneaux ran wide left and pulled in a pivotal 49-yard reception at the end of the third quarter.

It denied Hamilton good field position, and set up an eventual fourth-quarter field goal in the Lions' 34-27 overtime playoff victory over the Tiger-Cats on Sunday.

With a lot of the pre-game focus on the connection between veteran receiver Geroy Simon and quarterback Casey Printers, it was Arceneaux that led the Lions with six receptions for 120 yards. His 49-yarder was the longest reception of the game, and went a long way to restoring his confidence.

"I felt like I had let my team down on the ball I had fumbled," said the 22-year-old, who had made a 23-yard catch before fumbling it on the B.C. 34-yard-line earlier in the third, leading to a Hamilton field goal.

"I couldn't let that get me down. So when we called that play, I knew there was a 50-50 chance it might come my way. I didn't know if I was going to get that ball. But the biggest thing was for me not to get my head down. And I was able to have another opportunity."

Printers used seven of his receivers to gain 360 passing yards in the East Division semifinal, including Simon who gained 111 yards on five receptions.

"We've got some spirited guys," Printers said. "I trust them. If I throw it up there, they're going to make the play. Please don't believe that it is just a one-man show."

And he talked about his response to Arceneaux after that one fumble.

"No big deal," Printers told reporters. "There's going to be situations that come up in a football game where it's not going to be so good. (Hamilton) scored 11 points in the last two minutes left to go in the game. That wasn't so good."

And yet, B.C. is still alive and headed to Montreal.