THE CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER - The defence bought the B.C. Lions some time, setting up 14 quick points, then the offence got untracked as Jarious Jackson threw three touchdown passes and ran for one himself in a 55-32 victory over the Toronto Argonauts in CFL play Saturday night.

"It took us some time to get everything going," said slotback Geroy Simon, who had seven catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. "We weren't playing good at the beginning of the game and they held us in.

"We got the nice cushion and it gave us a chance to figure things out."

B.C. improved to 11-6 after winning for the seventh time in eight games but the Lions still must wait until next week to know if they will host a playoff game. The loss, before a crowd of 35,994, dropped the Argos to 4-13 and extended Toronto's winless streak to eight games.

The Argos found themselves in a hole early but  battled back to twice draw within two points or less.

"It looked like three different games to me," said Toronto coach Don Matthews. "The first game, we turned the ball over and all of a sudden they jumped on top of us.

"The second game we battled back, made it a football game. And the third game was the part where we just ran out of gas and got our ass kicked."

The win came at a cost. The Lions lost running back Charles Roberts in the third quarter with a torn Achilles tendon. Starting quarterback Buck Pierce also hobbled off the field with a sore ankle.

A snarling Lions defence had the Argos on their heels early. The game was less than two minutes old when defensive tackle Aaron Hunt sacked Toronto quarterback Kerry Joseph, forcing a fumble. Defensive end Cam Wake picked up the ball and ran 45 yards for his first CFL touchdown.

On Toronto's third possession safety Barron Miles grabbed his league-leading ninth interception and returned the ball 19 yards to the Argos 33. That set up a seven-yard Roberts touchdown.

B.C.  put an exclamation on the night when cornerback LaVar Glover intercepted a pass from backup quarterback Cody Pickett late in the fourth quarter and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown.

Safety Tad Crawford also sacked Joseph in the end zone, resulting in a B.C. safety.

"We wanted to start fast," said Hunt, who had three of the Lions six sacks and the forced fumble. "We always want to come out and make touchdowns. We got a chance and made the best of our opportunities."

Jackson, who replaced Pierce late in the second quarter, threw a 33-yard touchdown to Simon, a 12-yard strike to O'Neil Wilson and hit Paris Jackson on a 13-yard play. He also scored on a one-yard run on a play that was set up by a Toronto pass interference penalty in the end zone.

"I felt comfortable out there," said Jackson, who completed 11 of 16 passes for 156 yards. "I was just taking what the defence was giving me and just trying to go through my reads."

With Roberts out, kick returner Ian Smart stepping into the running back position and collected 89 yards on five carries.

"I knew they need me to step up," said Smart. "I just got out there and tried to make the best of everything to help the team win."

Pierce completed eight of 15 passes for 101 yards before aggravating his left ankle.

"I took a couple of tweaks here and there when I started to scramble," he said. "My throws were off. I didn't want to do any more damage to it."

Joseph shook of the slow start to throw three touchdown passes. He hit Arland Bruce on plays of 17 and 26 yards, then found P.K. Sam for a 21-yard major. Sam also caught a 16-yard major from Pickett late in the game.

"We kept battling and we just kept playing," said Joseph, who completed 17 of 29 passes for 276 yard and the interception. "We got to the point where we were throwing the ball a lot. Those guys, they're pretty good up front."

The Calgary Stampeders have wrapped up first place in the CFL West. Both the Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders, who whipped the Edmonton Eskimos 55-9 earlier Saturday, are tied with 22 points.

The Lions end their season against the Stampeders next week in Calgary while the Riders travel to Toronto to face the Argos. If the two teams finish tied, the Lions take second place in the West because they won the season series against Saskatchewan.

The Eskimos, who dropped to 9-8, will cross over to the East Division and play Winnipeg in the first round of the playoffs.

Simon said the Lions have a point to make with the Stampeders next week.

"We feel like it's going to be a preview to the West final," he said. "We want to go out there and send a message that we are for real and those first two games they beat us, that was then, this is now."

NOTES: The Lions played without slotback Jason Clermont (knee) and running back Stefan Logan (ribs). ... B.C.'s last regular season loss to Toronto was Oct. 11, 2004. ...Paris Jackson has gone over the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career. ... Simon has made catches in 106 consecutive games.