Lions pounce on Eskimos in snowy Edmonton

Staff

Veteran slotback Geroy Simon recorded his finest performance of the season with nine catches for 170 yards and two TDs on the night

EDMONTON – The BC Lions finally were breathing the rarefied air of .500 football Friday night after they sucked a prematurely jubilant atmosphere out of Commonwealth Stadium.

A stunning 62-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Buck Pierce to Geroy Simon with 0:12 remaining left the Edmonton Eskimos and their 30,120 fans in disbelief as the Lions stole a 34-31 win in a game they appeared to have lost.

Pierce’s amazing turnaround play came after Edmonton quarterback Ricky Ray scored on a one-yard keeper with 58 seconds left to put the Eskimos ahead for the first time, 31-27.

But Pierce’s out-of-the-blue strike, which was supposed to have been a double but turned into a home-run ball, was pure Joe Montana. His pass found its way into the arms of Simon, who scored his fourth touchdown in two games against the Eskimos after defenders Byron Parker and T.J. Hill collided in trying to cover him.

Simon then simply waltzed into the end zone and struck his Superman pose. And why not? He finished with 170 receiving yards, giving the peerless slotback a two-game total of 292 against the Eskimos, both Lions’ victories.

“I still feel I’m the best receiver in this league,” Simon said. “I’m not trying to blow my own horn, or anything like that. Because the defences are telling me that. There aren’t other receivers in this league getting covered the way I do. They don’t play other guys that way. I’m not taking shots at anybody in the league. But defences are telling me by the way they play me. I just went out and proved it today.”

Simon scored earlier on a 39-yard touchdown strike from Pierce, who also had a nine-yard end zone completion to Ryan Grice-Mullen. Pierce’s only mistake was an interception that Jason Goss picked off at the Edmonton goal-line when he outleapt Emmanuel Arceneaux for the ball. It was a costly turnaround, and not only because it gave the Eskimos renewed life. Arceneaux broke a small bone in his left hand on the play and had to leave the game. His participation for next Sunday’s game in Winnipeg is in doubt, meaning that fellow rookie Terrence Scott likely will see his second start after being activated from the practice roster.

Scott had one catch for a single yard in the game and replacement slotback Greg Hetherington scarcely had much of an impact either. Playing in place of injured Paris Jackson, Hetherington had two catches for 18 yards. But he misplayed two other throws from Pierce, one an end-zone pass that glanced off his fingertips in what looked to be a sure touchdown had Hetherington squeezed the football.

Jackson, who has a slight knee injury, is expected to be ready for the Lions’ game next Sunday at Canad Inns Stadium in Winnipeg, where BC will attempt to become a team with a winning record for the first time this season.

Friday’s win moved the Lions to 7-7, the first time BC has achieved a .500 record in ‘09. The loss, the fifth in six games for the Eskimos, dropped Edmonton into last place in the CFL’s West Division at 6-8.

“This was a tough atmosphere to go in and win,” said Pierce, who was heroic last Friday in a 19-16 win over Saskatchewan, throwing for 343 yards despite constant pounding and a bruised throwing hand. “I think everything was kind of stacked up against us. There was all the talk about the West Coast boys coming out here and playing in this weather [minus-nine Celsius with the wind chill factored in]. If would have been a big loss for us. It would have been a big jump for them. We haven’t won two games in a row for a long time.”

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The last time it happened was August 14, a 36-28 win over the hapless Argos in Toronto that came on the heels of a 35-20 win over Saskatchewan.

Before Friday’s game, Edmonton coach Richie Hall remarked that the most consistent aspect of the CFL this season is the inconsistency of seven teams, the sole exception being the 11-2 Montreal Alouettes.

And the Lions looked as if they were headed in that direction again, taking leads of 17-1, 20-8 and 27-11 but allowing Edmonton to crawl back into the game. A 20-yard pouch kick by Lions’ punter Paul McCallum gave Ray a short field to work with, and his 27-yard pass to Fred Stamps set up his one-yard plunge to put the Eskimos ahead with less than a minute to play.

But Pierce had one more bullet in his arsenal, just like Montana, another player who wore No. 16 and became an NFL legend for his ability to produce last-gasp victories.

“I threw it really, really early,” Pierce explained. “Geroy really didn’t see me throw it. Once he got his release [from the defenders] he turned and looked. The ball was right there. He just caught it and ran. I wasn’t trying to throw a touchdown pass. I was just hoping to pick up some big yardage [the Lions needed a field goal to tie]. I guess it worked out better than we expected.”

The play allowed Pierce to finish the game with 301 yards on 23-of-38 passing. And he needed to be efficient. Running back Martell Mallett, the league rushing leader, was held to 41 yards on 11 carries.

“We were able to make the kind of plays I’ve been making over the years,” Simon said of his partnership with Pierce. “Our character is showing. Wally [coach Buono] always talks about character. People say you build character with tough losses and tough games, and we’ve had a few of those this season. We kept fightin’ for the whole 60 minutes tonight. We feel we had momentum going into this game. This keeps it going.”

Where they’re headed, nobody knows. But nobody can call the Lions a losing football team this week.

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