Menu
@
July 30, 2016

Roar Report: Lions drop OT Thriller In Calgary

Tommie Campbell’s end zone interception sealed a 44-41 overtime victory for the Calgary Stampeders on Friday night at McMahon Stadium. It was CFL football at it’s finest. Never over ’til it’s over. Only it wasn’t the ending the Lions wanted after they led 41-26 with 4:33 remaining. Jonathon Jennings was sensational once again, passing for 374 yards and three touchdowns.

0729_RoarReportStats_600x400

The second-year pivot took full ownership for the game ending turnover, as well as an interception to Ciante Evans with 1:52 left. That one set Calgary up at the Lions 32-yard line and led to the tying points.

“I let the team down a little bit and I owe them one, but it’s a tough loss for us,” Jennings said. “It’s a good thing that we’re coming out in the second half playing better, but we have to be critical of ourselves and make sure that we’re making plays in the critical part of the game.”

For 57 minutes, they did just that. The Lions started off with a bang as Chris Rainey returned a punt 95 yards for a touchdown in the opening quarter. Jennings scored on a one-yard plunge to start the second quarter, right after Eric Fraser intercepted Bo Levi Mitchell and nearly hit pay dirt.

The Leos led 17-16 at half time, then came out like gangbusters after the break as Jennings found Shawn Gore and Bryan Burnham for third quarter majors. Gore’s touchdown was perhaps the play of the night as he made an incredible leaping catch and managed to get his feet down before hitting the pylon.

In the fourth quarter, Geraldo Boldewijn hauled in his first CFL touchdown in what appeared to be the nail in the coffin.

“We did a lot of good things but we also made a lot of mistakes, and the mistakes came back and beat us,” said Wally Buono. “We have to get over this loss. It was a tough loss, we had a lot of guys get banged up and we’re going to have to re-shuffle the deck and see how we’re going to lineup to play Montreal.”

Quotables:

“It’s always nice to make a play for the team. I was just doing my job and my responsibility. I would have liked to put it in the end zone, it’s always nice to get a pick six, but I ran out of gas and the offence bailed me out on the next play.”- Fraser on his interception to close out the first quarter. The former Stampeder was pressed into service after Mike Edem injured his hamstring early in the contest.

“Sometimes when guys are running off the field things get confusing, but I looked over and Keynan was doing what he was supposed to be doing in that situation. He made a good play and we wish it could have led to something. I played quarterback in Peewee and when we won the JV championship in high school. Big shout out to the 2007 Roswell ( Georgia) JV squad.” – Richie Leone on his perfect execution on the fake punt in the fourth quarter. Although the Lions did not score on the ensuing drive, it played a big part in flipping the field position before Calgary’s comeback.

Bake’s Takes:

Make no mistake: Jennings will use this as motivation to bounce back, just like he did after getting pulled in the week three loss to Toronto. It’s easy to forget this a player with only eleven career starts under his belt. The growing pains will surface from time to time. But the way he conducted himself after the loss is a true testament to the classy pro he is. Oh, and despite the two game-changing interceptions, he had himself one heck of a contest in another very tough environment.

Hat tip to Fraser, Darius Allen, Keynan Parker and Steven Clarke for stepping up on what we know is a very deep Lions defence. As the injuries continued to mount, the probability of winning appeared less likely, but the starters and backups just kept fighting. Allen and Clarke each had three defensive tackles, and the latter made the big catch on Leone’s successful fake. Allen showed the same explosiveness he displayed in Kamloops and chipped in with a key knockdown at the line of scrimmage.

Rain Man. What can you say? The electrifying Rainey has been worth the price of admission and certainly provides an X-factor to the Lions’ special teams unit and team in general. You can just sense the anticipation when they are about to receive a kick. How great was that return? From being driven back to his own 15-yard line, to the fake reverse before turning upfield. What a player.

It’s too bad these two teams are not scheduled to meet beyond the important August 19th rubber match at BC Place, but you get the sense a November showdown could be in the cards. There is plenty of football to be played, but with the Eskimos, Blue Bombers and Roughriders struggling to find consistency through six weeks, the Lions and Stampeders are clearly the cream of the crop out West. Both contests between the two have been great to watch.

Injury Watch:

Edem (hamstring), Mic’hael Brooks (ankle) and David Menard (hip) were to be re-evaluted this weekend, but early indications suggest they could miss Thursday’s contest in Montreal. Craig Roh (neck) and Brandon Stewart (lower body) will be looked at closely.

Matt Baker: mbaker@bclions.com