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October 18, 2016

Chasing History

Perhaps it makes sense that 5,000 lucky fans are heading home with a Solomon Elimimian bobblehead after the BC Lions battle Edmonton in another critical West Division matchup on Saturday. The bruising linebacker and his equally-stout ‘Team 100’ sidekick Adam Bighill are on the verge of history: Bighill is four defensive tackles shy of 100 for the season and it would mark the first time in CFL history two teammates surpass the century mark in the same year. Never before has the duo’s nickname been so fitting.

But first thing’s first: Who has the more handsome bobblehead? “Of course it’s me, because mine actually looks like me,” Elimimian said. “Biggs’ bobblehead, and we joke about it, doesn’t look like Biggs. He has a little more hair than the bobblehead has.” Naturally, we had to visit Bighill for his opinion on the matter. “Mine easily has more appeal,” Bighill insisted. “Plus, mine actually bobbles. Contrary to Solomon since all of his hair blocks the bobble,” number 44 added with a loud laugh.

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Bighill’s bobblehead night was during a rollercoaster win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on August 13th, one where he chipped in with a clutch interception that snuffed out a Hamilton drive early in the 4th quarter. Elimimian will look to follow suit on his own special night. The CFL Most Outstanding Player in 2014 has re-gained the elite form that was temporarily derailed following his season-ending Achilles injury in 2015. He enters this week’s contest with 113 defensive stops, good for first in the league. Elimimian also broke the franchise record for most tackles in a game when he recorded 14 in a victory at Toronto on August 31st.

As for the chance to become the first duo to record 100 tackles together? It is something both would always cherish. “It’s awesome man. There is no better teammate to do it with than Adam Bighill,” Elimimian said. “He’s a great player with tremendous work ethic. It’s special because of all the work we put in during the off-season. It’s always good to be recognized and reach new plateaus and doing things to help the team win. That’s the ultimate goal, to help our team win a Grey Cup.”

“I think it’s something that’s pretty special,” Bighill said of the pending milestone. “Solly and I work extremely hard and have dedicated ourselves to this game. If you ask him, he wants to be the best player ever, as do I. We have big goals and high expectations for ourselves. Creating league history would be pretty exciting.”

B.C. Lions' Adam Bighill, left, tackles Winnipeg Blue Bombers' Andrew Harris as he carries the ball during the first half of a CFL football game in Vancouver, B.C., on Friday October 14, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Wally Buono has been in this league for many years and coached many players, so you can imagine the GM/head coach had an interesting viewpoint on the subject. “I don’t measure their success by the amount of tackles,” the CFL’s all-time wins leader said. “When you look at it, it’s a good stat and they’ve had lots of opportunites because they’re linebackers. They’ve been outstanding that way.

Elimimian and Bighill are in their seventh and sixth seasons of pro football respectively, often times the stage of a career where players start to trend downward. Not these two studs. It would not be an overstatement to suggest they are playing the best football they ever have together. But as usual, the goal with these two has always been to aim even higher.

“I still feel the best is yet ahead,” Elimimian said. “Every athlete, every player should feel that he should get better. Every week that is what we look to do.”

B.C. Lions' Solomon Elimimian, left, and Adam Bighill, right, tackle Hamilton Tiger-Cats' quarterback Jeremiah Masoli (8) during the first half of a CFL football game in Vancouver, B.C., on Saturday August 13, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

“I feel we are playing the best football since ‘Team 100’ was first installed,” Bighill added. “Production numbers, regarding tackles and sacks may not be the best we have ever had individually, however, if you look at how well we grade out every game, you could say this is the best football we have played. Consistency is key to being a great football player, and I would say that Solly and I have been extremely consistent this season.”

“They do play very well off each other,” Buono added. “They’re similar in a lot of ways, yet they have a lot of differences. You can use Biggie high, you can use him as an underneath cover guy. They’re both very good blitzers, they’re both very smart, they both tackle very well and can play off of what’s happening in front of them. The other thing is, they both work very hard in practice which also has a carryover into the game.”

The duo is more motivated than ever and that could mean bad news for opposing offences come playoff time. As for who has the better-looking bobblehead, I think we can all agree they both look pretty darn fantastic.

Matt Baker:mbaker@bclions.com