Menu
@
November 2, 2016

Lions Eye Home Playoff Date In Clash With Riders

B.C. Lions running back Jeremiah Johnson (24) moves the ball up field against the Saskatchewan Roughriders during first half CFL action in Regina on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Taylor

A memorable regular season for your BC Lions (11-6) comes to an end Saturday when they play host to the Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-12) on Saturday (4:00PM, TSN 1410/TSN1/ESPN 3). There are plenty of positives to build off from last week’s convincing 24-6 win in Regina, including the fact your Lions are now in a position to clinch second place in the West and home field advantage for next the Western Semi-Final on Sunday, November 13th. One thing is for certain: the Leos will face Winnipeg one week from Sunday after the Blue Bombers closed out their season with a win in Ottawa. A win or tie in this one would mean the Lions stay at home while a loss would force them to travel to the Manitoba Capital. No matter what the outcome on Saturday, Jonathon Jennings feels his squad has fulfilled a lot of their expections this season. “We went through a lot of ebbs and flows but I am proud of the way we’ve played and responded to adversity throughout the season and we’ve got a lot more to go now,” Jennings said. The Lions last reached the 12-win plateau in 2012 when they finished 13-5 and on top of the West. Jennings plans on approching this contest like a playoff game with the largest home crowd of the regular season expected to be on hand. “It’s always a fun game against Saskatchewan. We’re trying to build that momentum. We want the crowd to be fiery as they always are and we’re excited about that.”

Speaking of quarterbacks, the Riders will not be dressing quarterback Darian Durant who is slated to become a free agent after this season. The nine-year veteran has been dealing with lingering ankle and shoulder injuries this week. Mitchell Gale gets the start while GJ Kinney and Canadian Brandon Bridge will back him up. Gale replaced an injured Durant in a week four loss against Lions and was 17 of 30 for 247 yards and a touchdown.

Here are some other storylines to watch for in Saturday’s contest:

Milestone Alerts

Although securing that home playoff date is priority number one, the Lions have a few significant milestones that can and will be reached in game 18. Let’s start with the quarterback: Jennings needs just 81 passing yards to hit 5,000 on the season. This is remarkable considering Doug Flutie, Dave Dickenson and Casey Printers are the only other QB’s in franchise history to do it. Manny Arceneaux needs just five receptions for 100 on the year and would be the first to do it here since Geroy Simon in 2006. Arceneaux also collected CFL Top Performer of the Month honours for October after he hauled in 28 catches for 424 yards and four touchdowns over the last five games. “Being able to be in the same conversation as Geroy, it’s real big,” Arceneaux said. “He’s on the building, he’s all over Vancouver, he’s all over the CFL period. I’m just going to keep showing up, wearing my hard hat, bringing my lunch pail and hopefully I can get some of these Geroy numbers in years to come.” On defence, Solomon Elimimian is on the verge of history although it may be a long shot to happen before next season: Solly is 14 defensive tackles shy of breaking the all-time franchise record held by Dante Marsh. He retired with 587 defensive stops.

Stingy Defence Looks For Encore

When you have the CFL’s leading tackler in Elimimian, it is more likely than not your entire defence will feed off of him. The performance in Saskatchewan served as a template for how suffocating they want to be come playoff time: no touchdowns allowed, no points given up in the second half. It was very similar to a 28-3 thumping given to Hamilton way back in week two. A big difference now is youngsters Anthony Gaitor and Chandler Fenner have begun playing big roles in a secondary that has since been hit hard by injuries. “Most definitely,“ Gaitor said when asked if last week’s clinic was what they are aiming for every week. “We just want to continue to play fast, physical and just run around and have fun while we’re out there. We want to set a tone and let everybody know when they see our defence on the field we’re coming out there to make plays.” A big tone setter last week was Gaitor’s fumble recovery, forced by a big hit by Fenner that set the Lions up for a Jeremiah Johnson touchdown, which also opened the scoring. “Any time you get a turnover it’s exiting,” Gaitor added. “Whenever you get the ball inside the red zone, it gives the offence more confidence and a better chance to score. You want to be a turnover machine.” Having two training camp cuts return and make a big impact on this defence is probably one of the feel good stories for this squad in the second half of the season.

B.C. Lions' Anthony Gaitor, left, reaches for a pass intended for Winnipeg Blue Bombers' Tori Gurley that fell incomplete during the first half of a CFL football game in Vancouver, B.C., on Friday October 14, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Lineup Talk 

Even if Winnipeg had come up short on Friday, Wally Buono wasn’t ready to entertain the possibility of resting starters. They are treating this game like a must win and that is the best approach seeing as the calendar now reads November. On the injury front, Jabar Westerman took part in full practice this week after missing the last two games with a bad ankle. Wide receiver Shawn Gore will not suit up due to personal reasons. Stephen Adekolu takes his spot while rookie Shaq Johnson will back him up.

Quotable

“You have to address issues and we did. The thing that’s very noticable is how smooth he is and how guaranteed he is. We’ve kept the field goals fairly short because its not about the power right now it’s just about the mechanics and the stroke. You’ve got to trust your kickers even when they were struggling.”- Buono on bringing back Paul McCallum this week.”

Three Keys To Victory

 1)-Don’t let them hand around- as convincing as last week’s win was, it was still only a two possession game well into the second half. The Lions’ defence can handle that, but the longer Saskatchewan has a reason to keep battling, the more interesting this game may be. Look for Jennings and the offence to keep pounding.

2)- Run, run, run– Speaking of pounding the rock, Johnson is coming off back to back performances of 100-plus yards and averaged 6.3 per carry last week. Once again, he took the majority of first team reps this week. If he can continue to move the sticks and help the field position battle, it would pose bad news for the visitors.

3)- Kicking game– you knew this was coming. With McCallum back in the fold, the Lions have their bases covered. The combination of the 46-year old and Richie Leone will ensure they execute on field goal production, no matter what the distance. The move will also allow Leone to focus on what he’s done better than anyone else in the league at: punting. We all know how huge field position will be come playoff time.

Richie

Extra Yardage

The Lions are going for a second consecutive season sweep of Saskatchewan; they won all three meetings in 2015 before taking the first two meetings this season.

This marks the 19th time in franchise history the Lions will close out a regular season against the Roughriders. They have faced gang green more than any other opponent in a season finale. The Leos’ all-time record in those contests is 12-6.

Do you think Jennings might have a bit extra juice when he faces the squad that once cut him? In three career starts against Saskatchewan, he has thrown for 1,034 yards (including a career high 429 on July 16th), nine touchdowns and only one interception.

Broadcast note: This contest will be heard on TSN 1410 with Scott Rintoul and Giulio Caravatta. Pregame coverage is underway at 2:00PM with Bob Marjanovich, Chris Burns and Lowell Ullrich.

You can download the roster and depth chart for Saturday here!

Fan Poll
What has impressed you most this season?
Jennings on verge of 5,000 yards
Vote
Manny Show career year
Vote
Burnham breakout season
Vote
Team 100 dominance
Vote
Emergence of younger players
Vote
Other
Vote

Matt Baker:mbaker@bclions.com