B.C. Lions' quarterback Jonathon Jennings, left, and Stephen Adekolu celebrate Jennings touchdown that proved to be the game winning score against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers during second half western semifinal CFL football action in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday November 13, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Jonathon Jennings was waiting for this moment his whole life: season on the line, needing a touchdown to win, ball in his hand and a chance to hit pay dirt in the dying seconds. His nine-yard touchdown scamper with 1:06 on the clock capped an amazing comeback- the BC Lions trailed by 12 points with 11:34 to play- and his squad held on to beat Winnipeg 32-31 in a remarkable afternoon of playoff football at BC Place.
It was classic Jennings. He narrowly avoided a sack, broke at least one other tackle and did not stop fighting until the official signaled touchdown. It could very well go down as one of the biggest playoff plays in franchise history.
Most important, Jennings and company move on to next Sunday’s Western Division Final against the 15-2-1 Stampeders in Calgary.
“That’s the dream moment right there,” Jennings said of his late heroics. “That’s something that you always dream of. You don’t always want to win like that but if it had to be a cool way to win, you wanted to do something pretty cool and that was a cool way to do it.” The Lions’ QB finished with 329 passing yards as well as touchdown strikes to Bryan Burnham and Terrell Sinkfield Jr.
Jennings bounced back from a rough first half that saw him throw an interception to Chris Randle on the second play from scrimmage. It led to a touchdown by former Lion Andrew Harris. Later in the first quarter, Jennings also lost a fumble in the red zone. Winnipeg led 25-12 at the half before Jennings and the offence began chipping away. His first touchdown run got them to within nine heading to the 4th.
Fate didn’t seem to be heading the Lions way when Cameron Ontko was flagged for roughing Blue Bombers kicker Justin Medlock when they were going to get the ball back with great field position. It led Winnipeg’s final points of the day, a 27-yard field goal by Medlock, that gave them their 12-point cushion.
“Everyone believed. Everyone knew that we could just keep punching, keep battling and continue to go play by play. Our offence has done it many times before, scoring fast and scoring when we need to. The defence has great a good job all season holding people when we need them.”
Instead of gambling on 3rd and 4 with 36 seconds left, the Blue Bombers trotted Medlock out for a 61-yard go ahead attempt that was kicked short. Game, set, match.
Following the win, a passionate Wally Buono says he wasn’t ready to lose faith in Jennings after the first half blunders.
“I’ve yet to be around a quarterback that hasn’t thrown an interception,” Buono said. “I’ve been around Doug Flutie, Dave Dickenson, Jeff Garcia and Buck Pierce. Throwing an interception is part of the game. It’s how you react after you throw it. If he throws seven, I would pull him out of the game. He threw one. The defensive player made a great play. He jumped the throw.”
On defence, Solomon Elimimian led the way six tackles and although they didn’t force any turnovers of their own, they clamped down when they needed to and Alex Bazzie had a big knockdown which set up the Bombers’ ill-fated field goal attempt.
For the visitors, Matt Nichols had a solid outing with 390 yards passing and two touchdowns to Ryan Smith.
Quotable
“You gotta fight to the end. Everything was on the line. Win or go home and we came out with the big win. Play-makers might make mistakes, but they always find a way to come back and redeem themselves.”
Chris Rainey on the comeback and Jennings’ late heroics
Bake’s Takes
There was no way it could end like that: with a penalty and turnover-filled loss against a rival that narrowly beat them in two crushing regular season defeats. You could say it was a microcosm of the Lions’ 2016 season to date: down, but never out and ready to pull out the unexpected.
About Rainey. He was pressed into receiver duty after Manny Arceneaux was knocked out on a late hit by Winnipeg’s Taylor Loffler. The Rain Man contributed with four catches for 57 yards and also had 40 yards on seven rushing attempts. The way Rainey stepped in and the entire Lions’ offence rallied for the fallen Arceneaux is the stuff they write books about. He is one of the game’s most dynamic playmakers and his running ability no doubt threw a wrinkle in the Bombers’ defensive game plan. You could also tell they made it their mission to complete the comeback for number 84. After the win, an emotional Arceneaux addressed his teammates during the game balls presentation. Along with tweaking his ankle, he went through concussion protocol and will be evaluated as this week goes on.
Cam Ontko has been one of the club’s unsung heroes this season but it looked like his penalty may have been the final dagger. He showed his character by apologizing to every member of the defence after Medlock’s last field goal of the day.
Hats off to the Bombers. From the opening series, this was not a team that was simply happy to be here after a lengthy playoff drought. Nichols and company looked every bit like the team that went 10-3 down the stretch and 7-2 overall away from Investors Group Field. This team will be a factor in the West Division next season and beyond.
Western Final
The Lions will charter to Calgary on Friday afternoon with the Western Final set for 1:30 PM PT on Sunday. The Stampeders took two of three regular season meetings. Your Lions prevailed 20-18 over Calgary in week one of the regular season.
Matt Baker: mbaker@bclions.com