Jacqueline Blackwell
BCLions.com Staff

With the bye week in their rearview mirror and the midway mark of the 2011 season upon them, the Lions boarded a plane for Toronto on Wednesday morning after a full practice week spent preparing to face the Argonauts in the first game of an important home-and-home series.

Eight games into the regular season campaign, both teams share identical 2-6 records and with a playoff spot dependent on their performance in the second half of the season, the Leos know all too well the importance of carrying forward their momentum from their dominating 36-1 win over the Edmonton Eskimos and bringing home a win before facing the Boatmen again on September 10th at Empire Field.

“Our win in Edmonton was definitely important to me on a personal level,” says quarterback Travis Lulay.  “By no means was it a perfect game, but when you’re playing with confidence you can overcome any mistakes and move on to the next play.”

As Lulay and Co. prepare to face an Argo defence currently ranked at or near the bottom of several CFL defensive categories, the Lions offence knows they will face a defensive corps with something to prove.

“The biggest thing we need to remember going into the game is to keep the focus on us and not let Toronto dictate,” acknowledges Lulay.  “We need to play our game which means not forcing any situations and pushing ourselves to increase and maintain a consistent level of production.  It all works together – the longer we control the ball, the fresher the defence is when they go on the field.  The more they get the ball back to us, the easier it is for us to find our offensive rhythm.  When all facets are clicking like that, I know we can be a tough football team.”

Adding another weapon to the Lions offensive arsenal, receiver Arland Bruce made an on-field statement in just his second game for the Black and Orange, catching nine passes for 129 yards and two TDs to be named the Gibson’s Finest Offensive Player of the Week for Week 8.

“When I came to BC, I knew I wanted to start strong and make plays right from the start,” says the 10-year CFL veteran.”  “The more Travis and I practice together and more games we play, the more comfortable we get.  I’m happy with how we’ve started out and I believe you’ll see much more to come in the second half of the season.”

Veteran slotback Geroy Simon, who is currently chasing retired CFL great Milt Stegall for the all-time receiving yards record, acknowledges that the Lions offence is continuing to evolve as the season marches on.

“Using our game in Edmonton as an example, you can see that we’re starting to work together as a team and are starting to see some success.  Without question, bringing home a win in Toronto on Friday would be huge for us.  We know we’re a talented team – now we have to let our play do the talking.”