Mike Beamish
Vancouver Sun

Okay, the Stanley Cup didn't work out for the Canucks. Hey, Vancouver, let it go. Start thinking Grey Cup now.

Granted, it's only June. Wednesday's 24-0 win by the Lions over the Calgary Stampeders was just the first of two CFL dress rehearsals. And the crowd at McMahon Stadium - 8,235 -was the size you might see at a Texas high school game, played under dark, threatening skies, reflecting the ominous mood back in Vancouver after the Bruins took it to the Canucks.

But, after back-to-back 8-10 seasons, Lions coach Wally Buono is sending a message. Enough already.

"We don't want to be an 8-10 team. That's not good enough, Buono said. "We want a great football team that has a great record. I'm sending a message: I don't want to start 1-7 again. I'll make changes if I have to. If we're 0-2 in pre-season, that's going to be very annoying. If we're 0-2, then I'm thinking to myself, we must have a bigger deficiency than I thought. And I need to start looking at ways to fix it. If we're 0-2, maybe we're letting the guys play who shouldn't play. And we have choices this year."

First-year defensive tackle James Bryant is one of them. A converted fullback known as Chaos in college, Bryant certainly created some for the Stampeders. He set up the Lions' second touchdown, when he pounced on a fumble after a bad exchange between backup QB Drew Tate and centre Zac Carlson, at the Calgary 10-yard line. On the next play, Jarious Jackson threw a touchdown pass to Kamau Peterson to put the Lions ahead 17-0 in third quarter.

"Every game we step on the field, we're coming for your head. Period," Bryant said, enunciating the mood of purpose. "It doesn't matter if it's pre-season or regular season, we're coming. And we're going to be relentless, because that's what we do."

Bryant had his second fumble recovery in the same quarter, following yet another bad snap from Carlson that sailed over Tate's head for a 17-yard loss. Six plays later, third-string quarterback Mike Reilly threw 15 yards to Nick Moore to put the Lions ahead 24-0.

Defensive end Rajon Henley, another newcomer on BC's defensive line, also drew high marks from the head coach. "He really stood out," Buono said of the former Atlanta Falcon. 'He's a real defensive end. But he can play inside [tackle] if he has to."

Collectively, the Lions sacked Calgary quarterbacks four times. Although he didn't record an official sack on his personal sheet, Henley scored well in the harassment department.

"We got the message not just from the coach, but from the vets like [Aaron] Hunt and Keron [Williams]," Henley explained. "We take our business very seriously, even when it's a pre-season game. Hunt and Keron are like mentors. Very serious football players. I wanted to be as serious as them."

On the offensive side, Reilly, Jackson and starter Travis Lulay all threw touchdown passes before Lion rookie Corey Leonard took over midway through the fourth quarter. While he didn't throw a TD, Leonard added the Lions' third interception of the game when his pass was picked off by Calgary safety Eric Fraser.

While it was only a dry run for the regular season, the Lions behaved as if it was a statement game, reflecting their coach's serious attitude.

In the third quarter, Lions special teams demon Jason Arakgi drilled Brandon Talley on a punt return and separated him from the football with the type of abandon seen in a playoff game.

Lulay, who started the game, was intercepted on his sixth play from scrimmage when he tried to go deep to Shawn Gore. But he got BC on the board first with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Steven Black after a 31-yard pass to newcomer Dobson Collins moved the ball deep into the Stampeders zone.

Calgary's offence, with Henry Burris playing the first quarter with the first team, had three two-and-outs on the Stampeders' first four possessions. Indeed, the Stamps gave the impression they have a lot more work to do than the Lions to get ready for their opener, July 1 against Toronto.

After Lulay missed Collins on a pass at the Stampeder goalline, Paul McCallum kicked a 22-yard field goal to give the Lions a 10-0 lead, which BC took to the locker-room at halftime. In their search for a kick returner to replace Yonus Davis, the Lions got some encouragement from a pair of rookies, Kierrie Johnson and Tim Brown.

Johnson twice fielded wide field goal attempts in the end zone and returned them for positive yards - 24, in the first instance, when he reversed his field, and 17 in the second quarter.

It's early, of course, but there was a look of satisfaction etched on Buono's face.

"Pre-season is pre-season," he said. "But these guys had more of a business attitude. They weren't too emotional, screaming, talking. They just played good hard-nosed football."