Alone in the West Division cellar and carrying an 0-2 record into the home of the reigning East Division champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers, the BC Lions would need a special effort to find the win column. As it turned out, that effort would come in the form of a five-foot-six bundle of speed named Stefan Logan as the rookie running back turned in one of the best professional debuts in 30 years, powering the club to a 42-24 win over the ‘Bombers.
 
For GM and head coach Wally Buono, it was a challenge to keep his emotions and those of his players in check following the death of team president and CEO Bob Ackles on July 6th, but the club responded in a positive and inspiring fashion and appeared ready to stake their rightful place as one of the CFL’s elite teams.

On offence, quarterback Jarious Jackson provided his best performance as a pro, good on 19 of 24 passes for 340 yards and a staggering five TD’s. If not for two drops, his night may have been even better but the lofty numbers did earn him CFL Offensive Player of the Week kudos .

Equally as impressive was Stefan Logan’s performance at running back.  His 18 carries for 143 yards, which included a 66-yard jaunt, certainly fueled a running back debate moving into the rematch with Winnipeg. Logan's debut was the second-best effort in Lions history behind Larry Key’s 184-yard and three TD debut.  Things got weird when you consider Logan’s Run came on July 11, 2008, exactly 30 years to the day that Key ran wild versus, who else, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on July 11, 1978.  

Up front, the play of Walter Stith at left tackle certainly made the absence of Rob Murphy easier to swallow. Stith’s reach made it very difficult on opposing defensive linemen. With Murphy now back from attending to the birth of his triplets, offensive coordinator and O-line coach Dan Dorazio had some interesting decisions to make going into Week 4.

At receiver, Geroy Simon had a breakout performance with seven receptions for 192 yards and two touchdowns against his former team – the total on the night along with his 76-yard TD reception in the third quarter were both league-highs to that point in the 2008 season.  Simon’s assault on the Winnipeg secondary moved him to second overall among receivers with 13 receptions and 284 yards. Newcomer Clarence Coleman showed why he won the wide receiver sweepstakes in training camp, turning in a two-catch performance that resulted in two major scores.

On defence, Mike Benevides was pleased on two fronts, the first being the support his charges received from the offence and second being the number of turnovers his defence created in the win. Four interceptions and two turnovers on downs, not to mention three sacks, gave the Lions the type of team show fans had been hoping for from their club.

Along the D-line, Cam Wake added another two sacks for a CFL-best of five on the year. Tyrone Williams had a ‘Gladiator-like’ performance in the ‘peg and was rewarded with nice keepsake courtesy of TSN. The veteran interior lineman was a force all night ringing up two tackles and a pass knockdown. Those numbers were equaled by Aaron Hunt with Brent Johnson adding a tackle of his own. Third-year Lion Ricky Foley was quickly becoming an interesting story for the Lions, doing damage on passing downs – the former York University star recorded a sack along with two defensive tackles and added two more tackles on special teams.

At linebacker, Javier Glatt had a career night in Winnipeg with two interceptions and six tackles which resulted in his first POW award since 2006. The ‘quarterback of the defence’ had now notched 20 tackles on the year and trailed former teammate Barrin Simpson by a single takedown for second place on the CFL charts. Otis Floyd sat at 15 tackles on the year after notching six of his own on Friday as well. After three weeks, Floyd and Glatt had combined for 35 of the team’s 147 defensive tackles on the season (24%).

The Lions secondary, anchored by Barron Miles, who notched interception number two on the season (51 for his career), was steady for most of the night but was not be pleased with surrendering 104 passing yards to Ryan Dinwiddie in the fourth quarter of the win. Newcomer Reggie Myles also notched his second interception of 2008, while the rest of Lockdown U continued to look for interceptions as Korey Banks, LaVar Glover, Dante Marsh and Ryan Phillips remained absent from the ‘pick’ column through three weeks of play.

On special teams, reigning return champ Ian Smart stood atop the kickoff return column with a healthy 25-yard average (14-350) through three weeks of the season. The slippery Smart was also fifth among punt return leaders (13-97) and fifth in combined yards with 465. Kicker/punter Paul McCallum hit his first two field goals on the season versus the Bombers despite the blustery conditions.

An emotional Lions squad finally displayed on the field what many had expected of the team coming out of training camp. Moving into Week 4 of the young 2008 season, the Lions looked to even their overall record and keep themselves close in the West Division standings. In the first fully interlocking week between East and West Division clubs, the West came away 4-0.

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Looking Back at 2008 is a weekly feature that summarizes and reflects upon key moments from the 2008 season