In a fashion that would make Bob Seger proud, the BC Lions have turned the page. On Monday morning, Wally Buono and the coaches were already well into their preparations for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and this Sunday’s Western Semi-Final at BC Place, while a few players were in and out for treatment or a workout. Make make no mistake: the sense inside club headquarters was that the 12-6 regular season, although a very significant turnaround for the franchise, was in the rear view mirror and the focus is squarely on Winnipeg and the first step toward what they hope is a Grey Cup journey in 2016. This is an old hat for Buono as he is in the playoffs for a remarkable 22nd time in 23 seasons as a CFL head coach. The only time he failed to qualify was with Calgary in 2002 which helped lead to his move to the west coast one season later.
As you would expect, the CFL’s all-time wins leader brushed that impressive stat aside. “It doesn’t matter what you did last year,” Buono insisted. That being said, Buono was more than happy to break down the reasons for his club’s big turnaround, after they went 7-11 and fell in convincing fashion at Calgary in the Western Semi-Final in the lone season under Jeff Tedford. “We’ve played exciting football, we’ve played entertaining football and for the most part, we’ve played winning football. That’s all part of re-caputuring our fan base.” As you would expect, Buono also isn’t ready to take full credit for the turnaround after many onlookers suggested his return to the sidelines was the biggest factor.
“I think everybody has a role. My role is no different than anybody else’s. The guys that you always have to look at are the coaches and the players. They’re the ones who do all of the day-to-day grind. The head coach is responsible for making sure they are all paddling in the right direction.”
As far as playoffs go, Rolly Lumbala is now nine-for-nine in his Lions’ career and the fullback is more anxious than ever to collect a second Grey Cup ring. “That’s the goal every year,” Lumbala said. “I know we have a very good team but this game is going to say a lot about us. Hopefully we can keep it going and see where we end up in the end, but that (Grey Cup) is always the goal. For me, it’s been five years. It’s time.”
Part of turning the page also involves forgetting those back-to-back losses to the Bombers that knocked Lumbala and company to 9-6 before they closed things out by winning three straight and taking back second place. “It’s a new season. We’ve come in with some great momentum and we like where we are right now,” Lumbala said. “We absolutely respect Winnipeg. They’re great in all three facets of the game, but we like the matchup. We’re glad we’re able to host a playoff game and were just going to put in a lot of work this week and make sure we’re ready to go.”
Buono says the 0-2 head to head record against Winnipeg has no barring on their mindset and preparation for their first official “must win” game of the year:
“Those two games are behind us. At this point, whether we won them or lost them wouldn’t have made any difference. We’d still be in second place. Winnipeg is a good football team and they’ve done a good job turning their program around, the same as us. The thing about playoffs are you have to raise your level of intensity and with that hopefully you raise your level of play.”
Coach Buono
Everybody is 0-0 now. All that matters is taking down the Blue Bombers and earning a trip to Calgary on November 20th. Bob Seger put it so perfectly.
You can purchase tickets for Sunday’s Western Semi-Final here or by calling 1-855-G0-Lions!
Rivalry Renewed
You only have to go back to the victorious 2011 Grey Cup to find recent playoff history between the Lions and Blue Bombers, but the November rivalry was much more frequent in a previous era, particularly in the 1980’s where they met in the Western Final for three straight years (83-85) and the ’88 Grey Cup where Matt Dunigan and the Leos fell 22-21 after a late 4th quarter interception sealed their fate. The Lions held a 2-1 advantage in those West Finals and the ’85 victory was a springboard to the club’s second Grey Cup title. Perhaps a turning point for the franchise came after a dis-heartening 30
-3 loss to Winnipeg in the 2002 Western Semi-Final which led to the firing of GM/head coach Adam Rita and the successful pursuit of Buono who would be officially hired in January of 2003. Including Grey Cups, the Lions hold a 6-3 all-time edge in playoff games against the Blue Bombers.
Injury Updates
Both running back Jeremiah Johnson and defensive back Anthony Gaitor are on track to play after getting banged up in the regular season finale against Saskatchewan. Johnson was limited to 40 yards rushing on eight carries after tweaking his leg, but is ready to be the featured tailback the rest of the way. “I’m good man, just got a little flat tire,” Johnson said after defeating the Riders. “I’m just trying to play hard and I thank God that things weren’t worse and that I am out here still standing and was able to finish the game.” Gaitor had the wind knocked out of him after a big block from Joe McKnight in the first quarter and only sat out as a precaution. The rookie has developed quite nicely in a secondary that has been ravaged by injuries in 2016. Keynan Parker did a nice job filling Gaitor’s shoes. As for wide receiver Shawn Gore, he remains on the disabled list with lingering effects from a concussion suffered in early October. His status remains in doubt for this week.
Matt Baker: mbaker@bclions.com