2023 CFL Western Semi-Final between the BC Lions and Calgary Stampeders at BC Place. Photo by Steven Chang
Truth be told, ‘must win’ games simply don’t exist in week two. As Josh Woods and the 0-1-0 BC Lions get ready to strap them on and battle the 1-0-0 Calgary Stampeders on Saturday in our Concert Kickoff home opener (4:00 pm/TSN/RDS/980 CKNW/Sher-E- Punjab Radio AM 600), the intensity is a little ramped up considering we still have 17 regular season tests remaining.
Simply put, they all know the squad can ill afford to drop four points below their division rivals at this early juncture. Nothing wrong with a little early season adversity before the importance really ramps up.
“Every game is important,” Woods explained.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s East, West, home or away. We just really need to dial in and be us. If we do that, it will go a long way in getting this win.”
The big storyline this week is the fact we are on track to shatter a club record for home opener attendance. With over 50,000 tickets sold, it easily erases the previous home opener mark of 1984 which drew 43,501 fans through the turnstiles. That will be a major motivating factor for everyone in black and orange this Saturday.
“It’s going to be fun seeing BC Place pretty much packed right up. Almost like a pre-Grey Cup feeling,” said Woods on the excitement for the home opener.
“The energy is going to be amazing. I played in a Rose Bowl and even if that was half full, it still would have been 50,000. The biggest crowd I ever played in was at Texas A&M, that was close to 100,000. The biggest thing for me is how loud it gets when it comes to communication. It’s going to be fun.”
The coaching staff has had no real issues sending the message of how big an opportunity Saturday presents for the franchise.
“Any of the West games are so big. We’re going to play these guys three times,” said Rick Campbell.
“As you all know, it comes down to tiebreakers and things at the end. You want to try to get some wins early, so yeah, it’s a big game. All these West games early in the season are big for us.”
The Stamps are riding high and looking to open up a four-point cushion on the Leos and should also be extra motivated after dropping another Western Semi-Final in the Lions’ house last November. Woods expects another tough battle against the red and white visitors.
“They have really good receivers, Jake Maier is a smart guy behind centre and is a patient guy who likes hitting his spots,” the linebacker added.
“They have a good running back duo and they like incorporating their receivers into the running game as well. It’s going to take everyone to be on the same page.”
With 50 Cent kicking off the festivities, it’s surely to go down as a night to remember. Winning will be the only icing on cake they want.
The Quarterbacks
# 3 Vernon Adams Jr.- Big Play VA took full ownership of some of the offensive shortcomings last week but still came out with a pretty fine performance, completing 25 of 33 passes for 363 yards and two touchdown strikes. As a member of the Lions, Adams Jr. holds a 3-2-0 record as a starter with one more victory coming in last November’s Western Semi-Final.
# 12- Jake Maier- now in his second full season as Calgary’s starter behind centre, Meier threw for two touchdowns to go with 252 passing yards in Calgary’s triumph over Hamilton to kick off the campaign. He is 2-3-0 as a regular season starter against the Lions while also falling short in each of the last two Western Semi-Finals at BC Place.
3 More Lions To Watch
DL # 56 Christian Covington- the pass rush is under the microscope once again and you can look for Covington to have a bounce back game which would also mean the likes of Pete Robertson and Sione Tehuema will have more room to pressure Maier and slow down the Stamps’ attack.
LB # 2- Josh Woods- entering this season the linebacker position was viewed as one of the team’s biggest strengths. Woods’ play in the middle has been a big reason for that excitement. Look for the UCLA Bruin to come up big as these Lions look to get into the win column.
WR # 86 Jevon Cottoy- the YAC monster also known as ‘Big Cat’ only hauled in a pair of receptions in week one but is primed to be a leader in this offence. His chemistry with VA is something to follow for the balance of this campaign.
Extra Yards
Offensive line shuffle: after allowing six quarterback sacks one week ago, the main change comes at left guard where Chris Schleuger slots in for David Knevel. Schleuger’s lone start as a Lion came in August of last season in a loss at Saskatchewan. Michael Couture (back) will not suit up this week with his starting spot taken by Tyler Packer. Andrew Peirson will dress as the sixth man. The big men up front will be under the microscope as the trenches battle looms large.
Adams Jr.’s 363 passing yards in week one led all CFL quarterbacks. He completed his first nine passes in the loss at Toronto with his second quarter interception serving as his first incompletion of the night.
Field position is key: the Lions’ average start last week was their own 33-yard line while Toronto’s average start was their own 44-yard line. The Stamps against Hamilton had an average start on their own 45-yard line.
Sean Whyte is Mr. Reliable. After nailing both of his attempts last week, Whytey has made his last 19 field goal tries dating back to last year and is 64 points shy of 2,000 for his great career.
The Lions hold an all-time regular season record of 211-128-2 in games played at BC Place. That’s good for a .622 wining percentage.
The squad will also look to avoid their first 0-2 start to a season since 2019 when they finished 5-13 and out of the playoffs in their lone year under DeVone Claybrooks as head coach.