Photo credit: Zachary Peters, BC Lions.
WINNIPEG- The BC Lions have some interesting decisions to make. And that’s a solid problem to have following an impressive 30-19 victory over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to conclude pre-season. In what was a solid improvement from last week’s setback in Langford, several Lions rookies and hopefuls made the most of their final dress rehearsal. The most impressive element of this victory was a solid quarterback-receiver connection that took over the game.
Chase Was On The Case
After Nathan Rourke got his feet wet by going 6/8 for 99 yards through the opening series of the second quarter, Chase Brice further solidified his status as the number two by engineering a brilliant nine-play, 107-yard touchdown drive after taking over behind centre.
The long series culminated with the first of two second quarter touchdown strikes to rookie wideout Nick Cenacle, giving the visitors a 20-13 halftime advantage. Brice finished a remarkable 9/11 for 159 yards and the two majors before making way to Kaidon Salter and Jarret Doege in the second half. One of Brice’s incompletions came on his first play from the Lions’ seven-yard line, when a beautiful dime just fell through the hands of Jermaine Jackson.
Overall, the fourth-year pivot was satisfied with a final pre-season dress rehearsal that came on the heels of perhaps his best training camp yet as a member of the Lions. Salter played the majority of the second half and engineered a third touchdown that went to Kieran Poissant.
Head coach Buck Pierce gave his assessment on the offensive output spearheaded by the Brice-Cenacle duo.
“Credit to Chase for really diving into the system this year, and I think a year under his belt has really helped him play with a lot of confidence right now,” explained Pirece.
“You can really see his leadership ability as he’s starting to grow with more confidence. You expect your guys to go out there and do that. I’m proud of the way he’s prepared and excited for the success in his future.”
For Cenacle, he enjoyed his true coming-out party. Now, the challenge will be to carry it over into the real season.
“I was very motivated. Honestly, the guys were saying that we didn’t have a good history in Winnipeg, so we wanted to come here and just make a statement win, and I feel like we accomplished that today, so it was very good,” said the former Hawaii Rainbow Warrior.
If there was any doubt coming into this one, Brice’s status on the roster behind Rourke will certainly not be questioned at this stage. It’s a credit to his commitment to improving this off-season.
“I felt really good to get out there and have the chance to throw to our guys again,” said the quarterback.
“I thought it’s been a very productive camp. I’m very comfortable with what we’re doing. I’m seeing it pretty good and just going to continue to grow.”
The defence had to overcome an early touchdown drive led by Bombers’ rookie pivot Taylor Elgersma and a couple of pre-snap penalties that extended drives. Later on, a Parker McKenna interception was wiped out by an illegal contact. Pre-season growing pains. It’s all a part of the process. The lone Lion sack of the night came from rookie defensive lineman T.J. Burke that helped hold Winnipeg to a field goal in the opening half.
“I thought they did a better job communicating and running to the ball,” added Pierce.
I thought, you know, their effort was on display tonight. I thought we tackled better, too. They had some underneath throws, the defence forced some second longs, and we had a lot of bodies flying to the football.”
The Big Stats
111– Cenacle’s receiving yard total on only four receptions and four targets. He certainly turned some heads and reinforced the fact that the Lions are indeed deep at the position.
381– Total passing yards by Lion quarterbacks. Salter added 123 of them, while going 11/12.
462- The Lions’ net offensive output in this victory.
Next Up
It’s a late-night flight back to Kamloops before members of the squad return to the Lower Mainland. Following a bye, the Lions open their regular season on Friday, June 13, at the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Stay tuned to bclions.com and our social channels to follow the pending transactions, as the Lions trim down their roster this weekend.