The road to the 112th Grey Cup is still very clearly paved for the BC Lions. But their toughest test lies ahead this Saturday, as they prepare for the Western Final at the first-place Saskatchewan Roughriders. Kickoff is 3:30 pm PT at Mosaic Stadium.
This represents the 12th all-time playoff meeting between the two clubs. Four of the previous meetings came in the Western Final, all of those at home. The resurgent Lions are hoping to make their first division final in Regina a memorable one. A quick primer for Saturday’s heavyweight battle.
Regular Season Series
The Riders prevailed in two of three regular season meetings with the Lions.
Week 4, June 28 at Saskatchewan: Riders 37, Lions 18
Despite the lopsided final score, the visiting Lions were in this one and in position to take a halftime lead before Jeremiah Masoli’s interception was returned 89 yards to the house by TeVaughn Campbell. It resulted in a potential 14-point swing and gave the Riders a 16-7 advantage at the break. The Lions would not recover. It was a battle of the backups, as Masoli made his second straight start in place of the injured Nathan Rourke. With Trevor Harris also on the shelf, Jake Maier only needed to complete 13 passes for 170 yards and one offensive major. A.J. Ouellette was the difference maker on the night with 139 yards and a touchdown out of the backfield. The loss dropped the Lions to 1-3.
Bakes’ Game Takes | BC 18 SSK 37
Week 7, July 19 at BC: Riders 33, Lions 27
This time, it was the score that flattered the Lions. And it was a crash down to earth after two straight wins at Montreal and Edmonton that followed the first meeting with Saskatchewan. Harris and the Riders jumped out to a 17-1 first-quarter lead and never looked back, as the quarterback finished with 395 passing yards and three majors. Playing catch-up all game, Rourke managed to throw for 337 yards and three touchdowns, two of those going to Eberhardt. The result dropped the Lions to 3-4.
Bakes’ Game Takes | BC 27 SSK 33
Week 21, October 25 at Saskatchewan: Lions 27, Riders 21
The scenarios were simple: the Lions had to win to secure second place and a home playoff date; otherwise, they would fall to fourth and crossover to Montreal. Despite having first-place locked up two weeks before, Saskatchewan elected to play Harris, Ouellette, star left tackle Jemarcus Hardrick and many other starters for most of the first half. Rourke connected with Eberhardt for a 63-yard touchdown on the opening play from scrimmage, but it wouldn’t come easy.
Leading 18-13 early in the third quarter, the Riders had what appeared to be a 99-yard fumble return touchdown taken away by a quick whistle. Lucky? Perhaps. But you could sense the visitors wouldn’t have been denied with almost a full half to play. Rourke hit Keon Hatcher Sr. with a nifty shovel pass with 4:05 to play for the eventual winning points. The win was a sixth-straight for the Lions, giving them second place and a record of 11-7.
Bakes’ Game Takes | BC 27 SSK 21
Season Series Numbers Of Note
Playing in two of the three matchups. Rourke amassed 705 passing yards and six touchdown strikes. Eberhardt was the Lions’ receiving leader in each of the three meetings and registered 14 receptions for 271 yards and four majors.
Stopping the run will be the key this Saturday: Ouellette recorded 54 touches for 287 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns in the regular season series.
Western Final History
The Lions hold a 3-1 advantage in the previous Western Final meetings with Saskatchewan. As mentioned, this will be the first time they battle it out in Regina for a trip to the Grey Cup. Previous meetings:
1963- Lions Prevail In Best- Of -Three
After opening with a 19-7 win at Taylor Field in the opener, the series shifted West to Empire Stadium. The Riders stayed alive with a 13-8 victory before the Lions advanced in the do-or-die game three, prevailing 36-1 in what remains the largest margin of victory for any Lion playoff game. They would then fall to Hamilton in the 51st Grey Cup in front of the home fans.
2004, BC Place- Lions 27, Riders 25 (OT)
Coming off a 13-5 season and finishing atop the division, over 54,000 fans packed into the dome to witness an all-time classic. Dave Dickenson relieved Casey Printers in the late stages and engineered a drive to set up Duncan O’Mahoney’s 47-yard tying field goal. The overtime presented more chaos. After Paul McCallum missed an 18-yard chip shot on the Riders’ only possession, O’Mahoney responded by kicking his attempt through and sending the Lions to their first Grey Cup in a decade. The jubilation was halted with a 27-19 loss to Damon Allen and the Argonauts in Ottawa.
2006, BC Place- Lions 45, Riders 18
After the heartbreak of 2004 and a painful collapse and home West Final loss to Edmonton to end the next year, this version of the Lions wasn’t going to be denied. Dickenson and the offence piled up 439 net yards, while Jason Clermont led the way for a star-studded receiving corps. with 98 yards on nine receptions. The Lion defence held top back Kenton Keith to just 19 yards on the ground and forced two turnovers. The Lions finished the job next week in Winnipeg, defeating Montreal 25-14 in the 94th Grey Cup.
2007, BC Place- Riders 26, Lions 17
The visiting Riders were fired up for revenge and weren’t going to be denied in this ’07 rematch. After taking advantage of an early fumbled punt return that led to their first major of the game, Saskatchewan controlled most of this one with their defence, registering seven sacks. Jarious Jackson started at quarterback before an injury forced a banged-up Dickenson to take over. It was a sour end to a season that saw the Lions win a franchise-best 14 games. The Riders ended their 18-year Grey Cup drought the next week, defeating Winnipeg 23-19 in Toronto.
And Finally… Quotables On The “Cold”
Head coach Buck Pierce didn’t have to wait long to field questions on the great outdoors this weekend. With a forecast of minus one and possible flurries on game day (perfect weather, if you ask us), Pierce had this to say.
“It’s football. We’re going to practice outdoors every day. The cold and the wind, we’ll see how that looks on game day. The cold to me is a mindset. We’re going to talk a lot about that this week. When you go out there and line it up, it’s just football. All these guys at this level have played in cold-weather games before.”