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<\/p>\nVANCOUVER- All week long, they addressed the need to start making hay in front of their home fans. And on Saturday, the 5-5 BC Lions walked the walk in a convincing 36-18 win over the 5-5 Montreal Alouettes in front of 23, 318 fans at Save-On-Foods Field at BC Place. With the victory, the Lions remained tied in points with Winnipeg for third place in what is shaping up to be a massive battle in the Western Division.<\/p>\n
Blood In The Water<\/p>\n
The Alouettes were bitten by the injury bug coming in and then lost quarterback Caleb Evans to an apparent knee injury early in. James Morgan, the fourth pivot used by Montreal this season, then entered the game. The Lions\u2019 defence capitalized, holding them out of the end zone until garbage time of the fourth quarter and forcing the Alouettes to settle for three in previous instances where they gave up chunks of yards. Just the perfect statement for Micah Awe and company.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of those things we keep saying every week and I say every year: we\u2019ve just got to keep getting one percent better, one percent better,\u201d Awe said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe still learn a lot and have a lot of things to do better, but you can tell the direction of our team is moving; you want that. You don\u2019t want to be here at the beginning. You want to be here at the end. That\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to do.<\/p>\n
Awe racked up seven more tackles and came away with an interception on Montreal\u2019s two-point attempt on their only major.<\/p>\n
Nathan Rourke and the offence took a while to find their rhythm, as they were held to three field goals until just before halftime, when he connected with Justin McInnis for a major to put them ahead 16-12 at the break. Rourke and Keon Hatcher Sr. connected for two more majors in the second half before a dagger to Stanley Berryhill III put it away. Rourke completed the first ten passes after halftime, and Hatcher Sr. totalled 156 receptions to go with his two touchdowns. It was the type of offensive machine you come to expect with the weapons at his disposal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey played a lot of man coverage and our guys made some plays,\u201d said the winning quarterback.<\/p>\n
\u201cHatch and Ayden were the ones that come to mind right now. I\u2019m honestly proud of the fact that a lot of guys touched the ball. That\u2019s always my goal going into the game is never single anybody out and I thought we did a good job spreading the ball around. Like I said, we\u2019d love to do that just a little bit more, I think we\u2019d be even happier.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Rourke finished his night 26\/34 for 382 yards, four touchdown passes and one interception. He completed at least one pass to eight different targets. Not a bad recipe for success.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was big for us to be able to finish drives,\u201d explained Buck Pierce.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t do a great job in the first half putting the ball into the end zone. But being able to get some momentum going into that score zone area, yeah allows us to finish better. It\u2019s been something we\u2019ve talked about all season. I\u2019m proud of the way we did that in the second half.\u201d<\/p>\n
After settling for a field goal on the opening series, the Lions converted their next three red zone opportunities into touchdowns.<\/p>\n
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Key Numbers<\/p>\n
491\u2013 net offensive yards for the Lions, who hit their stride in the second half.<\/p>\n
11\/11- Hatcher Sr. caught all 11 passes intended for him in what was a season-high performance in yards.<\/p>\n
878\u2013 receiving yards on the season for Hatcher Sr., good enough for the CFL lead through ten games.<\/p>\n
3-\u00a0sacks by the amped up Lion defence. It was a pair for Sione Tehuema and another for Jonah Tavai in his return from injury.<\/p>\n
137- the Lions commited 12 penalties for a whopping 137 yards. Not a good recipe for success and it was addressed by Pierce after the game.<\/p>\n
Quotable<\/p>\n
\u201cIt don\u2019t matter who eats, as long as one of us eats. I promise, we\u2019re all excited for each other, we all want to see each other win. One success feels like all of our success. We\u2019re big fans of each other and we\u2019ve got to keep that going and keep making plays for 12.\u201d \u2013 Hatcher Sr. with MOJ and Giulio on the 730 CKNW post-game show.<\/p>\n
Next Up<\/p>\n
The Lions head east for a clash with the Toronto Argonauts next Saturday, August 23. Kickoff at BMO Field is NOON PT. The 2-8 Argos dropped a 28-20 decision at Edmonton on Friday night.<\/p>\n