Calgary Stampeders Archives | Page 10 of 10 | BC Lions Football

Bye week changes nothing, Lions stamped at home again.

August 28, 2010 By Brian Wawryshyn

BC Lions fans showed up at Empire Field hoping the bye week had worked out the issues the team had seen compiling a 1-6 record to start the year. In the end it was the Calgary Stampeders who looked rested and fine tuned, as they easily defeated the home side by a score of 48-35. The score flattered the Lions who scored two late touchdowns in garbage time.

The game started ominously for the Lions after the defence held the Stamps to a field goal attempt. Rob Maver’s attempt was short but was fumbled by the Leos’ Yonus Davis and recovered by the Stamps on the Lions 9 yard line where Burris would run it in for an early touchdown.

The Lions did respond on the next series, thanks in part to a great 44 yard leaping catch by Emmanuel Arceneaux to put the Lions in great field position. After Jamal Robertson took it to the one, the Lions needed three chances to get the ball into the endzone, with Casey Printers eventually breaking the plane of the goalline, confirmed by video review.

The Lions would take the lead on a Paul McCallum field goal, but it would be their last lead of the game, as the Stampeders started to dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, a common theme for the Lions this season. Henry Burris, who threw for three touchdowns and ran for one himself, did his best to keep the Lions in the game in the first half. After an Emmanuel Arceneaux fumble at midfield, Burris tossed the first of his three interceptions in the game, setting up a Paul McCallum field goal. Burris promptly threw another to Dante Marsh and a great catch at the 1 yard line by Simon set up a Jamal Robertson touchdown late in the half, closing the score to 24-20. The Stamps would get a field goal late, aided by a horse collar penalty assessed to Tad Crawford and the Lions were actually in the game at the half, down by just seven points.

It was the same old story in the second half as the Stampeders made some adjustments and the Lions couldn’t adjust. Burris worked underneath routes to John Cornish and Joffrey Reynolds at will. On one drive in the half it was all Cornish all the time, and the Lions were at their mercy. The Stamps built up a big lead before the Lions scored twice late.

Printers was under constant pressure in the second half as the Lions offensive line continued to struggle, particularly up the middle of the line. The resulting sputtering of the offence kept the defence on the field far too long and Burris and the Stamps seemed to move the ball at will as the defence wore down.

Burris completed 20 of 34 passes for 276 yards in the night to go with his 2 TD’s, 1 rushing TD and 3 interceptions on the night. His counterpart Printers finished the game completing 10 of 26 passes for 191 yards. The Lions finished the game with a paltry 44 yards rushing, while the Stamps rolled to 215.

Quick Hits:

A moment of concern came in third quarter when BC receiver Darius Passmore crashed into one of the advertising signs along the sideline, landing on the sign in his neck area. Reports indicated a cut to the neck area of the Lions rookie receiver. After being worked on for some time by medical staffs from both teams, Passmore was taken off the field by stretcher, and and gave the crowd the the thumbs up sign. He was taken to hospital for further treatment and evaluation, but was proclaimed in good shape by Wally Buono on the post game show.

The Lions now travel to Montreal for the Labour Day weekend. It’s been reported that Als’ quarterback Anthony Calvillo will not be ready to play and is still recovering from a bruised sternum.

Game Stats

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Down By Contact: Stamps 27 Lions 18

September 26, 2009 By Brian Wawryshyn

Well, anyone who thinks the Lions get special favours from the officials in the league can look at Friday’s game against the Calgary Stampeders to see that just isn’t the case.

As is so often the case in sports, you get breaks and you have them go against you as well. On Friday night a critical 3rd quarter play that went against the Lions changed the course of the game, and set the Stampeders up for a 27-18 victory at McMahon Stadium in Calgary.

With the score tied at 17-17 the Stamps had the ball and quarterback Henry Burris launched a pass that was “caught” by Nik Lewis. The ball popped out when Lewis made contact with ground. CFL rules say the receiver must survive contact with the ground for a pass to be complete. The ball popped out on contact with the ground and was snatched out of the air by Barron Miles and the ruling on the field was an interception. The Stamps challenged the play and the league officials ruled Lewis made the catch and was down by contact. The Stamps scored the go ahead touchdown on the following play and the Lions never recovered.

Bad penalties, missed receivers, and continually finding themselves in 2nd and long did the Lions in in the second half, wasting what was looking to be their best effort of the season.

Both Martell Mallett and Joffrey Reynolds had big nights on the ground, but it was the Stamps defense that buckled down in the second half. A 4th quarter Buck Pierce interception pretty much sealed the deal.

Reynolds finished the night with 157 yards rushing, once again exposing the Lions weak run stopping defense, which has been an issue all season. The Lions special teams also failed them once again. After opening the scoring on an impressive drive early in the second quarter on a Martell Mallett 25 yard touchdown run the Lions surrendered a 75 yard return on the kickoff, transferring whatever momentum they had built up back to the Stamps, who would score four plays later on a seven yard Henry Burris run.

“Demetris Summers’ kickoff return gave us some momentum,” Stampeders coach John Hufnagel said. “We scored some points on that. Then when B.C. scored we were able to answer. Every time they scored, we answered.”

Buck Pierce had a decent night for the Lions, but the crucial interception in the fourth sealed the Lions fate. Then with the Lions driving and needing four yards to keep the drive alive late in the game, Pierce through a ball in the dirt to Martell Mallett with Paris Jackson wide open on a deeper route.

The loss dropped the Lions to 5-7 on the season, and any hopes of challenging for the division are starting to fade. They’ll need help from other teams for that to happen, and they’ll have to help themselves starting next week when the Saskatchewan Roughriders pay a visit to BC Place. The Lions are looking more and more like they’ll be slotting into a cross over spot in the east if they hope to get to Calgary in November.

Quick hits:

Martell Mallett: 15 carries, 136 yards and 1 TD
Buck Pierce: 17 for 27 236 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.
The Stampeders honoured Wally Buono before the game.
Nose Tackle Steve Williams made his Lions debut and was quickly dubbed “Little T” by those of us watching the game, because of his last name and his resemblance of former Lions great Tyrone Williams.

Alberta Road Trip 2009

July 20, 2009 By Brian Wawryshyn

I’ve been a CFL fan, and a BC Lions fan in particular, for most of my life. When I was a child, my parents took me to games at Empire Stadium. Later, I attended games at BC Place. My mother was an Edmonton Eskimos fan and used to torture the family by screaming as she watched them on TV. She must have been happy in those years, as some of my earliest CFL memories included the Eskimos hosting the Grey Cup. Unfortunately, none of my friends were interested in going to games and most of my thirst for the Lions and the League in general were satisfied through newspapers and television. That was until 2002.

It was in that year that I met other fans through the internet and in 2003 I was back under the dome, attending games. By 2004 I had bought my own season tickets.

One of the greatest pleasures I’ve experienced since returning to games has been the wonderful people I have met across Canada. I have made friends and acquaintances from, literally, every CFL city. Over the last few years, many of these people have become good friends, and we routinely visit each other throughout the regular season and every year during Grey Cup week.

This latest road trip took me to the province of Alberta – to both the Eskimo Empire and the land of the tailgate party in city of the Grey Cup Champion Calgary Stampeders. The following words and pictures tell that story.

Thursday July 16th

My flight is at 7:00 am so it’s up early. It’s funny how when you go on a trip you have no trouble waking up. The flight to Edmonton is great – just over an hour long. I am greeted at the airport by Brian Edwards, a long time CFL and Edmonton Eskimo fan. Brian and his wife Linda are gracious hosts every time I visit their city.

Our day starts with a little breakfast, followed by a trip across Edmonton’s high level bridge on an old Japanese streetcar. The streetcar was built in 1921 and then rebuilt in 1947. It remained in service in Osaka until 1990, before coming to Edmonton. The train leaves from a location near the old landmark Strathcona hotel. It travels over the High Level Bridge and back, providing a breathtaking view of the city and the North Saskatchewan River.

The Famous Bulldog at Julio's Barrio on Whyte Ave.

It was a hot trip, so from there it was a no-brainer that we hit Julio’s Barrio on Whyte Avenue for some lunch and a few Bulldogs. Bulldogs are double margaritas with a bottle of Corona placed upside down in the glass. Let me just say…tasty and potent folks! Julio’s is a must stop for me on every trip to Edmonton. I was also thinking that stopping for drinks on Whyte Avenue will be good karma for new Lions kicker Sean Whyte, who would start his first CFL game that night.

After returning home and having a brief rest…err letting the Bulldogs wear off, it was off to Commonwealth for the Lions vs. the Eskimos.

Dante Marsh sent a tweet this morning on Twitter that the team is ready and he’s preparing by riding the bike and doing some stretching. He calls tonight’s game “huge,” and I have to agree. You can now follow Dante on Twitter: @dantemarsh

The Lions have gone 2 and 2 at the games I’ve attended at Commonwealth. It’s a great place to watch a game and it’s supposed to be nice tonight, so sitting outside in an open air stadium will be a treat.

We arrive at Commonwealth around 6:30 pm. The atmosphere around the stadium is noticeably retro. The 60’s version of the Eskimos fight song is playing. Cheerleaders are dressed like they were in the 60’s – shiny gold suits with big belts and headbands. They look really good!

Inside the stadium, I see lots of Lions fans in orange and black. As I get my first view of the field, I see the Lions warming up and instantly become a fan of the retro uniforms. It is, hands down, the best look I have seen the Lions wear. My Eskimo hosts tend to agree, and their team looks sharp as well.

The game starts a bit slowly. However, after Buck Pierce goes out with an injury, the Lions pick it up with Jarious Jackson at the controls and go on to a big 40-22 win on the road. Despite the lop-sided win, the atmosphere in the stadium is great, the weather is awesome, and I realize on nights like this one outdoor football cannot be beat.

After the game, we head to a downtown pub called 1905 to discuss the game and have a bite to eat. We run into another happy BC Lions fan who chats with us for a while. He’s a transplanted Lions fan from BC with Eskimo season tickets, so tonight he celebrates (but states the Eskimos are his second favorite team).

After a nightcap back at my hosts’ place, it’s off to bed as tomorrow we drive to Calgary for Friday Night Football.

Friday July 17th

During the drive to Calgary, we were entertained by the comedic talents of Russell Peters on the radio. We talked about stories of past CFL road and Grey Cup trips. Don McAskill has joined Brian and I for the trip, and I look forward to meeting up with friends in Calgary at the tailgate party – a huge highlight for me on any Calgary road trip.

After checking in and waiting for our friend William “Hoof” Allen to arrive, I head over to meet friends on the west side of McMahon Stadium. As I stroll through the parking lot, the smell of barbeques fills the air – Canada’s best tailgate party is well under way. Elaborate tailgate setups are the norm here and there’s some serious grub being grilled throughout the lot.

My new friend Ray hosts a mean tailgate party!

Finally, I meet up with my old college friend, Brian Allan, his son Zach and his new wife Catherine. With them is Brian’s friend Ray, who’s been a regular at the tailgates for years and is known to put on a nice spread for friends and guests alike. I get to sample my first Spolumbo’s sausage, and it lives up to its famous reputation. TSN stops buy to do a promo shot of the sizzling grill and mock dust up between Ray and a visiting Argos fan. Thanks again to Brian and Ray for the hospitality they showed me that day and a great tailgate party experience.

I head into the stadium and find I have great seats courtesy of Ken and Jacky Smith, two Stampeders fans who have moved away from Calgary but still keep their season tickets. They can’t make it to the game, so there I sit on the 50 yard line. I am joined by my friend Hoof, Jacky’s sister Rande, Rande’s husband Mike and their friend Ryan – great people who made it a really fun night.

These two teams also look sharp in retro, although it took a while for me to warm up to Calgary’s. For some reason, the Argos were the only team with their names on their jerseys all weekend.

Much like the Lions and Eskimos, the first half of this game was close. However, the Stampeders opened the floodgates in the second half and shut the Argos out the rest of the way. In the end, it was another blowout, this time by a score of 44-9, setting up a battle of two 1-2 teams the following week when Calgary would visit BC

Ralph the dog tried to steal my Lions hat, but I head faked him, took my hat off and put it on his head (much to the chagrin of fans around me). You have to be quicker than that Ralph! I think you need to get on the same training regiment as Leo the Lion!

While in Calgary, I had the chance to visit another great CFL fan – Scott Oberg. Scott’s a great guy and I thank him for the hospitality he showed me.

Following the game and some parking lot mingling, it was off to the Big T Barbeque across from McMahon for some delicious pulled pork and more banter among friends. This was followed by a few drinks at the hotel. Another great day of CFL football fun for the books!

Saturday July 18th

After driving back to Edmonton, we watch the Hamilton vs.Winnipeg game, followed by parts of the Saskatchewan vs.Montreal contest before heading out to dinner. My BlackBerry revealed that a storm may be heading to Edmonton and, sure enough, I got to witness a good old-fashioned prairie thunderstorm – complete with lightening, rain, hail and wind. The storm knocked out power to the Edwards’ house and surrounding area. From a spectator’s point of view, the light show was spectacular and the storm very impressive, but unfortunately it caused a lot of damage throughout the city. After a late night, it was off to bed for an early flight back to Vancouver.

The best thing about being a CFL fan is the opportunity to meet other fans you from across the league, and then reunite with them, year after year, to share a common passion for Canadian football. At the end of the year, all of these friends gather at Grey Cup to celebrate the season, meet new people, develop new friendships and plan future road trips when we’ll meet again to enjoy the experience of the CFL.

Take a look at the trip through photos!