The BC Lions continued their hot start to the CFL season last night in Montreal when they took down the Alouettes 27-18. As has been the theme all season for BC, the Lions’ passing attack was the leading force of the offense. Quarterback Michael Reilly threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns in the nine-point win on the road. Star wide receiver Lucky Whitehead was the star of the show again for BC as he caught six passes for an extraordinary 133 yards and finished with one touchdown on top of that. Whitehead wasn’t the only Lion to get in the endzone; receiver Keon Hatcher had one touchdown catch and runningback, James Butler rushed for a score as well. On the other side of the ball, BC struggled to handle the number one rushing offense in the CFL, giving up a total of 183 yards on the ground, 139 of those to William Stanback alone. Despite BC having trouble with the run game, they were able to get the job done in Montrael.
The game’s first score came on a short touchdown run by BC’s James Butler on the Lions’ first drive of the game. On the ensuing drive for Montreal, Lions’ cornerback, T.J. Lee, picked off Montreal’s Vernon Adams Jr. in the endzone giving BC the ball right back. After a Montreal field goal, the Lions struck again, this time through the air via Lucky Whitehead on a long catch and run for a touchdown in the second quarter to make it 14-3 for BC. The half ended 17-12 for BC after four field goals to close out the second quarter, three by Montreal and one by BC. Montreal managed one more field goal before Vernon Adams Jr. threw his second pick of the night to the Lions’ secondary. BC made the Alouettes pay on the resulting drive as they drove back down the field for another touchdown to make it 24-15. That score would prove to be the dagger. Both teams traded field goals before the game ended, giving BC their third straight win.
Next week the Lions will host the number one seed in the entire CFL, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, at BC Place stadium. If you’re a fan of the CFL, this game will be a must-watch as the top two teams in the league go head-to-head in downtown Vancouver.