WESTERN SEMI-FINAL
LIONS FLIP THE SCRIPT; SCORE LATE TO WIN WESTERN SEMI
VANCOUVER — Just when it looked like everything was going according to the script, Jonathon Jennings had other ideas.
The 24-year-old sophomore quarterback overcame two first-quarter turnovers and a 28-12 third-quarter deficit to lead the Lions to a 32-31 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Western Semi-Final on Sunday at BC Place.
With the offence in motion and the one-minute mark approaching, Jennings evaded defenders and scrambled to his right, racing past Taylor Loffler on the way to a nine-yard game-winning touchdown.
That, with 1:06 left in the game, was the first lead the Lions would take and the only one they’d need.
The Bombers got one more crack after that but after Head Coach Mike O’Shea opted to try a 61-yard field goal instead of trying to convert third and four, Justin Medlock’s try came up short, clinching BC’s first win over Winnipeg this year.
The Lions will take on the Stampeders on Sunday, Nov. 20 in the Western Final in Calgary.
While the Bombers managed only six second-half points, Matt Nichols put forth a strong outing for Winnipeg with 390 passing yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers on 26-of-40 throwing.
Jennings bounced back with 329 yards, two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown on top of 43 rushing yards on nine attempts.
Emmanuel Arceneaux left the game after absorbing a hit in the end zone in the third quarter and did not return.
The narrative surrounding Sunday’s playoff meeting screamed ‘turnovers’, which was enforced almost immediately when Jennings was picked off by Chris Randle on just the second play of the game.
Arceneaux was running a comeback route and Randle beat him to the football, intercepted the pass and returned it 10 yards into BC territory.
The Bombers took the role of bully early on, riding the coattails of Andrew Harris on the way to an eventual four-yard rushing touchdown, the former Lion hushing the BC Place gathering and giving Winnipeg a 7-0 lead out of the chute.
After Medlock’s kick rolled into the end zone for a single to make it 8-0, the Bombers forced another quick two-and-out. Not long later, just as BC’s offence began to pick up some steam, the Winnipeg turnover machine struck again.
A couple of plays after Jennings threaded the needle in double coverage to Arceneaux, the 24-year-old quarterback coughed up the football when he was met by Maurice Leggett in the BC backfield.
Barely any sooner than Khalil Bass could scoop up the fumble, the Bomber offence took the field and set up an 18-yard chip shot by Medlock to make it an 11-0 game.
At the risk of their home crowd fading, the Lions needed to mount a response and quickly. Jennings stepped into the pocket and fired to a wide open Bryan Burnham for 22 yards and then, after an incompletion on first down, it was Jeremiah Johnson dashing for 17 on a second-down grab.
Rainey and Johnson teamed up to deliver two more first downs for the Lions’ offence and before Burnham was able to find space outside after the catch and extend for the goal line, striking the Lions’ first points of the game on a 13-yard score.
The two-point conversion failed, but the Lions were within five nonetheless following a 75-yard drive to make it 11-6 Winnipeg.
Just when it seemed like the Lions were right in it, the Bombers responded almost like they had found a glitch in the system.
There was no one within 10 yards of Weston Dressler when he snuck behind the Winnipeg defence for a 60-yard pickup, while on the very next play, Smith got behind Ryan Phillips for a 27-yard touchdown.
A lightning-fast two-play, 87-yard drive put Winnipeg back in front 18-6 and the Bombers weren’t done there.
With the ball back in their hands and a second down in progress, Harris was able to slip the tackle of Adam Bighill, a key play on a drive that would end up going so much further.
Nichols made the Lions’ secondary pay, calmly connecting with Smith who was able to reach out and touch the pylon to give Winnipeg another six points – the extra point extending Winnipeg’s lead to 25-6 with just 2:18 to go in the second quarter.
Just when it seemed like the Lions were destined to punt once again, Chris Rainey made magic. The former Florida Gator appeared to meet a dead end before making the first man miss and sprinting 37 yards into Winnipeg territory.
On the very next play it was more of the same, but this time from Johnson, the first-year Lion escaping defenders, finding a crease and running for a 40-yard touchdown to the roar of the hometown crowd.
Another failed two-point conversion capped off the 88-yard scoring drive and kept the Lions hanging on heading into the half trailing 25-12.
After the teams swapped punts to start the second half, the Bombers had the first strike of the third quarter with a Medlock field goal.
But after avoiding penalties throughout the first half, a couple of orange flags hurt the Bombers’ defence. A 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness after an Arceneaux first down put BC in a favourable position, then an illegal contact penalty kept the drive alive after a second-down stop.
From the 15-yard-line, the pass intended to Arceneaux was incomplete but the ensuing hit drew a flag for unnecessary roughness. Arceneaux had to leave the game, but two plays later, Jennings was on his way into the end zone, cutting the Lions’ deficit to nine points, 28-19.
A big defensive stop deep in Winnipeg territory appeared to put the wind in the Lions’ sails heading into the fourth quarter, but a roughing the kicker penalty hit the Lions hard and extended the drive.
The Bombers added a field goal but even all that wasn’t enough to kill BC’s upward momentum.
Johnson converted a pair of second-down tries, then Jennings kept the drive moving with consecutive first-down completions to Marco Iannuzzi and Terrell Sinkfield.
The drive finished with a wide open touchdown to Sinkfield for six yards in front of coverage, pulling the Lions to within five points with fewer than seven minutes remaining.
With not much time left, BC got the ball back and went to work.
Jennings completed seven straight passes, setting up his eventual game-winning touchdown run.
The Bombers were left with a minute to try and set up Medlock, one of the strongest-legged kickers in the game, with a potential game-winning field goal try. But in the end, Medlock’s 62-yard field goal try fell well short of the upright.
Johnson finished with a game-high 110 rushing yards on 11 carries for the Lions, who ran for 193 yards in total on the night. Rainey chipped in with 97 yards from scrimmage on seven carries and four receptions.
While five BC Lions receivers had at least 40 yards, none had more than Burnham’s 63 on an offence that distributed the ball equally among playmakers.
