From the Lions' Den

A trip to the airport to see the Lions off to never friendly Taylor Field, and smiling faces, jocularity, good spirits. It looked to be the game of the year for the Lions, hoping for a win in a place they where they so rarely do.

The first quarter saw a disciplined, regimented game plan meted out on both sides. Sasktachewan’s Offensive Line completely dominated the Lions Defensive Line, winning the battle in the trenches all afternoon long. Dave Dickenson, rushed by the ‘Rider D line, and continued his frustrations at Taylor Field. He threw high, low and behind receivers, and was replaced in the 4^th quarter by Buck Pierce, who did manage to engineer one touchdown drive, finishing with an end zone toss to Jason Clermont..

Then came the first, and so far only, Overtime outing this year in the CFL. Two mini-games, where each team scrimmages at the 35, and does its best, with the other team having to match, or outdo to win. Overtime in the CFL is quick, exciting, and we see it all too seldom.

‘Riders scrimmaged first, with Luca Congi ending up attempting a 22 yard field goal from the left hashmark, which he inexplicably missed, and the Lions ran out of the end zone to prevent the single. Cue the Lions, and one of the most talked about, controversial, and questioned calls in the CFL this season.

Paul McCallum lined up at the 44 with the ball scrimmaged at the 35, ready to punt the ball in a coffin corner attempt at the left sideline in the end zone. The ball was snapped a tad high, but Paul fielded it easily, and dropped it toward his foot, to lift the Lions to victory, aided by a 35 km/h wind at his back. He had easily hit punts of 52 and 57 with the wind early in the game, and this one looked like money in the bank.

Maybe it was a divine Prairie Wind, maybe it was karma for Paul upon returning to Taylor Field, or maybe he just didn’t connect right, but whatever it was, it spelled doom for the underachieving Leos. Paul shanked the ball right, which meant that it traveled almost straight into the end zone behind the uprights, where it was easily run out of the end zone by Saskatchewan. Next scrimmage saw the Lions score a Field Goal from 36, and it looked like a tie could be in the offing.

Then lady karma bit down hard, as Andy Fantuz caught one from Kerry Joseph in the end zone to seal the victory. It was done, and all that was left was for Wally Buono to weather the heat from the media and the fans. “Why not kick a Field Goal right after the Congi miss? Why not run the ball closer to the end zone or uprights, and why was it a punt on First Down??”

Wally counters with the fact that McCallum places the ball better than anyone in the League, and there are more things to go wrong in a Field Goal situation than a punt one. Perhaps he’s right, but now the surging Calgary Stampeders, the best team in the CFL, are tied for first place with BC in the CFL West, albeit with the Lions having a game In hand. That wasn’t supposed to happen.

Lions travel to Hamilton on Friday to face the rejuvenated ‘Cats on Saturday. They had better be ready to play for 60 minutes, or see what Calgary looks like,…from behind.