Lions pounce all over Tiger-Cats in Hamilton home opener
B.C. defence sacks Jeremiah Masoli 4 times in win
Jonathon Jennings threw his first touchdown pass of the season to Emmanuel Arceneaux and running back Shaq Murray-Lawrence ran in another as the B.C. Lions beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 28-3 in front of a sold-out Canada Day crowd of 24,123 at Tim Hortons Field on Friday.
"You always love to play in a packed environment. To have those fans rooting against you, it's kind of motivating," Jennings said. "It was fun."
B.C. improved to 2-0 and Hamilton fell to 1-1 as the Tiger-Cats scored their fewest points at home since a 20-2 loss against Toronto on Aug. 12, 2006.
Lions kicker Richie Leone made three of his five field-goal attempts, hitting from 44, 31 and 21 yards out while missing shots from 36 and 35 yards out on a blustery day in Hamilton, Ont.
Ticats kicker Brett Maher missed all three field-goal attempts with opportunities from 36, 48 and 42 yards away.
'We just got beat'
Ryan Phillips and Loucheiz Purifoy each had an interception off Ticat pivot Jeremiah Masoli and Hamilton defensive end John Chick recovered two fumbles. The B.C. defence sacked Masoli four times while Hamilton got to Jennings once.
"I thought we did a decent job in the first half, we just didn't finish drives," said Jennings. "We just focused on continuing to execute and in the second half things turned around."
Jennings finished 16-of-27 passing for 228 yards and one TD.
Masoli, who has been Hamilton's starter while Zach Collaros recovers from a knee injury sustained last September, struggled to complete 26-of-39 pass attempts for 249 yards and two interceptions.
"You have to tip your hats to them," said Masoli. "Their defence played hard. We just got beat."
Sacks hurt Ticats
The Lions took a 7-2 lead into the locker room at halftime, and then made it 10-2 when they opened the third quarter with a 50-yard, eight-play drive, capped off by Leone's 31-yard field goal with the wind.
B.C. got the ball back almost immediately when Phillips intercepted a Masoli pass meant for Brandon Banks and ran it back 27 yards to Hamilton's 29-yard line. Six plays later, Murray-Lawrence ran it in from the two-yard line. Leone followed that score up with an 85-yard kickoff single and B.C. was up 18-2 midway through the third.
B.C. made it 25-3 midway through the fourth quarter when Jennings hit Arceneaux with a 16-yard touchdown pass to cap a 51-yard drive. A fumble by Hamilton's Tiquan Underwood was recovered by Anthony Thompson of the Lions and returned to Hamilton's 35, leading to a 21-yard field goal and the 28-3 lead.
"To come to Hamilton and win is always very impressive," said Lions coach Wally Buono.
The Lions controlled the ball for 6:09 ending the first and heading into the second quarter, including a Jennings pass that slipped through the hands of Bryan Burnham streaking down the left sideline for what would have been a certain 50-yard score. Thirteen plays later, the Lions settled for a single point when Leone missed a 35-yard field-goal attempt.
B.C. had to settle again on its next possession. Jennings hit Gore for a 60-yard gain down the right sideline, but Gore was horse-tackled by Geoff Tisdale and the penalty put the ball at the Hamilton four-yard-line. Jennings fumbled on the next play, and Chick recovered the ball on the five-yard line. It looked like Hamilton had dodged another bullet, but Masoli was sacked and the Ticats conceded the safety, giving B.C. the 7-2 lead.
Hamilton put together a 65-yard, 12-play drive with 2:53 left in the half, but an incompletion coupled with a holding call stalled the Ticats at the 41 and Maher missed his 48-yarder into the wind.
"I told the team afterwards I'll take responsibility for this," said Hamilton coach Kent Austin. "We've got to get more disciplined and make fewer mistakes."