CFL.ca Staff
SURREY, B.C. — The BC Lions’ path in the West may be a daunting one, but maybe it’s only fitting. After all, for this team nothing has come easy this season.
In order to appear in the Grey Cup, BC needs consecutive road wins over the two best teams in the CFL. The Eskimos and Stampeders are a combined 28-8 this season and have been particularly strong against the West, each losing only two games against divisional foes.
Yet the Lions enter the playoffs roaring, the adrenaline of a mad dash to the finish hardly worn off even with last week’s game against the same Stampeders they’ll face in the opening round of the Grey Cup Playoffs.
It’s something this team relishes, not fears.
“At this point we know we’ve played with great teams and we’ve beaten great teams,” said running back Andrew Harris. “Even a team like Edmonton that finished first, we beat them and even both games we lost we were beating them and they came back.
“There’s confidence there,” he added. “We do have a great team here. We’ve let some tough games slip through our fingers and now it’s just finding a way not to let that happen again.”
The Lions are 7-11 this season while the Stampeders have doubled that win total with a 14-4 record. Yet the standings don’t tell the entire story, one of a Lions team that has let some close games slip away – games that were led through the first three quarters and then surrendered late.
And then there’s the story of a young team that’s improved week in and week out this season, too.
Head Coach Jeff Tedford, known as a quarterback guru and offensive genius, brought renewed confidence to the Lions team, but after things didn’t start as planned in Vancouver, whispers off the field grew of a divide in the locker-room and ultimately a team that was exasperated.
The Lions refused to be distracted. They got better every week and when push came to shove, they came out on top in a three-horse race for the final playoff spot in the West.
“I think the type of character, the leadership in this locker-room – we do have quite a few young guys but they figured it out not to get on each other and point fingers,” said Harris. “And also the fact that we found a way to win football games and keep pushing through the adversity.”
The message then was that the team was never out of it – never more than a game out of the playoff race.
“My message was just that it’s a long season, and we were right in the mix,” recalled Harris. “No matter how bad the season went and how people were perceiving it, we were still in the mix all year.
“All you’ve gotta do is get in the playoffs and it might not be the most glamorous regular season, but the most important thing is getting secure in the playoffs.”
And here the Lions are now, one of the youngest teams in the CFL and led by a 23-year-old rookie at quarterback in Jonathon Jennings, no less. Yet just like Tedford has watched the Lions evolve all season both as teammates and as individuals, now he’ll guide them to their next test.
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“It’s the playoffs, it’s against a great team like Calgary and they’ve won 14 games for a reason,” said Tedford. “They have a long history of playing very well and we’re playing at their place.
“We have a lot of respect for them,” he continued. “They do an excellent job. They’re well-coached, they have a lot of good players and they’re a veteran team – they’ve been together a long time.
“It’s going to be a great challenge for us but I know the guys are looking forward to it.”
For the BC Lions, a team that’s played on the edge all season, there’s no backing down now.
“At the end of the day it’s all about getting in the playoffs,” said Harris. “Whether you finish first or third, however you get in the playoffs – that’s all that matters is you’re in there.
“Everyone’s 0-0 now and anything can happen.”