Langford—As is the case with most pre-season openers, there were some highlights, a few lowlights, and plenty of room for more evaluation as BC Lions Training Camp continues into its second half. The Lions dropped a 26-16 decision to the Calgary Stampeders before a sellout crowd of over 6,000 on Sunday afternoon at Langford’s Starlight Stadium. If one thing was clear, the locals who showed up had a heck of a time. We can always count on our great fans on Vancouver Island for their outstanding support. Now for some game takes.
Brice Carries The Load After Cameos From The Veterans
The Lions’ offence started quickly with Nathan Rourke completing one shovel pass for seven yards and executing three handoffs to Jordan Terrell before Jeremiah Masoli took over for the remainder of the opening series and hit David Durden for a touchdown and an early 6-0 lead. Third-year man Chase Brice came in soon after and finished the game 14/20 for 135 yards and a touchdown strike to Jermaine Jackson that kept them in it until the late stages of the fourth quarter. The Jackson major came on the heels of a key interception from defensive back hopeful Tyler Coyle.
“I think there were some flashes. I thought the effort was there,” said head coach Buck Pierce.
“We’ve got to clean up things that are self-inflicted. And that’s where training camp helps. Every opportunity is an opportunity to learn.”
Brice chose to take the positives from this result, especially from his own perspective. It was shades of last year’s pre-season opener, where he took a bulk of the reps that went a long way in securing a roster spot after his first full training camp with the team. The goal now is to keep building from it.
“It was a lot of football, a lot more than I’m used to, but a really good effort out there from the offence and defence,” explained Brice.
“All three phases, I think we played really hard. We tried to play as fast as we could. There’s some stuff we left on the field, and we’re going to go clean up film-wise. Overall, I’m really proud of the guys, proud of the effort, and I’m proud of the communication off the field as well. We’ll try to clean some things up when we go back home.”
“If you ask Chase, he probably missed a couple of things here and there, but he battled through some things, made some nice throws,” said Pierce.
“He used his legs a couple of times, which was good to see. He got the guys in and out of the huddle well. Just like anything as a quarterback, you’re going to be pretty hard on yourself when you look at film. I think it’s a good growing process for him. He did a good job.”
The result being what it was, some individual performances were worth talking about. Jackson led the way with 54 receiving yards on four receptions and was a factor in the return game with 55 total yards combined on punts and kickoffs. Rookie draft pick Jackson Findlay was solid in the secondary while Marcus Moore recorded the only sack of the night.
“I’ll have to watch the tape a little bit more, but he (Findlay) has been having a very productive camp,” Pierce added.
“Smart, likeable, great teammate. He’s going to do well for us, and I just like the way he works.”
Injury Report
Durden (knee), offensive lineman Anu Una (ankle), defensive lineman Tre’ Crawford (hamstring), fullback Luka Stoikos (arm) and defensive back Jordan Perryman (hamstring) were among those who left with injuries and need to be re-evaluated. Durden’s injury appeared to be the most serious of the bunch.
The Key Stats
187- the number of Lions penalty yards on 11 total infractions. That will be a talking point over the next week of camp practices
135– The Stampeders’ rushing yard total was a big difference in this one. All three of their touchdowns came on the ground, with running back Ludovick Choquette leading the way with 47 yards.
Next Up
It’s back to Kamloops for another round of training camp practices before the team wraps up pre-season on Friday, May 30, at the Edmonton Elks.
Matt Baker: mbaker@bclions.com