HAMILTON, ON- The air show came out firing. The BC Lions aerial attack, that is. Vernon Adams Jr. and the offence struck early and often as Justin McInnis was the top target of the night in a convincing 44-28 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Tim Hortons Field. The win improved the squad to 4-1 on the young season while the Tiger-Cats fall to 0-5. Now for some game takes:
Take a Bow, Offence
Adams Jr. wasted little time in getting going as the visitors put together a quick four-play, 77-yard scoring drive to start it as William Stanback hauled in his second touchdown pass in as many weeks. McInnis led the way 144 receiving yards- 131 of those in the first half- and two touchdown receptions as the visitors jumped out to 14-0 first quarter lead and took a 31-11 lead into the break before a rather uneventful final 30 minutes with the home side unable to play catch up despite engineering some drives.
“We knew that they needed a win. We wanted to make sure that we punched them in the mouth right from the beginning,” said Stanback who added another major on the ground to help salt it away in the late stages.
“This was a statement game for us. And we’re going to build from this.”
Your writer here has a confession to make that he started having visions of Matt Dunigan’s single-game record of 713 passing yards which we pretty much know is untouchable. But hey, Adams Jr. was pushing the 200-yard mark before the first quarter was even over before finishing 26/36 for 383 yards and four touchdown passes. Always a team-first guy, the All-June Honour Roll winner on offence was all smiles after this performance.
“Guys were hitting on all cylinders in the first half, man,” explained Adams Jr.
“Offence, defence, special teams. I’m just putting it in the area of these receivers, they’re just making me look good. The o-line is giving me time, Stanback is being available for me, downfield as well. It was a good game in the first half and we just want to finish better in the second.”
If one thing was clear from the get-go, it was beneficial for the playmakers to have a longer stretch of preparation on the heels of three straight shorter weeks following the season-opening loss in Toronto. You can only play the schedule as it is, but the fact this team is 4-1 at this juncture will be viewed as a massive achievement.
“Everything I saw on film, they showed me out there. I was just going through me reads and giving these guys an opportunity. They were making the plays for me and that was it,” said the quarterback.”
Alexander Hollins continued his amazing campaign with six receptions in six targets for 116 yards, including a 69-yard catch and run touchdown to give the Lions a 21-1 second quarter lead. The Bat Signal was once again answered on a hot night in Steel Town.
The Lions defence also did its part, not allowing a Hamilton first down until their fourth drive of the game while the held former teammate James Butler to only 27 yards on the ground. Butler did score one of the Tiger-Cat touchdowns on reception before halftime. It would not be enough for the locked in Lions on this night.
And one thing is clear: the result sets up an even more exciting first-place battle with the Saskatchewan Roughriders back home on Saturday.
“We’re going to hop on the plane here and I hope the guys enjoy the win for a few hours,” said Rick Campbell.
“We are on a short week, we play Saturday and we can’t wait. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get back to Vancouver.”
Added Stanback: “It’s going to be the Watermelon Smash. I’m excited for that. I’m looking forward to it.”
Key Numbers
482– it was another impressive net offence total for the airshow in this one.
1,762- Adams Jr.’s passing yard total through five games, good for the CFL lead. He remains on pace to surpass 6,000 on the year which hasn’t been done in this league since Anthony Calvillo in 2004.
3– quarterback sacks for the Lions defence on Bo Levi Mitchell: one each for Bo Lokombo, Josh Archibald and Amir Siddiqi.
3 for 3– the Lions were perfect in the red zone.
Next Up
The Lions are back home for a first-place battle against the 4-0- Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday at Save-On-Foods Field. Kickoff is 4:00 pm. Join us for our Watermelon Smash featuring fun games and competition between both fan bases on Terry Fox Plaza with our Backyard Bash presented by PlayNow sports beginning at 11:00 am. Click HERE for game ticket info.