Lions show life in 46-20 win over Riders, whose hopes are all but extinguished

The B.C. Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders seemed to enter Saturday night's game from different directions, with the Lions having lost their last three games and the Riders coming in off their second win of the year. They left it in different directions as well, but in a role reversal, with B.C. picking up a dominant 46-20 victory that revitalized their postseason hopes, while Saskatchewan was all but eliminated with the loss. The Lions are now back in playoff position, at least for the moment, and while there's tough sledding ahead, if they play the way they did Saturday, a postseason berth doesn't seem out of the question. Meanwhile, while the Riders aren't mathematically eliminated yet, their odds are long enough and their play in this one was poor enough that the playoffs seem all but unreachable for them.

The best performance B.C. received Saturday came from an unlikely source; rookie quarterback Jon Jennings. Jennings (who, interestingly enough, tried out for the Roughriders at a minicamp last year, but didn't make the team) entered the season as the Lions' third-string quarterback, but was pressed into action after Travis Lulay and John Beck went down. His first CFL start came in last week's 29-23 loss to Edmonton, and while he wasn't bad there (18 completions on 30 attempts, a 60 per cent completion mark, 281 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception), it was a performance that was more solid than spectacular. Spectacular was what the Saginaw Valley State product delivered this week, though, completing 19 of 25 passes (76 per cent) for 364 yards and four touchdowns without a turnover, rushing five times for 40 yards, and catching a 21-yard touchdown on a trick-play pass from receiver Austin Collie. Jennings didn't make a huge impression on Lions' OC George Cortez at that minicamp (Cortez was the Riders' OC at the time, and told Mike Beamish this week that "I didn't remember him"), but he's certainly fitting in well with Cortez's B.C. offence, delivering one of the best quarterbacking performances they've seen all year. If Jennings can keep this up, the Lions' aerial attack may be in good hands.

It wasn't just Jennings who shone Saturday, though. Running back Andrew Harris had one of his best games of the season, picking up 100 rushing yards on just 13 carries. That's an average of 7.7 yards per carry, and it made the B.C. attack multidimensional. The threat of Harris on the ground opened up space for the passing game; Emmanuel Arceneaux led the way with four catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns, but Lavelle Hawkins added five for 93, Bryan Burnham had four for 57 and a touchdown, and Chris Rainey had two catches for 57 further yards. The B.C. defence also played well, holding the Riders to 20 points (and just five through the first three quarters) and recording five sacks, three interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. The win means the Lions improve to 5-8 on the season and are back in playoff position for the time being, and if they keep playing this way, they may just be able to keep their hold on the final spot in the West.

On the Riders' side, things were much grimmer. Veteran QB Kevin Glenn, who was the Lions' primary quarterback last season (thanks to another Lulay injury), struggled against his old team, throwing for just 185 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. Backup Brett Smith showed some potential, throwing for 94 yards and a touchdown, but that largely came in garbage time, and it came with another interception. The offensive line couldn't protect their pivots all night, and they also couldn't really establish the run; Jerome Messam was held to 42 yards on nine carries. The defence also got torched on play after play by Jennings, especially early on. 2-12 Saskatchewan may not be mathematically eliminated yet, but with just four games left, a single further loss (or a single B.C. win, as the Lions clinched the season series here) would knock them out. Based on the way they played Saturday, that final loss may come sooner rather than later.