VANCOUVER – Manny Arceneaux’s touchdown with 1:23 remaining sealed a victory for the BC Lions, who held off the rallying Hamilton Tiger-Cats 45-38.
Jeremiah Johnson scored two rushing touchdowns to add to Arceneaux’s pair for the Lions.
The loss spoiled the return of Zach Collaros under centre for the Ticats. He finished the game throwing 22-of-36 for 313 yards with two touchdowns and a pick.
His counterpart Jonathon Jennings threw for three touchdowns and 306 yards with an interception.
Collaros’ opening drive did not go as well as he would have hoped. On his first pass attempt, the Cincinatti Bearcats alum was sacked by Loucheiz Purifoy and fumbled the football which was recovered by Steven Clarke. The BC offence immediately carried the momentum, converting the turnover into a touchdown on the first play for Jennings. Bryan Burnham hauled in a 38-yard pass for the early lead and Johnson tacked on the two-point conversion to put the Lions ahead 8-0.
The next drive was much sharper for Collaros. A big gain by Luke Tasker led to a 51-yard advance by Chad Owens. The Ticats had to settle for a 27-yard field goal but got some points on the board to cut into the lead, 8-3.
A 10-yard scramble by Collaros moved the chains for Hamilton on its next drive. He followed that up with a 18-yard connection with Tasker but could not move any further downfield. Brett Maher booted a 54-yard field goal to cut the deficit to just 8-6.
The Lions added a single from Richie Leone on their next offensive set to go back up by three.
After shutting down the Ticats on offence again, the Lions appeared to add to their lead again but a Chris Rainey kick return was erased by a penalty. Nonetheless, another strong return by Rainey led to a rushing touchdown by Johnson to close out the first quarter with the Lions ahead 16-6.
The next time the Lions defence went to work was more of the same. The Leos pinned the Ticats deep in their own zone, forcing a safety and putting them up 18-6.
Getting the ball back, BC used successive first downs through the air as Jennings continued picking apart the Ticats defence. He threw his second touchdown of the game, this time to Arceneaux on a 35-yard pass as the Lions led 25-6.
The Ticats responded on their next drive. A 35-yard reception by CJ Gable followed by first downs from Terence Toliver and Tasker brought Hamilton into scoring position where Jeremiah Masoli punched in a touchdown on short yardage to cut the lead 25-12. Collaros was sacked by Solomon Elimimian on the two point convert attempt.
The Lions hit the ground to move the chains as Johnson and Jennings moved the team past midfield. A 33-yard gain by Burnham and another first down by Arceneaux led to another touchdown from Johnson as the Lions lead grew to 32-12.
BC recorded five sacks in the first half.
The second half began much tighter defensively from both sides. They traded possessions until Emanuel Davis picked off Jennings at midfield and brought it back to just outside the end zone. From there, Collaros hooked up with Tasker for the major and the score moved to 32-19.
The Lions added a single on a booming Leone punt.
A 35-yard Chad Owens reception across the middle started off the Ticats drive but they could not gain any more ground. A 42-yard field goal by Maher cut BC’s lead to 33-22.
Collaros looked to further cut into the deficit but started deep in his own zone. The Lions defence did not allow for them to move the chains at all as Hamilton conceded the safety.
It did not get any better for the Ticats in the fourth quarter as Collaros was quickly picked off by Adam Bighill, who returned the pick to near the red zone. Leone kicked another field goal to give some more room on the Lions lead, 38-22.
Hamilton kept up the fight as the clock ticked down. Collaros found Toliver for a 31-yard touchdown and Andy Fantuz brought in a two-point convert to cut BC’s lead to just 38-30 with 8:27 remaining.
The rally continued as the three minute warning approached. Leone missed a 37-yard field goal and it was brought out by Brandon Banks, who took it 126 yards to the house. Tasker was successful on the two-point convert and the game was tied 38-38 with 3:11 left.
Looking to retake the lead again, Shawn Gore’s 25-yard reception helped put the Lions close to Ticats’ territory. Jennings rushed for 14 yards before finding Arceneaux for a 17-yard gain. Arceneaux then turned a short pass into a 30-yard touchdown to put the Lions ahead 45-38 to seal the win.
Jason Arakgi tied Wade Miller in the second quarter for the all-time CFL lead in special teams tackles with 184.
Next week, the Lions host the Calgary Stampeders while the Ticats host the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
