Lions Dominate

A while back the B.C. Lions were stumbling along looking like a team that clearly had no chance at playing in a championship Grey Cup game, never mind that they are host it.

That feels like a long time ago now after quarterback Kevin Glenn had 301 yards and two touchdowns Saturday, as the Lions rolled over the Montreal Alouettes 41-5 for their second straight victory.

Glenn was impressive, going 23-for-31 before leaving late in the third with a minor muscle strain that he says isn’t serious.

As for those critics coming after Glenn and his Lions after Week 2 — when they lost 24-9 to the Als in Montreal — the quarterback says everything is right on track.

“It’s a marathon, and you want to gradually get better every week,” he said. “Last week we weren’t perfect and naturally this week we weren’t perfect, but we made plays when they were called upon.

“We want to make sure we’re growing as a team till the end of the year when you’re playing your best football.”

Emmanuel Arceneaux (WR) caught three TD passes, including both of Glenn’s that moved the Lions to 2-2 record after last week’s solid 26-13 win against Sask.

The Als (1-3) have just one win on the season (against BC) and this was a tough outing for Montreal quarterback Troy Smith, who finished with a scant 45 yards passing before being replaced in the fourth.

The West Coast has rarely been kind to the Alouettes as they’ve now been outscored 163-30 in their last four games in Vancouver. Their last win in B.C. was way back in 2010, when the Lions played in Empire Field for one season.

Montreal’s poor record in Vancouver with some credit given to QB Glenn (35) and a seasoned veteran, brought in in the off-season to (so they thought) would back up injured started Travis Lulay.

Glenn surpassed a milestone on the first play of the game as he ducked under a tackle before throwing a 16-yarder down the middle to slotback Courtney Taylor that put him over 40,000 career yard mark.

Glenn then found Andrew Harris, who carried for a gain of 33 yards putting BC at the 23 and a first situation followed by two incompletes and Paul McCallum kicked a 30-yard FG for the game’s first score.

Glenn was efficient on the Lions next possession, getting his team to the 36 before heaving a 35-yard TD strike to (WR) Arceneaux for an early 10-0 advantage that drive took only five plays and 62 yards.

The Als got on the board soon after as Brandon Whitaker took Montreal 41 yards on two rushes before a B.C. roughing the passer call put the Alouettes at the 35.

McCallum kicked B.C. to a 13-3 lead at 3:48 of the second thanks to a drive by Glenn. He slung a 25-yard pass to slotback Shawn Gore before finding both Stefan Logan and Taylor to put B.C. inside the red zone. Glenn couldn’t finish the drive, so McCallum kicked it in from 16 yards out.

It got worse for Montreal minutes later when a blocked punt by Khreem Smith was recovered by defensive tackle Eric Taylor, who huffed it 19 yards to put the Lions back in scoring position.

Taylor’s 7-yard TD was called back to the one, but backup QB Travis Partridge punched it in for his first pro TD, but the Lions had a 20-3 lead at the half.

B.C. went right back to work in the third as a scampering Glenn found Arceneaux for a 35-yard gain and then again down the middle to put the Lions back in the red-zone.

From deep in the pocket it was once again Glenn connecting with Arceneaux as B.C. took control with a 27-3 lead at seven minutes.

Smith’s nightmare game continued on the next possession when rookie DE Alex Bazzie sacked him for a quick three and out.

Lions backup John Beck came in for the third and picked up where Glenn left off, hitting Arceneaux with a 27-yard touchdown pass to make it 34-3 and put the game out of reach. That was Arceneaux’s third major of the game.

Notes:

The Lions honoured the 1994 Grey Cup Champion team at halftime which was clearly an act of professionalism and the only one that was missing was Kicker Lui Passaglia.

Safety Matt McGarva left the game in the first quarter with a knee injury and did not return. …

The Als and Lions have split their season series 1-1 dating back to 2007

The Lions continue their home stand in Week 5 with a visit from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (3-1).