Lions roaring out of the gate, Stamps and Elks facing early season challenges

By Lethbridge Herald on June 29, 2023.

Graham Kelly

Inside the CFL

 They won in Calgary, shutout Edmonton and  blew the Bombers from the sky in Winnipeg. Did the defending Western Champions have an uncharacteristic bad day or are the B.C. Lions that good? Was the 30-6 Leo win at Investors’ Field an upset? Is the old order changing, making way for the new? 

    Two of the first three weeks of the 2023 season the CFL Honour Roll gave its nod to Winnipeg’s offensive line.  Led by lineman Mathieu Betts, the Lions ripped them to shreds, paw handled them with ease.  They did unspeakable things to perennial All-Star and CFL Outstanding Offensive Lineman Stanley Bryant.  The whole thing reminded me of that Bugs Bunny cartoon where the bulldog, thinking he’s cornered Sylvester, instead tangled with the king of the beasts who sliced him up like a salami in a St. Boniface deli.      

   I know I predicted B.C. would have to fight for a play-off spot, that they couldn’t win with quarterback Vernon Adams, Jr.  I know three games does not a season make, but what a great start. They play in Toronto Monday. 

     While the defence is first-rate. (I said they would be  good), Rick Campbell and coaches came up with a an offensive game plan for which Michael O’Shea had no answer.

    How bad was it?

    The Lions held the home team to a brace of field goals,  no touchdowns.  Zach Collaros was sacked seven times. They took eleven penalties while recording their first home loss since the 2018 Banjo Bowl.  Afterwards O’Shea was asked what went wrong.  He smiled ruefully and replied,  “I think the better question is ‘what went right’?” The Bombers can atone for their sins of omission Canada Day in Montreal. 

   Meanwhile back at the ranch, the for-real Roughriders beat Calgary 29-26 in overtime when Nic Marshall picked off Jake Maier in the end zone in the second overtime period.  It was the Kids third interception.  After the game I congratulated Saskatchewan coach Craig Dickenson and said I felt sorry for his brother Dave.  “So do I,” he said, “but I feel good for my team.”    

      More concerning than the loss was the fact the Stamp’s top receiver Malik Henry tore his Achilles’ Tendon  and is out for the season.  He joins Reggie Begleton and Jalen Philpot on the injury list along with last year’s leading CFL rusher Ka’Deem Carey.  Their top return man Peyton Logan was also knocked from the game. The defence will have to carry them until help arrives. At the post-game scrum, Dickenson was clearly feeling  distressed.

      The Calgary-Saskatchewan game was in the finest tradition of Western Canadian football.  It was a glorious Saturday afternoon and the Stampeders staged their annual Fan Fest, postponed from a few weeks ago because of the wild fire smoke.  It was  billed as the Christmas Bowl, and, as usual, the stands featured an array of red and green uniforms.  I met a man in a Roughrider jersey who was taking his small grandson to his first Rider game.  My daughter-in-law and granddaughter displayed the horse on their sleeves, while my son and his life-long friend were decked out in green and white.

The tail-gating was fantastic, the game not so much in the first half where nine points were scored including Calgary’s Rene Paredes 500th career field goal.  Medicine Hat’s Aaron Crawford has been the long snapper for 106 of them. 

    Both offences came to life the rest of the way, culminating in the overtime interception.

    There were sad moments, too.  In addition to Calgary’s injuries, Saskatchewan’s new left tackle   Jerald Hawkins was delayed in reporting to Saskatchewan because of family problems in the States.  Finally he arrived looking forward to his first game in Rider livery.  He left the field on a cart in the second quarter.

        Up North, “the defeat goes on and on and on…”

    The 43- 31 loss to  Grey Cup champion Toronto drew one of the smallest crowds in Commonwealth Stadium history. The Elks  have to fire Chris Jones who as a general manager   can’t find good players and as a head coach has been pushing the panic button especially  in handling his  quarterbacks.   He is on a four year contract that doesn’t expire until after 2025 so it would be expensive to dump him.  But it must be done.

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