WITH Travis Lulay on the mend and taking reps in practice, fans were calling for the former Grey Cup MVP to be behind the snap. Instead, Benevides stuck with the wily veteran in Kevin Glenn to start this past weekend in Toronto as the Leos were riding a two-game win streak and heading east to take advantage of the division leaders who, oddly enough, would be last if they played in the West. That being said, the Argos were coming off a win against a tough Winnipeg squad as the Lions suited up without star players in Andrew Harris and Dante Marsh.
Either way, the Lions looked motivated and kept up the intensity throughout the 60 minutes. Look no further than 5 minutes into the game where somehow Tim Brown evaded a flurry of Argos for 70 yards. There’s a very good chance Brown could have crossed the plane but had to be horse-collared to be brought down.
Tack on an extra 15 yards, not bad for one play. Stefan Logan would punch in his first touchdown of the season soon after which in all honesty, I was surprised that he hadn’t scored before last week especially with how good he has looked so far. Either way, both of the running backs earned CFL Play of the Week awards with Logan earning the Offensive Player of the Week and Brown taking Special Teams Player of the Week.
While the offence went to work right away, the defence didn’t give an inch to Argos’ gunslinger, Ricky Ray, who was notably sacked early on by Lions rookie standout Alex Bazzie. The young defensive tackle already has 7 sacks in the last 5 games while standing out on the defensive side for all the right reasons. Something that can’t hurt with Dante Marsh on the sidelines this past week and although he looks to be ready for this week’s matchup against the Roughriders, having Bazzie on the field will keep opposing teams busy.
Things didn’t come easy for the Lions in this one, even with the great play early on, as Ray would compose himself in the 4th as Toronto took the lead. But in the end it was the much scrutinized Glenn who found a speeding Manny Arceneaux to retake the lead but not before Arceneaux managed to split two Toronto defenders with a nice spinarama as BC took it 33-17.
Even with a third straight win, the biggest thing on people’s minds and mouths was that of Travis Lulay’s play. Yes, Lulay “played”. He only took a handful of snaps and was used sporadically. His first play of the season was a 4 yard run which made everyone on the far west nervous for the golden shoulder. He didn’t throw a pass and was sacked twice, so it is fair to say he’s a little rusty. Benevides’ timing when using Lulay always seemed to be when the offense was finding its stride or completing a big play, almost attempting to give Lulay momentum.
It’ll be hard for the Lions’ coaching staff to not lose hair over the decision of whether to stick with Glenn or go with Lulay. With the way Glenn has raised his game over the past month, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him get the start with Lulay seeing more field time as the game progresses. Either way, Sunday’s game against Saskatchewan is shaping up to be a good one as the league’s two hottest teams go head to head.
– BY NICK BASRAN
