The teams that seem to have the momentum right now in the Canadian Football League’s Western Division are the two franchises battling for playoff spots.
Tonight in the CFL Hall of Fame Game, the British Columbia Lions defeated the Calgary Stampeders 32-19 to move within a game of .500 at 5-6. The Stampeders meanwhile dropped to 7-4 and out of first place in the Western Division, as the Edmonton Eskimos with the same 7-4 record hold the tiebreaker.
The turning point came in the third quarter. Leading 18-13, the Lions got a timely blocked punt by wide receiver Paris Jackson that allowed fullback Tim Cronk to pick up the football and rush in to the end zone for 39 yards.
The Stampeders looked lethargic on offense, especially in the running game, where Joffrey Reynolds and Jon Cornish combined for 31 yards. Henry Burris and Drew Tate combined to complete 21 for 31 passes at quarterback, but Burris was sacked three times, and one time he was solely to blame because he just dropped the football, even though he was given solid pass protection.
Defensively, the Stampeders also seemed to struggle, especially at key times in the second half. On the Lions’ opening drive in the third quarter, quarterback Travis Lulay threw a 48 yard touchdown pass to Akeem Foster to put the Lions up 18-6.
The Stampeders grade this week is a C. A C on offense and a C- on defense.
Earlier in the day, the Saskatchewan Roughriders improved to 4-7 with a 30-20 win over the Toronto Argonauts.
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