Travis Lulay leads B.C. Lions to convincing 34-8 win over Calgary Stampeders
CALGARY - It took Travis Lulay almost two quarters to get his offence in synch, but once he did, the B.C. Lions rolled.
Lulay completed 30-of-37 passes for 315 yards and three touchdowns on Saturday to lead the Lions to a convincing 34-8 win over the Calgary Stampeders.
Lulay tossed a pair of touchdown passes to Andrew Harris in the second half, but it was his 17-yard completion to Akeem Harris in the end zone late in the second quarter that was the turning point in the game.
"Offensively, we had a little bit of miscommunication early in the game," said Lulay. "Once we settled in, that drive right before halftime, I think was the drive that kind of turned the tide for us just mentally on offence. It gave us some good momentum, some good confidence and we played much more complete football in the second half."
Lulay, who has now completed at least one touchdown pass in each of B.C.'s past 16 regular season games, drew praise from his coach Mike Benevides.
"Travis is an outstanding quarterback and an outstanding leader," said Benevides. "I think he doesn't get enough credit. He plays with tremendous poise, he's got great study habits and he understands the game."
Harris also commended Lulay for his poise as a starting quarterback.
"No matter what's going on — ups or downs — he's pretty level headed and stays the same kind of guy," Harris said. "It's great to have a leader like that. His vibe just filters throughout the team."
Paul McCallum kicked four field goals for the Lions (3-2), who snapped a two-game losing streak.
"It's a huge win for us especially on the road and against a western team," Harris said. "We've just got to build from this and continue on with more wins."
The Stampeders (2-3) couldn't get anything going against the B.C. defence and had to settle for just a safety and two field goals by Rene Paredes.
"We weren't able to do anything in any of the three phases to turn the momentum, to seize the momentum," said Calgary coach and general manager John Hufnagel. "That's such a large part of the game is momentum and we just weren't able to do it."
Calgary quarterback Kevin Glenn, who completed 19-of-28 passes for 245 yards, said the Stamps have to put the setback behind them leading into their next game on Aug. 9 in Hamilton against the Tiger-Cats.
"The important thing is we've got to get over it," Glenn said. "We've got to learn from it, but we've still got to forget it."
Calgary went up 2-0 at 7:08 of the first quarter when McCallum was forced to concede a safety in his own end zone.
On the Stampeders' next drive, B.C. linebacker Adam Bighill intercepted an errant pass by Glenn to give the Lions the ball back.
"We just played together tonight," said Bighill, who gave credit to B.C.'s defensive line for their solid play. "They put pressure on the quarterback (and) helped me get that interception. It all starts up front … big credit to those guys up front really helping us out tonight."
After a nine-play, 40-yard drive, McCallum kicked a 39-yard field goal to put B.C. up by a point through one quarter of play.
Paredes kicked a 42-yard field goal at 6:47 of the second quarter for the Stampeders before McCallum responded with one of his own from 45 yards out for the Lions four minutes later.
Late in the first half, Lulay led B.C. on a seven-play, 74-yard drive that culminated with the 17-yard touchdown pass to Foster to put the Lions up 13-5.
Paredes opened the second half with a 45-yard field goal before McCallum replied with a 28 yarder.
With Calgary facing a third-and-three situation, the Stamps lined up in punt formation but instead tried a trick play when the ball was snapped directly to Arjei Franklin, who ran for a two-yard gain before being tackled. That resulted in a turnover on downs and gave the Lions great field position at Calgary's 44-yard line.
Eight plays later, Lulay threw a five-yard touchdown strike to Harris in the end zone to give the Lions a 23-8 lead through three quarters of play.
Harris also caught a 19-yard TD pass from Lulay in the fourth quarter, while McCallum added a 94-yard punt single and a nine-yard field goal.
Notes: Calgary's all-time record in the regular season record against B.C. is now 95-76-5, including 53-33-2 at home. ... Veteran B.C. receiver Geroy Simon has now recorded at least one reception in 165 straight games, while Calgary's Nik Lewis increased his streak to 145 straight games. ... Defensive back Tad Kornegay, who signed with Calgary on Monday, made his season debut with the Stamps. Kornegay won his second Grey Cup last season as a member of the Lions.