Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
VANCOUVER — It’s been a season filled with highs and low for the BC Lions, but on Saturday, the team’s 2019 campaign will come to an end.
DeVone Claybrooks’ squad will welcome the Calgary Stampeders to BC Place for the final game of the year, and with the Stamps’ final standing in the West Division still up in the air, they’ll be bringing the fight in the season finale.
“We know Calgary is in a must-win situation to continue for a home playoff game,” Claybrooks said to BCLions.com. “We know they’re going to come in and give us our best effort. We want to end the season on a bang and a good not to springboard us into 2020.”
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BC Lions head coach DeVone Claybrooks delivers a speech to his team ahead of their game against the Ottawa REDBLACKS. (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
The Lions are coming in off a bye week. In their last game — in Week 19 — they dropped a close game to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. It was the first time the Leos started a game in 2019 without star quarterback Mike Reilly under centre.
In a season that saw each starting pivot miss time due to injury, Reilly was the last man standing — despite being sacked the most times in the league. However, after going down awkwardly in the first quarter against the Edmonton Eskimos in Week 18, Reilly was forced to leave and had season-ending wrist surgery just a few days later.
That gave Danny O’Brien a chance to get some reps under centre.
Against the Riders, he completed 64 percent of his passes for 171 yards and a touchdown while tossing one interception. His top target on the night was Bryan Burnham, who reeled in three catches for 72 yards and a score.
With Reilly out, the team signed Canadian quarterback Brandon Bridge, who served as a backup to O’Brien in the last contest. With just one game remaining in the year, Claybrooks was asked if he would mix Bridge into the gameplan in Week 21.
“I think we’re just going to fill it out. We don’t really have a set plan whether we’re going to get Bridge in the game or not,” he said. “Danny played well at times and other times, he kind of got underneath himself. But he did a good job of managing game when we needed him to.
“We’ve just got to clean up a few things and you’ve got to remember that was his first start in six seasons. So as you get more reps, it sort of slows down for you.”
O’Brien will be the man in charge of running the offence for the second consecutive week. He’ll face a Stampeder defence that has been as stingy as any towards opposing offences this season. They currently are tied for the league lead in interceptions and are fifth in sacks (35) in 2019.
“He should be well versed against the defence he’s facing because it’s very similar to what he sees on a day-to-day basis with us,” Claybrooks said of his quarterback’s progression.
After the team was eliminated from the playoffs back in Week 18, the sentiment in the room was simple:
“Play BC Lion football and let’s go f— things up for the rest of the West these last two games,” Reilly said to the team post-game.
With a victory and a Saskatchewan loss, the Stampeders would clinch the West Division crown for the fourth consecutive year. However, a loss would see them drop to third spot and have to travel to IG Field to play the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Western Semi-Final. The Lions, on the other hand, are looking to go out on the right note.
“We want the guys to come out and show the fans who have been supporting us through this whole journey that we appreciate them,” Claybrooks said. “What better way to send them off than with a win?”
– With files from BCLions.com
