Defense, trap play led Lions to shutout win over Elks in home opener

The BC Lions spoke ahead of Saturday’s matchup against the Edmonton Elks about the need for their offense to continue their high-flying ways, but that didn’t match half their performance.

The Lions defeated the Elks 22-0 in front of 33,103 fans at the home opener at BC Place to go undefeated.

The Lions’ offense sputtered during the first half as quarterback Vernon Adams Jr.

Adams said the attack was sometimes called off by the aggressiveness of the Elks’ defenses and their defensive plans.

It wasn’t until the dying moments of the third quarter that the Lions’ offense recorded the game’s first and only touchdown, with Dominique Rhymes reeling in a pass, adding to kicker Sean Whyte’s four previous field goals.

The Lions opted several times to turn to Whyte instead of trying third and one situations, which head coach Rick Campbell defended.

“I thought points were expensive,” he said. “I thought if we could get ahead of them we could put them in trouble. As the game went on you could see the points were like gold.”

Rhymes left soon after and did not return for the Lions for the rest of the game.

‘It is certainly worrying’

It was the first time since August 15, 1976, that the Elks had been knocked out by a CFL opponent.

It was also the first since August 23, 1977 that the Lions did it to an opponent, namely the Toronto Argonauts.

“Anytime you don’t score points in the CFL game, that’s definitely concerning,” said Elks head coach Chris Jones, with his team now winless in two regular season outings.

He added that his team’s failure to stay on the pitch offensively or generate offensive power was what worried him the most.

Although the offense struggled on points, the Lions’ defense consistently harassed Elks quarterback Taylor Cornelius, who finished the game 13 for 22 with 92 yards.

The Elks’ offense ended the game with 149 total yards.

“It was difficult. To play all week and feel like you had something successful to go against their defense and, you know how good they are, to come out where we didn’t play, it was terrible” , Cornelius said.

Game with penalty kicks

Penalty kicks slowed the pace of play, with the Lions recording nine for 80 yards while the Elks had eight for 65 yards.

“We need to cut some of those penalties,” Campbell said, adding that the penalties imposed on punt returns were “particularly frustrating.”

The Lions’ margin of victory in the last five games over the Elks is now 201 to 53.

The Lions travel to Winnipeg on Thursday for a battle with the Blue Bombers. Both teams are leading 2-0.

The Elks will host the Toronto Argonauts next Sunday, trying to break their CFL record home loss streak in the process.