Lions 24, Elks 21: Sean Whyte’s kick hits Elks where it hurts

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For the B.C. Lions, it wasn’t how they started, it was how they finished.

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For the Edmonton Elks, how they’ve started might just be why head coach Chris Jones is finished.

The Leos overcame an off-target, off-balance start to beat the Elks 24-21 Thursday night at B.C. Place, sending the Albertans to an 0-4 start. The once-proud franchise is now 8-32 under Jones, and with their next game not for another 17 days, there’s plenty of time for the board of directors to determine what changes are needed to turn the franchise in the right direction.

In B.C., the Lions (3-1) will be happy with the result. All four of the Elks losses have been one-score affairs, and they played the Lions tough, with the two teams only separated by a single point in the final second of the fourth quarter.

The Elks’ last three losses have all been by three points or less.

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“Pretty damn tough. It’s the first time I’ve ever I think lost a football game on the last play,” said Jones. “It was a tie ball game was like three seconds left. They are good football team and they’re at home. They put 500 yards on Winnipeg last week. So they’re good offence. … We can walk out of here with our chest out and our eyes up.

“Are we in a hard spot? You’re dang right we are. We’re in a hard spot. Now all we’re gonna do is continue to dig and keep doing the things that we did to get out of wherever we came from.”

The Lions overcame some big injuries before and during the game, and have now won three straight by a combined 14 points. Saskatchewan (3-0) leads the West, followed by B.C.; Calgary has a single win while Winnipeg and Edmonton are still yet to taste victory in 2024.

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“The composure, the competitive fire, all that stuff is there when the game’s on the line,” said Campbell. “When something doesn’t go our way or you need to make plays at the end, our guys don’t complain or point fingers … they just focus on the task at hand and made plays to win.

“I wouldn’t say we’re playing our best football — so I’m glad we got room to grow. … But that’s what good teams do; you find ways to win those close games.”

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GIVE THEM THE BOOT

With one second left on the clock, Sean Whyte booted a 42-yard field goal for the winning points. It was the 28th straight for the White Rock native, a career best. He also hit from 24 and 29, and is now 11-of-11 on the year. He converted both PAT attempts he made.

“The cool thing about Sean Whyte is you just totally expect him to make it, and it’s not a big deal. But I know it’s a big deal,” said Campbell. “He’s money in the bank and it’s sure comforting when you’re making decisions, knowing that the odds are pretty good that if you get him anywhere in field goal range that he’s going to knock it through.”

SPREADING THE LOVE

Vernon Adams Jr. hit eight different receivers in the game, with Jevon Cottoy (5 rec, 68 yards) and Ayden Eberhardt (6 for 78 yards) leading the way. The two weren’t the usual pass catching leaders, with Alex Hollins and Justin McInnis sitting first and third in receiving yards overall coming into the game, but with the Elks sending double coverage at both players, they had 55 and 48 yards, respectively.

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But Adams still had his third 300-yard game of the year, finishing 27-of-38 for 330 yards and a touchdown — a five-yard pass to William Stanback in the first quarter. It was the first TD for Stanback this season.

Adams was questionable coming in because of an abdominal injury that kept him out of practice earlier this week. He started slow, but finished strong, and now hasn’t thrown an interception in 143 pass attempts.

“What a game,” he said. “Tough game. Offensively, we got to just get it going a little bit more. We got to make plays.

Myself, other guys, I know we were banged up, we had some guys limping around out there. So it was tough. I’m just proud of the fight of these guys, man. They just we just keep fighting.”

COMING UP SHORT

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The question hadn’t even been asked yet, but David Mackie was all ready with his answer: why yes, he would be happy to play short yardage.

The switched up their short-yardage package this week with the seventh-year fullback lining up under centre with Adams out wide as a receiver.

The unit worked well enough, but late in the game, Mackie coughed up a fumble on the Elks four-yard line. Aided by some boneheaded Lions’ penalties, Edmonton marched 100 yards the other way to take the lead on a Dakota Prukop QB sneak. Prukop was cut by the Lions in pre-season after being brought in to be their short yardage QB. He now has four rushing touchdowns on the year.

But Mackie redeemed himself on the next drive, punching it in from a yard out to put B.C. back in front, 19-18.

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“Your eyes get big when you see the goal line,” he said. “We practice ball security all the time. That’s 100 per cent on me. We do a pretty good job on the sideline or just telling each other to flush it regardless of what negative play happens … and I’m usually one of the guys that is telling people to flush it, so it’s nice to be on the receiving end of that.

“It shows the confidence that the coaching staff has in me. I didn’t think they were gonna totally pull the plug on me, but sometimes your mind circles a little bit when something goes wrong. It’s nice that we got back in that situation they had the trust to make the call again.”

Is there a play call for a Mackie-to-Adams touchdown pass?

“In my playbook, for sure,” the 30-year-old Canadian said with a laugh.

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“I don’t know if the B.C. Lions’ playbook does, but yeah, just gotta get the old cannon warmed up.”

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ROLLING IN THE DEEP

Adams came into Thursday’s game as the most potent deep ball QB in the league, with 499 yards on 14-of-29 attempts over 20 yards — all CFL-bests.

He was bombs away against the Bombers last week, but was notably more conservative against the Elks on Thursday. He only went deep a handful of times — missing Alex Hollins and Stanley Berryhill had two long-ball passes slip through their fingers — with a 35-yarder to Hollins his only completion over 20 yards.

He also had a streak of at least on 50-yard completion this year snapped in the game.

“It was about just taking care of the ball, not forcing anything and going through your reads,” said Adams. “And that’s just what my reads told me.”

NEXT MAN UP

Ben Hladik missed Thursday’s game with a finger injury. Josh Woods started it, but the rest of after six-foot-six, 335-pound Edmonton offensive tackle Martez Ivey getting rolled up on his knee in the second quarter.

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Woods had to be carted off, and Campbell said he won’t be back this season.

“Josh is going to be done for the year. It’s a tough one,” he said. “I don’t know all the exact details other than it’s a long-term injury. Your heart breaks for guys when that happens. He was so excited and so ready for this year, and for it to be cut short is a bummer, to say the least.”

The ageless Bo Lokombo was called in to start for his former protege, Hladik, while rookie Ayinde (Ace) Eley stepped into Woods’ shoes. Lokombo and Eley had three tackles each, keeping Elks running back Kevin Brown in check (six rushes, 40 yards)

Campbell expects Hladik back next week, and feels blessed with his linebacker depth.

“The good the good thing is we have some guys that have been around, like Ryder Varga Bo Lokombo, Hladik. We’ll miss Josh 100 per cent. We will miss him. But thankfully we have some experienced guys that can step in. We have no choice but to move forward and go on.”

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Hladik was the league leader with 29 defensive plays coming in, while Woods was fourth with 24.

BY THE NUMBERS

2: Interceptions by the Lions; one each from Ciante Evans and Garry Peters. They were the first picks since Hladik had one in the home opener.

33:37: Time of possession for B.C. to Edmonton’s 26:17.

0: Number of sacks given up by the Lions. That’s three games in a row without Adams getting turfed. Coming in with two straight games without a sack — after giving up six in the opener against Toronto — was the first time since August 2018 (83 games).

“I know my wallet is getting (hit hard),” said Adams. “The O-line, I’ve got to take them out (to eat) again. But I don’t mind as long as I’m not getting hit. I’m getting out healthy. We did Cactus Club two weeks ago. I got them Triple O’s for breakfast this week. Next week, it’s the Keg, Cactus Club or whatever they want.”

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3: Times the Lions had to replay their two-point convert with under three minutes left. First, a holding penalty pushed them back before and Edmonton illegal contact penalty pushed them forward. McInnis caught the crucial two points off a pass from Adams on the third try.

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