BC Lions roll to shutout win over Edmonton
VANCOUVER — The BC Lions’ defense stood tall on Saturday, as it kept the visiting Edmonton Elks off the scoreboard in a 22-0 win at BC Place.
Sean Whyte made four field goals and Vernon Adams Jr. added a touchdown pass to help put the game out of reach.
Adams made 25-35 passes for 312 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The Elks’ Taylor Cornelius made 13-22 passes for 98 yards, with zero touchdowns and interceptions on the night.
Neither team would score until the second quarter and after a perceived touchdown from Ayden Eberhardt was ruled a no catch, Whyte came out to make it 3-0 for the Leos. Eberhardt started in place of the injured Lucky Whitehead and had three catches for 47 yards.
The first touchdown of the game wouldn’t come until close to the end of the third quarter, as Adams connected with Dominique Rhymes in the corner of the end zone to make it 19-0 for the Lions. Rhymes was shaken up after a play in the fourth quarter and left the field with a foot injury. He did not return to the game.
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Cornelius threw an interception to Lions’ defensive back Garry Peters on the first drive of the game but the play was negated after BC was called for pass interference. On the same drive, the Elks lost the ball on a short yardage, third-down play, with linebacker Quincy Mauger scooping up the loose ball and running it to the end zone. After a review, forward progress was called and the Elks’ drive continued, but they would end up punting the ball away.
Eberhardt got his first CFL catch in the second quarter after a first down completion from Adams.
Ed Gainey picked off Adams in the second quarter, bringing it back into Lions territory, but he took a huge hit and fumbled the ball, giving it right back to the Lions. After a review it was determined that Gainey was down before the ball came out. Gainey would need to be helped off the field after the play and did not return to the game.
After Nathan Cherry popped the ball loose on a Kevin Brown run, BC would again recover the fumble, resulting in a field goal from Whyte to make it 6-0 for the Lions.
Whyte extended the Lions’ lead once again with a 45-yard field goal to make it 9-0 for the Lions heading into the half.
The Lions’ kicker added to his team’s lead once again in the third quarter after successfully nailing a 51-yard attempt.
TAQUAN MIZZELL RUSHED FOR A GAME-HIGH 93 YARDS ON SATURDAY (JIMMY JEONG/CFL.CA)
Whyte missed a field goal for the first time this season after pulling his kick to the right of the uprights, allowing Kyran Moore to bring the ball out to around Edmonton’s 20-yard line.
BC’s Matthew Betts collected his first sack of the season after taking down Cornelius early in the fourth quarter.
Adams got his second straight start for the Lions after throwing for 300 yards in BC’s 25-15 win over the Stampeders in week one. Overall, Saturday’s game marked his 37th career start (22-14; 3-1 vs Edmonton).
The Elks came into Saturday’s game looking for their first win of the season, after dropping the seasoner opener to the Riders in Week 1.
The Lions have now won five straight games over Edmonton and have won in five of the Elks’ last six visits to BC Place Stadium.
LL Cool J performed pre-game to celebrate the Lions’ first home game of the 2023 season.
The Lions will travel to Winnipeg to play the Blue Bombers next week, with Edmonton going home to face the defending champion Toronto Argonauts at Commonwealth Stadium.
