B.C. Lions 22, Edmonton Elks 0: Home side doesn't quite put on a ...

All Rick Campbell needed in the first half was a little Sean Whyte and a little Love.

His kicker provided all the offence they’d need — hitting five field goals on the night — as the B.C. Lions rolled to a dominant-ish 22-0 shutout victory over the Edmonton Elks Saturday night at B.C. Place.

LL Cool J was Saturday’s theme, with the ageless rapper giving an energetic and perspiratory performance before the team’s first home game of 2023. And he had a fan in the Lions’ coach.

“My game in high school was having ‘I Need Love’ on the mix tape — which was in cassette, by the way,” said Campbell. “That was always my song back in the day. I don’t know if that really goes with football but that’s where it goes for me.”

SHOW THEM SOME LOVE

The game started with 30,000-plus fans in the stadium, but the crowd slowly dwindled throughout the first half, with a slogging, stop-start penalty-fest not doing anything to entice them to stay.

But in the end, they missed the Leos defence pitching a shutout — the first time that had happened since they blanked the Toronto Argonauts 30-0 at Empire Field on Aug. 23, 1977.

“I was six years old,” Campbell mused, when told of the date.

“That is amazing. That doesn’t happen very often in this league.”

B.C. has now won five straight against Edmonton — outscoring them 201-53 in that span — and handing the Elks their first shutout since Aug. 15 1976 (40-0 vs Saskatchewan).

Edmonton QB Taylor Cornelius had another frustrating night under centre, going 13-of-22 for 92 yards, with his team netting just 149 yards in offence.

Elks coach Chris Jones lamented two second-quarter fumbles that derailed his team. The first came after they picked off Vernon Adams, but Jevon Cottoy punched the ball loose from Ed Gainey. They forced B.C. into a 2-and-out, but then running back Kevin Brown lost the ball to B.C.

“Any time you don’t score points in the CFL game, it’s certainly concerning,” said Jones. “Those (fumbles) are two scores. At that time it’s 9-0. We score those two times and it’s essentially a different game coming out of halftime.”

NEXT GAME

Thursday

B.C. Lions vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers

5:30 p.m., IG Field, TV: TSN, Radio: AM730

B.C. Lions linebacker Ben Hladik tackles Edmonton Elks wide receiver Vincent Forbes-Mombleau during the first half of CFL game in Vancouver, June 17, 2023. Photo by ETHAN CAIRNS /THE CANADIAN PRESS SHOW SEAN SOME LOVE

“Wow, first time ever,” cracked the Lions kicker as he sat down to his podium call post-game.

The Surrey native had hit five of six field goals (16, 48, 46, 51, 42, missed from 52) and a point after on Saturday night, coming up shy of Lui Passaglia’s single-game record of seven.

“I finally got a lot of opportunities, which made my day. I had lot of fun, had a lot of friends and family in the crowd tonight. So it was fun to put on a show,” he said. “I don’t know (when I last had six attempts); it’s been a long time. Last year with (Nathan) Rourke, I think I had two opportunities in four weeks. A lot of PATs though.”

Whyte came back to B.C. in free agency in 2022 after six years in Edmonton, and it’s never felt as home-like as Saturday, when he got a big cheer when his face was flashed on the Jumbotron’s starting lineup.

“For me, it’s a dream come true. My mom and dad have sacrificed a lot in their lives for me to go after my dream,” said Whyte. “Back in 2003, that’s when Wally Buono told my family I had an opportunity to play football for a living, they did everything they could to to get me where I needed to be.

“And to see them, day in day out, at games now and my dad crushing popcorn and his beers, and my mom — … she’s always nervous every time I kick — I can see her up there waving her arms having a good time. For me that’s huge. They deserve everything and I just hope they’re enjoying their time. I don’t hope — I know they’re enjoying it.”

B.C. Lions quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. runs down the field during the first half of a CFL football game against the Edmonton Elks in Vancouver June 17, 2023. Photo by ETHAN CAIRNS /THE CANADIAN PRESS MAMA SAID KNOCK (THE PENALTIES) OUT

A flag-fest of a first half sapped any energy out of the start to Saturday’s game. From the first play — a Cornelius interception Garry Peters that was deemed pass interference — to a Quincy Mauger fumble return touchdown that was overturned by the command centre five plays later, the referees seemed determine to insinuate themselves into the game story.

By the time the opening 30 minutes were in the books, the Lions had lost a touchdown, a sack and two turnovers to flags. A Whyte field goal with 1:26 left went from a 38-yard attempt to a 48-yarder after a time count violation tackled on another 10 yards.

The Lions had seven for 65 yards in the first half, and finished the game with nine for 80 yards.

“You need to keep going,” said Campbell. “We talked about it. We need to cut out some of those penalties. The return ones were frustrating because we were actually doing some good stuff in the return game.”

Edmonton Elks running back Kevin Brown is chased by B.C. Lions defensive lineman Tibo Debaillie and defensive back Jalon Edwards-Cooper and during the first half of a CFL game in Vancouver June 17, 2023. Photo by ETHAN CAIRNS /THE CANADIAN PRESS ZONED OUT

The Elks defence came out with heavy zone coverage, dropping nine players and rushing three, and it caught Adams off guard to start the game.

His checkdowns were, by his own admission, too slow. His timing looked off, he was sacked on a three-man rush, and didn’t hit any passes for over 20 yards until the end of the second quarter.

“The whole offence came together at halftime. We knew we had to make adjustments. The (Elks) defence came out doing different things we didn’t think they were going to do,” he said. “We made those adjustments and we came out in the second half and did a little bit better. … But credit to the defence, man. They put up a zero. They did a great job; so proud of the defence proud of this team. (We’re) 1 and 0 this week.”

Adams finished the night with a quiet 312 yards on 25-of-35 passing, but did find Dominque Rhymes for a major in the third quarter when his receiver made another patented ‘Mr. Headtop’ catch in the back of the end zone.

Another bright spot: Running back Taquan Mizzell had another strong outing in just his second CFL game, going for 93 yards on 18 carries.

GRIND IT OUT OR GO FOR IT

Twice, the Lions faced a third-and-one in Edmonton territory, and twice Campbell elected to go for a field goal.

They weren’t decisions that sat well with the points-starved home crowd, but there was logic to it, Campbell said. “They were playing really well on defence and couldn’t really get in a flow of things. But being up on the scoreboard 9-0 was a big deal. It just one of those games where you’ve got to keep playing, keep grinding.

“I thought points were a premium. I thought about if we could get ahead in the game, we were going to put them in a bind. And that would be a game by game decision. It’s not something that you just do automatically.  And you could see as the game went on, you could see that points were like gold, and it proved that way.”

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