Sunday, September 11, 2005

Lions knock off Renegades 61-27

Ottawa slips to third place in CFL East after setback at home

Renegades running back Josh Ranek recorded over 100 rushing yards and three touchdowns in Ottawa's home loss to B.C. on Thursday.

OTTAWA (CP) - B.C. Lions head coach Wally Buono wasn't sure which quarterback he would start against the Ottawa Renegades Thursday night as a shoulder injury was hampering starter Dave Dickenson.

In the end it didn't matter as the Lions mauled the Renegades 61-27 at Frank Clair Stadium.

Dickenson started the game, but the only points the offence scored in the first half came off the foot of kicker Duncan O'Mahony as the Lions took a 23-6 lead into the break.

"I hope we can play better than that," said Buono. "Sometimes the score is distorted. We did what we had to do. We came on the road, we got the win, we protected the quarterback. We did all those things, now we just have to keep it up and get back to work Monday."

Dickenson scored touchdowns with his first two passes of the second half to get the rout started and the Lions improved to 10-0, the best ever start in franchise history.

The Lions also had two touchdowns called back, including a 71-yard punt return, as a result of penalties.

Matt Kellett's kickoff to open the second half was returned 56 yards to the Ottawa 42 yard line by Aaron Lockett. On the next play Dickenson connected with Geroy Simon on a 42-yard touchdown pass.

The Renegades got the ball back, but quarterback Kerry Joseph was picked off by Barron Miles on the first play from scrimmage. Dickenson hooked up with Ryan Thelwell on the next play for a 61-yard score.

Joseph was intercepted again on the next series, but there would be no more Dickenson magic as he was replaced by Buck Pierce. Less than a minute later O'Mahony kicked his third field goal of the game for a 40-6 B.C. lead.

"I felt our offence didn't do as much as we could have in the first half and I only threw two passes in the second half" said Dickenson. "(Ottawa's) got a good defence, they were just out there too long and there were too many turnovers. Once we got that 31-point lead, I knew that was it."

Dickenson also knew that he was going to get a break to rest up for next Saturday when the Montreal Alouettes visit Vancouver.

"The rest was nice. I know Montreal next week is going to come hard, so it was good to be able to give my shoulder and legs a rest."

The big lead made Buono's decision to take Dickenson out a no-brainer.

"Dave's a tough guy and he want to play. At the half he did stiffen up a little. It was good to be able to get Buck in and he's showing that he's going to be a very good quarterback."

Pierce and Thelwell then teamed up on a 54-yard catch-and-run touchdown at 18 seconds of the final quarter, and after the O'Mahony point the Lions had a 50-13 lead.

After another O'Mahony field goal and a single, Sam Young returned an interception 43 yards for a touchdown.

O'Mahony finished the day with five field goals (44, 34, 10, 32 and 15) and 23 total points.

Josh Ranek gave the 19,013 fans, or at least those that hung around, something to cheer about with a 13-yard TD run in the final minute of the third quarter. He also scored two TDs on runs of 14 and 12 yards run late in the fourth quarter for the final score of the game and rushed for over 100 yards. After their third straight loss dropped them to 5-6, Ranek says panicking is not the solution. "We can't start changing or trying new things because what we have on this team and in this locker room works. We just have to come together." Special teams were key for the Lions in the opening half. After Ottawa was forced to punt following the opening series of the game, Mark Washington blocked the kick before Miles picked it up and ran 15 yards into the endzone.

On their next drive the Renegades produced three points but trailed 8-3 after the first quarter. Kellett booted first half field goals of 20 and 19 yards.

The Lions used a second-quarter safety and field goal to take a 13-3 lead before Lockett returned a punt 90 yards for a touchdown.

The teams traded field goals in the final minute of the half.

"I was pretty impressed by our special teams and all the turnovers our defence gave us," said Dickenson.