VANCOUVER — The BC Lions will try to go for three wins in a row when they welcome the Toronto Argonauts to BC Place on Friday Night Football.
It’s the third-straight game against an East Division opponent for the Lions, who took down Ottawa in Week 13 and Montreal in Week 14. With a win, they can take over sole possession of first in the West Division.
Toronto has lost two in a row, most recently falling to Ottawa, 41-27, last week.
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Things appear to be coming together at the right time for Rick Campbell’s team as they head down the stretch and a big part of it has been the play of running back William Stanback. Stanback had 128 yards in their most recent victory and is averaging 101.4 over his past five games.
But the Argos held him to 35 yards on 11 carries all the way back in a Week 1 loss and feature a front seven that ranks second against the run allowing 76.4 yards per game.
Jake Ceresna and Folarin Orimolade continue to provide strong play on the defensive line, while linebacker Jonathan Jones has been joined by Isaac Darkangelo in making plays in the middle of the field.
The play of the defensive front is going to be important as Nathan Rourke focuses on guiding his team down the field and limiting his turnovers through the air. Rourke has thrown seven interceptions against four touchdowns but has amassed 300 yards in each of his past two starts.
He’ll need to be cognizant of Benjie Franklin, who leads the Argos with nine pass knockdowns, as he searches for his top receivers.
While interceptions have been an issue, Rourke’s done a good job of spreading the field. Jevon Cottoy, Ayden Eberhardt, Keon Hatcher Sr., Alexander Hollins and Justin McInnis all had multiple catches against a tough Montreal defence a week ago and have shown an ability to step up at any given time.
Rourke says his team is looking forward to being back at home after Touchdown Pacific in Victoria and a cross-country trip to Montreal.
“We’re excited to be back at BC Place,” Rourke told reporters. “We’ve got a full week of prep which is great and we’ve got a really good opponent in the Argos. Game 1 we weren’t able to get it done but now that we have some time in the season and kind of know who they are as a defence, or a little more of who they’re going to be, we feel like we’re in a pretty good position.”
Opposing Rourke will be Chad Kelly who tries to steady the offence and build off a 17-point fourth quarter against the REDBLACKS. Now, it’s his job to navigate a secondary surrendering 289.2 yards a game.
Kelly has leaned heavily on Damonte Coxie, Makai Polk and David Ungerer III since his return, including for 21 targets and 327 yards against Ottawa.
Defensive back Garry Peters is tied with Franklin with nine pass knockdowns and has Emmanuel Rugamba and Ciante Evans downfield to help him cover the Argos top three receivers. T.J. Lee has also played well since his transition to linebacker and is coming into the game off an interception versus the Als.
Ka’Deem Carey is tasked with taking pressure off Kelly after he attempted 56 passes in their latest loss. Carey has amassed 770 yards so far this season.
Kelly and Carey will be met by Sione Teuhema and Christian Covington at the line of scrimmage. The pair has combined for 11 sacks and can feel good about being supported by the aforementioned Lee and the recent strong play from Ryder Varga at linebacker.
With another East Division opponent that’s in the thick of a playoff race, Campbell is expecting a strong effort from the Argos.
“It’s another big game, they’re all going to continue to get bigger as you go,” Campbell told reporters. “All our energy is on trying to beat Toronto. You have to work hard and you have to keep going. We’re going to get everybody’s best shot. Everybody’s fighting for their lives in the standings. You really have to handle your business.”
BC is trying to move to 5-1 at home on the year.
Toronto, meanwhile, is attempting to improve on a 1-5 road record.
Kickoff is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET. Canadian viewers can watch on TSN while International audiences can tune in on CFL+ and U.S. audiences can catch the game on CBS Sports.
– with files from BCLions.com