CFL West lead, ticket sales, on the line as Lions host Stampeders

VANCOUVER — It’s not exactly a playoff game, but for the B.C. Lions meeting the Calgary Stampeders is the next best thing.

B.C. hopes to vault over Calgary in the standings as the two best teams in the CFL’s West Division meet on Friday for the third time this season with a season-series tiebreaker on the line.

On many occasions, it’s been the Stampeders (5-1-1) who have halted the momentum of the Lions (5-2). B.C.’s last home playoff appearance was a loss to Calgary in the 2012 division final after posting a 13-5 regular season record. More recently, the Lions were hammered at McMahon Stadium in the division semifinal last season.

“In order to be an elite team you need to beat an elite team and (the Stampeders) have been for some time,” said veteran Lions defensive back Ryan Phillips. “When I first came into the league we were the elite team. We were guaranteed 11-12 wins every single year and they became that team. We’ve flipped identities.”

Much more is at stake for the Lions, who could use a win to validate their early success to a fan base that has been lukewarm in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland. Attendance at Vancouver’s B.C. Place Stadium has been in decline the past three seasons. The drop was 60,490 in 2015 from 2014 and is down slightly through the team’s first three home openings this year compared to last year.

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Backup Lions quarterback Travis Lulay was a starter in 2010 when B.C. averaged 24,174 fans a game. A year-round resident in nearby Blaine, Wash., Lulay understands the marketplace, even though his teammates are convinced the Lions are for real.

“It’s not as though we have to focus on ticket sales but we know winning helps,” said Lulay. “If we accomplish what were trying to accomplish that other part takes care of itself.”

Under starting quarterback Jon Jennings, the Lions have done their part lately, averaging 41 points in their last four games to become the highest-scoring team in the league.

B.C. won’t have standout defensive tackle Mich’ael Brooks, who suffered an ankle sprain in the Lions’ 44-41 overtime loss in Calgary July 29. Brooks was highly motivated by another potential meeting against Stamps centre Pierre Lavertu but is being held out by coach and general manager Wally Buono.

“Coach Wally said if you have any emotions from the last game, let it go. I think he was talking to me,” said Brooks, who was injured in a collision with Lavertu that the Lions player thought was an illegal block.

Instead, B.C. will have to find another way to beat a Calgary team which has dominated them ever since Dave Dickenson, the Stamps’ first-year head coach, was quarterbacking the Lions.

B.C. had an 11-2-1 record against Calgary with Dickenson as quarterback from 2003-07 but the Lions are 9-16 in the regular season since John Hufnagel took over the Stampeders in 2008.

To reverse the trend B.C. must disrupt the passing rhythm of Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell, who had a 21-game streak of games with at least one touchdown pass broken last week against Saskatchewan.

“You got to get some hits on him early,” said Phillips of Mitchell, who is 33-7-1 as a starter. “We’ve got to cut the head off the monster and he is the head.”

The Stampeders will be focused on Lions returner Chris Rainey, who has four career return touchdowns against Calgary and had another punt major last week against Hamilton called back due to a penalty.

“He must enjoy playing against us,” Dickenson said this week.

The Calgary coach also understands what is at stake even though the season has not yet reached the halfway mark.

“I believe both of us will be different teams in October but it’s nice to get that season series. It’s not like you put them to bed because I feel both teams are playoff-calibre; whether we face each other is fate and karma. But this is a big one,” Dickenson said.

Lowell Ullrich , The Canadian Press