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Surging Lions entertain struggling Argos

Now that the British Columbia offense has figured out how to get the ball back into the end zone, the Lions aim for their third straight win as they host the Toronto Argonauts at BC Place on Friday night.

For two straight games the Lions offense lost sight of the end zone, splitting a pair of outings versus Saskatchewan and Ottawa. But last weekend, the team got back on track with a 26-9 victory over visiting Winnipeg, thanks to the efforts of quarterback Kevin Glenn who stepped in for the injured Travis Lulay.

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Glenn, who had been the starter for the Lions while Lulay recovered from a shoulder injury last season, came on after Lulay again aggravated the same shoulder and ended up on the six-game injury list, throwing for 261 yards and two touchdowns as the Lions won their second straight and the fifth in the last six outings.

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Also having a strong game for the Lions was running back Andrew Harris who finished with a game-high 101 yards on the ground as the team generated 163 yards rushing, against a mere 57 yards for the visitors who were limited to only 178 yards of total offense to begin with.

However, as well as the Lions have played over the last month and a half, the team is still sitting in fourth place in the ultra-competitive West Division where every club is at .500 or better.

By comparison, the East is a completely different beast, a rather tame one at that. Toronto, a loser in four straight since posting back-to-back wins versus Winnipeg and Montreal last month, finds itself in a three-way tie for first place (with respect to points earned) with a record of 3-8.

Last Saturday night, the Argos appeared to be well on their way to taking over first place in the division as they led Calgary by a score of 29-3 in the second quarter and 29-10 at the break. But the offense then dried up for Toronto and the defense went to sleep as the Stampeders put together a furious comeback bid that became one of the most epic in CFL history, with the Boatmen eventually suffering the disheartening 40-33 setback on the road.

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Against the top team in the league to this point, the Argonauts could have turned their season around, but instead sank deeper into obscurity even after knocking out quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell with an ankle injury. Ricky Ray had a sensational game as he completed all but five of his 38 pass attempts, leading to 338 yards and four touchdowns, but even that effort could not keep Toronto on top.

Part of the issue was a lackluster running attack that registered only 81 yards on 16 attempts, another problem was the squad's 16 penalties for a staggering 138 yards. It also didn't help that Ray threw an interception and the team lost a pair of fumbles along the way.

Ray continues to have the best completion percentage (.678) among the regular starters in the league this season, and is also first with 20 touchdown passes, not to mention second in passing yards (2,922), but all of that pales in comparison to the 27.5 ppg allowed by the defense, the highest number in the league entering play this week.

Ray has tossed a total of 11 picks in as many games, which is a bit uncharacteristic for him, but it is the 18 lost fumbles that have done the most damage and have dragged the Argos to the bottom of the turnovers list (minus-11).

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Like Ray, Glenn also has 11 INTs at this stage, the pair tied with Winnipeg's Drew Willy for the most in the league, but the Lions have lost control of a mere four fumbles and have turned the ball over on downs just three times, which is why their turnover margin (plus-five) is so much more favorable and their scoring defense (17.8 ppg) easily the best in the CFL.

Of all the teams in the East Division, Toronto has the best record when facing opponents from the West, having grabbed two wins in eight attempts. Conversely, BC is at the bottom of the West standings when going up against opponents in the other division, capturing four victories in five opportunities.

The Lions lead the all-time series between the clubs by a count of 53-32-2, taking into account only regular-season bouts played since 1961. During Week 8, when the Argos were tasked with playing two games in a span of five days, it was BC that posted a 33-17 win on the road in the first meeting of the season.

Glenn threw for 208 yards and a score, while Stefan Logan accounted for a game-high 145 yards and a major on the ground for the visitors. Also playing a huge role in the victory was kicker Paul McCallum who was a perfect 4-of-4 on field goals and finished with 15 points, while his counterpart Swayze Waters hit all three of his field goal tries and added a PAT in the setback.

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Toronto was limited to just 245 yards of total offense in the contest, while the Lions went for 375 yards and at the same time were flagged for 14 penalties leading to a loss of 131 yards.

[SportsNetwork.com]

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