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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Ray's late fumble ensures Leos' win
Argos QB coughs it up on B.C. 20 in final minute
B.C.'s Arland Bruce grabs a pass in front of Argo defender Ahmad Carroll. (JONATHAN HAYWARD / THE CANADIAN PRESS)
VANCOUVER -- Travis Lulay passed for two touchdowns and 390 yards Saturday as the B.C. Lions held on to beat the Toronto Argonauts 28-23.
The B.C. quarterback extended his touchdown-pass streak to 22 games, moving into second place all-time behind Montreal Alouettes legend Sam Etcheverry.
Lulay completed 24-of-40 passes as the Lions (8-3) posted their sixth win in seven games. Shawn Gore, Arland Bruce and Rolly Lumbala scored touchdowns for B.C.
"We overcame a slow start, I think that was important for us because it's not always going to be perfect smooth sailing all the time -- and that first quarter was ugly, as an offensive group," Lulay said.
Cornerback Matt Black, off a fumble return, and receiver Chad Owens scored touchdowns for the Argos (7-4). The Lions led most of the game but had to hold off a late Toronto rally after Owens' 52-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter pulled Toronto to within five points.
The Argos threatened in the final minute, advancing to the Lions' 20-yard line. But B.C. middle linebacker Adam Bighill recovered a Ricky Ray fumble after Lions defensive lineman Khreem Smith knocked the ball loose. B.C. than ran out the clock to preserve the win.
Ray completed 19-of-38 passes for 311 yards as the clubs combined for 701 yards through the air alone.
"We came up a little short. We had some opportunities with some deep balls, some shots at the end zone but weren't able to come up with it. We battled hard," Ray said. "We made a lot of mistakes, a lot of penalties and some things we didn't do well but it was a 60-minute game, just came up short."
Toronto committed 13 penalties for 123 yards, while Lions had 10 for 72.
"We have to be more disciplined. I'm not going to sit here and talk about penalties. It is what it is," Owens said. "We had an opportunity at the end to win the game and I truly believed we were going to win. We just fell short.
"You can look at it both sides -- even with all the penalties we still had a chance to win at the end and... if we didn't get the penalties we would have won this game."
After a B.C. single off a Paul McCallum missed field goal, Black scored the first game's touchdown on a bizarre play.
Lions running back Andrew Harris fumbled directly to Toronto's Kevin Huntley at the Argos 53-yard line. The burly defensive tackle rumbled along the sidelines, but Lions receiver Marco Iannuzzi raced back and stripped him inside the B.C. ten.
However, the ball rolled forward towards the end zone, and Black scooped it up at the two-yard line and carried it in for the score.
-- The Canadian Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 16, 2012 B4
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