Lions outlast Argos to give Buono record

Sean Whyte kicked five field goals as the B.C. Lions edged the Toronto Argos 23-17 on Saturday night, giving coach Wally Buono his CFL record 232nd win.

 

Buono passes Don Matthews to top the all-time leader list.

 

Quarterback Buck Pierce completed 20 of 28 passes for 171 yards, while Toronto’s Cody Pickett had a rough outing going 11-for-23 and throwing two interceptions.

 

Defensive back Korey Banks nabbed both of those gifts from Pickett.

 

Jamal Robertson ran for 86 yards on 18 carries and had Toronto’s only offensive touchdown.

 

Defensive end Ricky Foley had three of B.C.’s six sacks on the evening.

 

Midway through the third quarter, the Argos finally pulled ahead of the Lions 17-14 after trailing since early in the game.

 

It took four goal line attempts, but Toronto at last was able to drive the ball into the end zone thanks to a one-yard Jamal Robertson touchdown.

 

The Lions came back five minutes later, though, to tie the contest 17-17 on a 41-yard field goal by Whyte.

 

Toronto was lucky to be deadlocked with B.C. after giving up three first-half turnovers.

 

The woes started for the Boatmen on a bad snap, minutes into the game. Instead of punting the ball away, the Argos turned it over with Jason Arakgi recovering it on Toronto’s eight-yard line.

 

Whyte then split the uprights with a 15-yard field goal to put B.C. up 3-0.

 

Minutes later Banks grabbed his first interception off of Pickett as Toronto was in scoring position. Martell Mallett later punched the ball into the end zone with a one-yard run TD to give B.C. a 10-0 lead.

 

B.C. added a single when Dominique Dorsey – making his first CFL start since being cut by the Washington Redskins recently – chose to give up a single in the end zone, putting B.C. up 11-0 just 10 minutes into the game.

 

Things looked grim for Toronto after a first quarter where Pickett had yet to complete a pass and the Argos had only one first down and minus-13 net yards.

 

That outlook wasn’t helped when shortly into the second quarter, Banks picked off Pickett again and returned the ball into Argos territory. Whyte would add his second field goal of the night soon after extending B.C.’s lead to 14-0.

 

Toronto managed to make a game of it, though, on two turnovers for the Lions near the end of the first half.

 

First, the Lions turned over the ball on downs after a failed third-down conversion. This led to a 44-yard field goal by Justin Medlock.

 

Following that, James Green blocked a Sean Whyte punt, which was returned by Jordan Younger for an 18-yard touchdown. The score and the point after pulled the Argos close, 14-10, going into halftime.

 

The Argos haven’t won at B.C. Place since 2002 and have now lost 10 straight to the Lions.

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By: Daniel Wilson
Posted: Sep 20 2009 7:02 am
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