Harris makes up for poor showing in Week One as Lions down Argos

VANCOUVER – Andrew Harris ran for 103 yards and a touchdown as the B.C. Lions beat the Toronto Argonauts 24-16 in CFL action Thursday night.

The Lions (1-1) made up for a poor effort in Calgary last week as they won the home opener of their 60th season before a crowd of 25,255 at B.C. Place Stadium. The Argos dropped to 1-1 as they remain winless in Vancouver since 2002. Toronto hasn’t started a season 2-0 since 1997.

Harris atoned for a poor showing in B.C.’s season-opening loss in Calgary a week earlier. He also caught six passes for 49 yards.

B.C. quarterback Travis Lulay completed 20 of 34 passes for 249 yards and a touchdown. Toronto QB Ricky Ray was good on 28 of 39 pass attempts for 215 yards, and ran for a meaningless touchdown in the game’s final minute.

Controversial defensive lineman Khalif Mitchell played his first game against B.C. after being traded to the Argos in the off-season. He and his linemates applied steady pressure on Lulay, but the Lions quarterback eluded it most of the time.

The Argos only managed one sack, by Mitchell, and his late needless roughing-the-passer penalty set up a fourth-quarter Harris touchdown after Toronto had reduced its deficit to 17-9.

Instead, it was the B.C. defence that shined, limiting Toronto to three field goals until the game was decided.

The game featured two replacement kickers, who accounted for much of the scoring as Hugh O’Neill filled in for injured B.C. kicker Paul McCallum. McCallum is out with a groin injury suffered in the warmup before the first pre-season game. The Argos’ Noel Prefontaine substituted for Swayze Waters after he injured his groin on a convert attempt in Week 1.

B.C. took a 7-0 lead as Lulay hit Courtney Taylor with a six-yard touchdown pass nine minutes into the first quarter. The scoring strike was set up by Lulay’s 43-yard pass to a wide open Nick Moore two plays earlier.

The touchdown pass, Lulay’s fifth consecutive completion on the drive, came after both teams had managed little offensively until then.

Lulay attempted to find Taylor in the end zone again in the closing seconds of the first quarter, but over-threw him. As the drive continued in the second quarter, Mitchell sacked Lulay, forcing the Lions to settle for a 23-yard O’Neill field goal that put the hosts up 10-0.

After forcing the Argos to punt, the Lions got in scoring range again as Lulay threw a 44-yard pass to Emmanuel Arceneaux, giving B.C. the ball at the Toronto 28 yard line. Again, the Lions could not reach the end zone, but O’Neill booted a 34-yard field goal to give B.C. a 13-0 lead.

Prefontaine put the Argos on the scoreboard with just over 10 minutes gone in the second quarter as he booted a 42-yard field goal.

The Lions received another field-goal opportunity late in the second quarter after Harris ran for 23 yards which surpassed the 20 he mustered in all of B.C.’s season-opening loss in Calgary last week — and caught an eight-yard pass. But B.C. had to settle for a single point as O’Neill missed his three-point attempt from 32 yards out, giving the Lions a 14-3 advantage that stood up until half-time.

The Lions suffered a major blow early in the third quarter as they lost linebacker Adam Bighill to an injury as an Argo landed on the back of his leg while trying to block him. Bighill drew a round of applause as he was driven off the field on a golf cart and raised his arm in appreciation.

A third-and-one gamble paid off for B.C. with just under seven minutes left in the third quarter as backup quarterback Thomas DeMarco pushed his way to a first down. But Harris was tackled for a loss on the next play, and the Lions had to settle for another O’Neill field goal, this time from 24 yards, as they went ahead 17-3.

The Argos finally caught a break late in the third quarter as Jalil Carter intercepted a Lulay pass in B.C. territory and returned the ball to the Lions 25-yard-line. But, even with Bighill absent, the B.C. defence held its ground, allowing only a Prefontaine 12-yard field goal.

Toronto caught another break early in the fourth quarter as Janzen Jackson blocked O’Neill’s punt as he tried to field a low snap. But the Argos again failed to find the end zone, settling for Prefontaine’s 37-yard field goal and reducing their deficit to 17-9.

But Toronto’s comeback stalled after Lions defensive back Korey Banks recovered a Ray fumble as the Argos quarterback was being swarmed by B.C. defenders in the pocket.

Then Mitchell’s temperamental ways came back to haunt him — and the Argos. The former Lion was called for roughing the passer as he hit Lulay well after the play, giving B.C. a first-and-goal situation.

One play later, Harris, who had been critical of Mitchell and tweeted “good riddance” after he was traded, scampered four yards up the middle into the end zone, staking the Lions to a 24-9 lead.

Mitchell’s penalty meant Ray’s seven-yard touchdown run was too little, too late.

Notes: The American and Canadian national anthems were sung to honour the Fourth of July holiday. Sophie Tweed-Simmons, the daughter of actress Shannon Tweed and KISS frontman Gene Simmons, sang both anthems. … It was the 1,000th game in Lions history. … Lions centre Angus Reid remained out with a back injury suffered early in training camp. He is on the nine-game injured reserve list, but could return earlier if he recovers in time. … Lions defensive end Julius Williams, signed as a free agent from Edmonton in the off-season, played his first game after recuperating from pre-season knee injury.