Banks returns for TD as Lions beat Riders
Posted June 23, 2011 2:15 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
THE CANADIAN PRESS
VANCOUVER — Defensive back Korey Banks returned an interception 64 yards for a touchdown and quarterback Mike Reilly threw two late touchdown passes as the B.C. Lions defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders 34-6 in a CFL exhibition game Wednesday night.
Reilly, who joined the Lions last July, drove the Lions for two touchdowns just over a minute apart in the dying minutes of the game.
First he connected with Nick Moore on an 18-yard pass. He then threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Tim Brown.
Paul McCallum also kicked three field goals.
Quarterback Travis Lulay looked poised as he played the first half for the Lions. Lulay, who will be the B.C. starter this season, completed 11 of 20 passes for 104 yards. He also showed his running skills in the second quarter, squirming out of the pocket to romp 13 yards.
Lulay’s favourite target was rookie wide receiver Dobson Collins, who had five catches for 40 yards in the first half.
The veteran Banks scored the only touchdown of the first half. He stepped in front of a Darian Durant pass intended for Terrence Nunn, then raced untouched down the field.
Durant played almost three quarters. He completed 18 of 28 passes for 172 yards, plus threw the interception.
He also was the victim of several dropped passes. Wide receivers Ernie Wheelwright and Nunn both let balls slip through their fingers they should have caught.
McCallum hit on field goals of 47, 41 and 23 yards for the Lions. He also had a 47-yard single on a missed field goal.
Rookie Hugh O’Neill, who the Lions drafted from the University of Alberta, kicked a 50-yard field goal.
Eddie Johnson kicked a 16-yard field goal for Saskatchewan. McCallum conceded a safety.
Veteran Jarious Jackson and newcomer Corey Leonard all had turns at quarterback for B.C. in the second half.
Cole Bergquist, a second-year player from Montana, and Chris Leak, a free agent who signed with the Riders after two years in Montreal, took over for Durant.
Leak hit Wheelwright with a 53-yard pass in the fourth quarter.
The game was played on a cool, breezy night before a crowd of 18,742 at Exhibition Stadium. The temporary venue will be the Lions home before they move to the refurbished B.C. Place Stadium in the fall.
.Durant could have been picked off twice for touchdowns.
In the first quarter, with the Riders driving, he sent a floating ball towards the end zone. Lions cornerback Davis Sanchez had the ball in his hands, but with open field in front of him, dropped it.
Sanchez made amends late in the first half.
With the Riders threatening, Durant completed a pass to Chris Getzlaf. As Getzlaf turned toward the end zone, Sanchez jarred the ball loose with a hit. David Hyland recovered the fumble on the B.C. seven-yard line to kill the drive.
The Lions whipped the Calgary Stampeders 24-0 in their other exhibition game. The Riders beat the Edmonton Eskimos 23-22.
Notes: The Lions open the regular season next Thursday on the road against the Montreal Alouettes. …B.C.’s first home game is July 8 against Calgary. …The last time the teams met the Riders defeated the Lions 41-38 in overtime during the West semifinal at Regina.
