Courtesy Vancouver Sun:
They began training camp as a trendy Grey Cup pick, and there’s even more buzz around the B.C. Lions six months later. With a franchise-record 14 wins, they’ve come a long way, but now the question has become, how much farther will they go?

In 10 days’ time, we’ll know if Toronto is the next stop, for the Nov. 25 Grey Cup at Rogers Centre, a game devoid of hypothermia but not of hype.

Until then, with the team enjoying a week of down time before prep begins for the Nov. 18 West Division final, we take a brief look back at a season gone right:

MOST EXCITING PLAYER: DE Cameron Wake. You can call him Derek, or you can call him Cameron, or you can call him the find of the year. After being out of football all last season, Wake thought he’d blown it by showing up at the wrong university in the wrong state for a Lions tryout camp. They went ahead and issued him a training-camp invite anyway, contrary to accepted practice. He is now the favourite to win both rookie and CFL defensive player of the year awards.

BEST TRADE: The one involving Jarious Jackson that Wally Buono didn’t make. Buono doesn’t get a lot of action in CFL trading circles because his proposals are stacked overwhelmingly in his favour. So when the Blue Bombers decided that the asking price of a first-round pick and a roster player was too rich for the Lions third-string quarterback, they folded their cards. Lucky for B.C.

MOST PIVOTAL PLAY: On second-and-22 in overtime Aug. 17 against Calgary, Jarious Jackson, substituting for the injured Buck Pierce, was nearly enveloped by the rush before he heaved a 47-yard touchdown pass to Paris Jackson. The Lions later escaped with a 45-45 tie. The single point loomed larger throughout the coming weeks as B.C. held off Saskatchewan for first place.

MOST INSPIRATIONAL PERFORMANCE: After driving for six hours, then flying another four following his grandmother’s funeral in Louisiana, Joe Smith arrived two hours before game time July 28 at McMahon Stadium. The sleep-deprived and grieving running back then ran for 112 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown and was awarded the offensive game ball.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: Ricky Foley. Expecting to be a starter on the defensive line, the sophomore’s star fell in training camp with the emergence of Cameron Wake. Humbled and discouraged, Foley played laconically for several weeks. But after getting his head right, Foley finished with a flourish, recording a team-best 22 special-teams tackles and four sacks.

GRACE UNDER FIRE: Though a late hit by the Stampeders’ Trey Young wrecked his shoulder in one instance and another dubious shot by the Ticats’ Clinton Wayne re-aggravated the same injury, Lions QB Buck Pierce declined to call out either player. Ribs, hand, foot, shoulder, Pierce got pricked more times than a voodoo doll but refused to say, why me?

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Tony Simmons. For the third straight year, the star-crossed wideout from Chicago couldn’t complete the season because of injury and was later released. Persevering despite two major knee surgeries, Simmons’s grand comeback attempt didn’t materialize, though it was a triumph of the human spirit.

UNSUNG HERO: On a team with Cameron Wake, Tyrone Williams and Brent Johnson, Aaron Hunt might seem lacking in MVP timber. But what separates him from the rest of the field are his pass knockdowns. The defensive tackle had 10 — one less than team leader Ryan Phillips, a halfback. Mix in Hunt’s eight sacks, 36 tackles and 46 hits and you have a body of work that is exceptional, on most other teams.

SIMON SAYS, DOES: As a fitting coda to a season that looked to be going sideways at one point, slotback Geroy Simon came into the last game, knowing exactly what he had to do to finish as the CFL’s reception yards leader for the second straight year. With 211 yards and two TD catches against Calgary, he did exactly that, vaulting past three players to win the title.

MOST REMARKABLE STAT: The Lions had a winning percentage of .833 on the road, .778 at home, a franchise-best 14 wins and a best-ever 29 points, despite having just one win between Aug. 2 and Sept. 15 — a stretch of five games that included a bye week.