Courtesy Regina Leader Post:

The B.C. Lions and the head coach Saskatchewan GM Eric Tillman facetiously refers to as “Sir Wally” were unceremoniously knocked off their white chargers Sunday afternoon.

Partial authors of their own demise, the Lions gave up five turnovers that the Roughriders turned into 16 points to advance to the 95th Grey Cup game with a 26-17 win over the Lions before 54,712 fans at BC Place.

Saskatchewan will go on to play the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 19-9 victors over the Toronto Argonauts in the East Division final earlier Sunday, in the 95th Grey Cup game this Sunday at Rogers Centre.
B.C. Lions’ Geroy Simon is tackled by Saskatchewan Roughriders Lance Frazier after making a catch during the

Tillman, who was fined $1,000 for making derogatory comments about the Lions following a September 22 brawl in Regina, was under doctor’s orders not to attend the game after experiencing heart troubles.

But he was surely pleased with the gutsy effort of his battered team in defeating the Lions, who set a franchise record this season with 14 wins.

The Lions were down to their third-string right guard - Lorne Plante, who hadn’t played a game all season - after the team lost starter Sherko Haji-Rasouli with a hamstring pull and his replacement, Dean Valli, was forced out with a concussion.

Lions quarterbacks were sacked seven times, six registered against Dave Dickenson, who took over from Lions’ starter Jarious Jackson with 1:37 left in the first half.

Dickenson briefly gave a struggling Lions’ offence some life when he completed his first three passes - as many in his first series as Jackson did over the course of 13:37. But with Plante raw and untested, and with a huge hole in a patchwork line made obvious, Dickenson seemed unwilling or unable to release the ball early under pressure.

“We didn’t make plays when we had to,” said Lions centre Angus Ried. “We didn’t do enough up front to win this game. We didn’t answer the bell when we had to.”

Kerry Joseph fired two touchdown passes for the ‘Riders and withstood four sacks by Lions’ defensive end Cameron Wake to put his team in the Grey Cup for the first time since 1997.

After connecting with Andy Fantuz on a 13-yard touchdown throw, set up by a punt return fumble by the Lions’ Ian Smart, Joseph found seldom-used Neil Hughes on a two-yard touchdown toss in the third quarter to put Saskatchewan ahead 23-10.

Luca Congi kicked four field goals for the ‘Riders - from 37, 23, 33 and 36 yards - for Saskatchewan, which led at the end of each quarter.

Joe Smith scored on a one-yard run for the Lions and Dickenson found Geroy Simon for an 11-yard touchdown pass that was set up by a 78-yard kickoff return by Smart. In addition to Smart’s punt fumble, Jackson was intercepted twice and Dickenson fumbled on a sack that set up another Congi field goal.

Jackson completed only three-of-12 passes for 51 yards, and he was really only effective on one short series in the first quarter, when he threw completions to Jason Clermont and Simon to set up Smith’s one-yard touchdown run.

The ‘Riders scored all of their points in the first half through turnovers by the Lions and took a 13-10 lead into intermission.