The 2007 BC Lions season was the 50th season for the team in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and their 54th season overall. They finished first in the West Division for the fourth consecutive season with a 14–3–1 record, establishing new franchise records for wins and points in a season and most consecutive first-place finishes. They were defeated in the Western Final 26–17 by the Saskatchewan Roughriders, ending their hopes of repeating their Grey Cup Championship.
Transactions
CFL draft Round Pick Player Position School/Club team 1 8 Adam Nicolson WR Ottawa 2 16 Josh Bean LB Boise State 2 17 (Via Hamilton) Tad Crawford S Columbia 3 24 Andre Sadeghian RB McMaster 4 32 Andrew Jones DL McMaster 5 40 Kyle Kirkwood OL Ottawa 5 48 Nic Edgson DB Idaho State
Preseason Week Date Opponent Score Result Attendance RecordB June 15 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders 24–18 Loss 25,320 0–1C June 21 at Edmonton Eskimos 18–12 Loss 31,650 0–2
Games played with white uniforms.
Regular season
Season standings
Season schedule Week Date Opponent Score Result Attendance Record1 June 28 at Toronto Argonauts 24–22 Win 29,157 1–02 July 6 vs. Edmonton Eskimos 29–9 Win 32,893 2–03 July 13 at Saskatchewan Roughriders 42–12 Win 26,981 3–04 July 19 vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats 22–18 Win 29,045 4–05 July 28 at Calgary Stampeders 32–27 Win 28,564 5–06 Aug 2 vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders 21–9 Loss 31,858 5–17 Aug 10 vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers 22–21 Loss 31,525 5–28 Aug 17 at Calgary Stampeders 45–45 Tie 30,826 5–2–1 9 Bye 5–2–110 Aug 31 vs. Montreal Alouettes 46–14 Win 32,115 6–2–111 Sept 9 at Montreal Alouettes 32–14 Loss 20,202 6–3–112 Sept 15 vs. Toronto Argonauts 40–7 Win 31,156 7–3–113 Sept 22 at Saskatchewan Roughriders 37–34 Win 28,800 8–3–114 Sept 29 vs. Calgary Stampeders 42–9 Win 32,263 9–3–115 Oct 5 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers 26–20 Win 26,593 10–3–116 Oct 13 at Edmonton Eskimos 24–18 Win 33,663 11–3–117 Oct 20 vs. Edmonton Eskimos 37–26 Win 37,011 12–3–118 Oct 26 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats 27–19 Win 19,322 13–3–119 Nov 3 vs. Calgary Stampeders 25–24 Win 34,242 14–3–1
Games played with colour uniforms. Games played with white uniforms. Games played with alternate uniforms.
Roster 2007 BC Lions final roster Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Slotbacks Offensive linemen G T G T T C G/C
Defensive linemen DE DT DE DT DE DT Linebackers LS/MLB OLB MLB MLB OLB OLB/MLB
Defensive backs DH S DH/CB CB CB S DH CB/DH Special teams K/P
Developmental squad DE CB G WR WR RB CB
Reserve roster G QB G WR
Injured list S LB
Week 1: at Toronto Argonauts
at Rogers Centre, Toronto
Joe Smith took the lustre off a record-setting performance by Bashir Levingston. Smith's two third-quarter touchdowns rallied the Grey Cup-champion BC Lions to a 24–22 win Thursday over the Argonauts in the first game of the CFL season. The loss tarnished Levingston's CFL-record 129-yard return of a missed field goal late in the first half that thrilled the Rogers Centre gathering of 29,157 and put Toronto ahead 15–10.
Week 2: vs. Edmonton Eskimos
at BC Place Stadium, Vancouver
BC Quarterback Dave Dickenson continued his slow start to the CFL season, Friday but his only touchdown pass secured a 29–9, BC Lions home opener win over the Edmonton Eskimos. The 100-yard touchdown drive ended with a 36-yard completion to slotback Jason Clermont midway through the third quarter for a 23–6 lead. While kicker Paul McCallum completed the Lions attack with five field goals and a convert.
Week 3: at Saskatchewan Roughriders
at Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field, Regina, Saskatchewan
The BC Lions capitalized on the Saskatchewan Roughriders' mistakes to win the battle of the two unbeaten West teams 42–12 Friday. Riders penalties, fumbles and interceptions were abundant and as a result, the home team was no threat to win the game for most of the evening. The Riders briefly brought the subdued crowd of 26,981 back into the game in the second with a Matt Dominguez touchdown, but they couldn't recover and allowed two touchdowns in the last minute of the game. Joe Smith found the end zone twice for the Lions (3–0–0), while Jason Clermont had seven receptions for 68 yards. In the second quarter however, the Lions would lose quarterbacks Dave Dickenson and Buck Pierce to injuries leaving third-stringer Jarious Jackson to finish the game.
Week 4: vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats
at BC Place Stadium, Vancouver
The BC Lions were rescued again by their depth at quarterback Thursday as they staggered to a 22–18 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Lions were down to their last quarterback as Buck Pierce, who started with a hand injury in place of Dave Dickenson, left the game with sore ribs after throwing his second interception and was replaced by Jarious Jackson. In addition, Lions running back Joe Smith was taken off the field on a stretcher after fumbling late in the fourth quarter. He briefly had no feeling in his legs but later recovered in the locker room. However, Jackson remained healthy and found wideout Paris Jackson for a 64-yard gain that set up Paul McCallum's 14-yard insurance field goal for a 22–12 cushion. He also had Paris Jackson open in the end zone on a play that drew a pass interference call. The 31-yard penalty led to the third-string quarterback's touchdown plunge. The victory left the Lions as the CFL's only unbeaten team at 4–0 while Hamilton dropped to 0–4.
Week 5: at Calgary Stampeders
at McMahon Stadium, Calgary
The BC Lions remained the only unbeaten team in the CFL with a 32–27 win over the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday. BC quarterback Jarious Jackson, who replaced Buck Pierce to start the second half, threw touchdown passes to Geroy Simon and Cory Rodgers while Joe Smith ran in a 38-yard score. Paul McCallum kicked two field goals. Calgary counterpart Henry Burris linked up with Rob Cote and Jeremaine Copeland for touchdowns. Sandro DeAngelis made two field goals, but he was wide on another attempt and had a kick blocked. Jackson was 3-for-7 in passing for two touchdowns and he was intercepted once in relief of Pierce, who was 7-for-14 and was intercepted once in the first half. Burris completed half of 44 pass attempts for 423 yards and two touchdowns, but was intercepted four times. Down 25–11 heading into the fourth quarter, the Stampeders chased the Lions with Burris's 36-yard touchdown pass to Copeland at 8:56, DeAngelis's convert and his earlier 26-yard field goal to pull within four points. But a Burris interception stalled Calgary's momentum as LaVar Glover picked him off and returned the ball 30 yards, which set up Jackson's 15-yard touchdown pass to Rodgers at 11:48 and put the Lions up 32–21. Burris replied on a two-yard run with 1:19 remaining, after finding receiver Brett Ralph within five yards of the end zone, to keep Calgary's hopes of a win alive. The attempted two-point convert was unsuccessful and the Lions hung on for the win.
Week 6: vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders
at BC Place Stadium, Vancouver
The Saskatchewan Roughriders took advantage of a third-string quarterback, and running back Wes Cates had a big game with over 100 yards rushing as they defeated the BC Lions 21–9 Thursday night to hand the defending Grey Cup champions their first loss of the CFL season. A crowd of 31,858 saw the Riders improve their record to 4–2 and move to within two points of the first-place Lions in the CFL West. BC dropped to 5–1. The Lions were forced to start third-string quarterback Jarious Jackson because of injuries to Dave Dickenson and Buck Pierce. Jackson, who came off the bench three times this season to preserve Lions wins, showed some flashes but struggled in his first CFL start. He completed 16 of 38 passes for 183 yards, threw one touchdown pass but was intercepted three times.
Week 7: vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers
at BC Place Stadium, Vancouver
A crowd of 31,525 saw the Winnipeg Blue Bombers erase an eight-point deficit when wide receiver Terrence Edwards scored on a six-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kevin Glenn at 3:57 of the fourth quarter. That came one play after Edwards hauled in a 52-yard pass. Winnipeg's two-point convert failed but BC's Ian Smart fumbled the kickoff that would set up Rob Pikula's winning field goal. Pikula, a punter, was pressed into placekicking after Troy Westwood pulled a hamstring early in the game. He also hit from 41 and 31 yards. A last-ditch Lions drive ended when quarterback Buck Pierce threw an incompletion on a third-and-five with about 40 seconds left. Paul McCallum was successful early kicking two field goals from 12 and 45 yards, but missed on a critical 43-yarder with just five minutes remaining in the game that would have secured a BC win. With the loss BC is now tied with the Saskatchewan Roughriders for first place in the CFL West Division.
Week 8: at Calgary Stampeders
at McMahon Stadium, Calgary
The Calgary Stampeders jumped out to an early 7–0 lead after Henry Burris capped off a five-play, 59-yard drive by plunging into the end zone from one yard out. On the drive, Joffrey Reynolds carried the ball three times for 30 yards, while Nik Lewis caught one ball and scrambled for a 28-yard gain. The BC Lions responded right away to tie the score as Buck Pierce engineered an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive. He capped off the drive by completing an eight-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jason Clermont. With just six seconds to go in the first quarter, the Stamps regained the lead when Sandro DeAngelis kicked a 29-yard field goal.
Just three plays after Ryan Phillips picked off an errant pass by Burris to record his league-leading sixth interception, Pierce tossed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Clermont to put the Lions up 14–10. The Stamps then completed an impressive eight-play, 80-yard scoring drive capped off by Jeremaine Copeland's fourth touchdown of the season. Late in the first half, Joe Smith rambled 18 yards across the goal line to cap off a five-play, 67-yard scoring drive to put the Lions up 21–17.
The see-saw battle continued in the third quarter as Calgary regained a three-point lead when Burris scored his second one-yard touchdown of the game. Once again, the Lions responded as Pierce tossed a 30-yard pass to Tony Simmons in the Calgary end zone before Paul McCallum kicked a 28-yard field goal. With 40 seconds left in the game, Lewis hauled in a seven-yard touchdown pass from Burris to tie the game at 31–31 and send it into overtime. The teams would continue scoring in overtime, but would eventually end the game with a tie.
Week 9: Bye
Week 10: vs. Montreal Alouettes
at BC Place Stadium, Vancouver
Joe Smith's power and Ian Smart's speed delivered a knockout blow for the BC Lions in their 46–14 CFL romp over the Montreal Alouettes. Smith, the bruising running back, smashed and crashed for 161 yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns as the Lions halted a three-game winless skid in convincing style. Smith and his speedy backfield partner Smart, sliced and slashed for a pair touchdowns and had 63 yards on 10 carries as the Lions climbed back into first place in the CFL West. The pair's effectiveness showed on Smart's first touchdown in the fourth quarter. With the Lions knocking on Montreal's door, everyone in the roaring crowd of 32,115 expected Smith to get the ball. Instead, quarterback Jarious Jackson faked the ball to Smith, then tossed it to Smart who blazed nine yards for the touchdown.
The Lions shredded the Montreal defence — ranked second in the league against both the pass and run — for 420 yards. BC rushed for a combined 275 yards, with Jackson, making just his second CFL start, adding 46 yards on three carries.