The 2008 BC Lions season was the 51st season for the team in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and their 55th overall. The Lions finished the season in third place in the West Division with an 11–7 record and appeared in the West Final, losing to the eventual Grey Cup champion Calgary Stampeders.
Offseason
CFL draft In the 2008 CFL Draft, 48 players were chosen from among 752 eligible players from Canadian universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. The first two rounds were broadcast on TSN.ca with host Rod Black. Round Pick Player Position School/Club team 1 5 Justin Sorensen OL South Carolina 2 9 (via Hamilton) Rolly Lumbala RB Idaho 3 18 (via Edmonton) Justin Shaw DL Manitoba 3 20 (via Saskatchewan via Montreal) Jason Arakgi LB McMaster 3 22 Mike McEachern LB Western Illinois 5 38 Brady Browne DB Manitoba 6 46 Hubert Buydens OL Saskatchewan
Preseason Week Date Opponent Score Result Attendance RecordA June 13 at Saskatchewan Roughriders 33–13 CFL.ca Loss 28,800 0–1B June 19 Calgary Stampeders 39–35 Win 26,242 1–1
Games played with white uniforms.
Regular season On September 13, Lions running back and former Blue Bomber, Charles Roberts reached over 10,000 rushing yards in his CFL career versus the Saskatchewan Roughriders.http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/story/4225998p-4863965c.html On July 6, Bobby Ackles, an integral member of the B.C. Lions for more than 50 years, died of a heart attack at his family's cabin on Bowen Island. Ackles started with the team as a waterboy in 1954.Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.86, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, Ackles was sixty nine years old.Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.88, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, Under Ackles' leadership, the Lions captured the Grey Cup in 1985 and in 2006. On September 20, an unsportsmanlike incident occurred during a game in Saskatchewan. It started in the fourth quarter when Saskatchewan fans became angry about a B.C. play they thought should have been a face mask penalty. Lions defensive back Dante Marsh fired the ball into the stands, and Saskatchewan fans responded by pelting the Lions with full cans of beer. The incident occurred on the night when the Roughriders were honouring past CFL legend Ron Lancaster, who had recently died at the age of 69. On November 1, B.C. Lions kick returner Ian Smart set a new CFL record for most kickoff return yardage.
Season standings
Season schedule Week Date Opponent Score Result Attendance Record1 June 26 at Calgary Stampeders 28–18 Loss 30,159 0–12 July 4 Saskatchewan Roughriders 26–16 Loss 33,813 0–23 July 11 at Winnipeg Blue Bombers 42–24 Win 26,735 1–24 July 18 Winnipeg Blue Bombers 27–18 Win 37,174 2–25 July 25 Montreal Alouettes 36–34 Win 30,132 3–26 July 31 at Edmonton Eskimos 35–24 Loss 35,008 3–37 Aug 8 Edmonton Eskimos 40–34 Win 30,863 4–3 8 Bye 4–39 Aug 22 Calgary Stampeders 36–29 Loss 34,221 4–410 Aug 29 at Montreal Alouettes 30–25 Loss 20,202 4–511 Sept 6 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats 35–12 Win 18,723 5–512 Sept 13 Saskatchewan Roughriders 28–23 Win 38,608 6–513 Sept 20 at Saskatchewan Roughriders 27–21 Win 30,945 7–514 Sept 27 Hamilton Tiger-Cats 40–10 Win 31,161 8–515 Oct 3 at Toronto Argonauts 24–20 Win 28,273 9–516 Oct 10 Edmonton Eskimos 27–20 Loss 34,778 9–617 Oct 17 at Edmonton Eskimos 43–28 Win 34,342 10–618 Oct 25 Toronto Argonauts 55–32 Win 35,994 11–619 Nov 1 at Calgary Stampeders 41–30 Loss 30,275 11–7
Games played with colour uniforms. Games played with white uniforms. Games played with alternate uniforms.
Roster 2008 BC Lions final roster Quarterbacks
Running backs
Receivers K
Offensive linemen G G G/T T T C G
Defensive linemen DE DT DE DT DE DT
Special teams K/P LSLinebackers OLB OLB MLB OLB MLB OLB/MLB
Defensive backs DH S DH CB CB S DH CBPractice Roster DH SB DE DE WR K/P
Reserve roster WR DT C T
Injured list RB WR
Italics indicate American players
Player stats
Passing Player Att. Comp % Yards TD INT Rating Buck Pierce 362 232 64.1 3018 19 9 97.4 Jarious Jackson 288 158 54.9 2164 17 10 84.3 Paul McCallum 2 2 100.0 53 0 0 158.3 Zac Champion 3 2 66.7 11 1 0 158.3 Charles Roberts 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 2.1 Stefan Logan 1 0 0.0 0 0 0 2.1
Rushing Player Att. Yards Avg. TD Fumbles Stefan Logan 122 889 7.3 0 4 Jarious Jackson 63 362 5.7 2 4 Charles Roberts 65 298 4.6 5 1 Joe Smith 55 236 4.3 3 0 Buck Pierce 29 177 6.1 2 2
Receiving Player No. Yards Avg. Long TD Geroy Simon 82 1418 17.3 79 10 Paris Jackson 76 1180 15.5 56 8 Jason Clermont 50 640 12.8 36 3 Stefan Logan 52 477 9.2 31 3 Clarence Coleman 34 389 11.4 39 3
Awards and records
Cameron Wake (DE), British Columbia Lions – CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award Cameron Wake, Norm Fieldgate Trophy
2008 CFL All-Stars
Brent Johnson, Defensive Tackle Aaron Hunt, Defensive Tackle Jason Jimenez, Offensive Tackle Dante Marsh, Cornerback Barron Miles, Safety Geroy Simon, Receiver Cameron Wake, Defensive End
Western Division All-Star Selections
Korey Banks, Defensive Back Javier Glatt, Linebacker Aaron Hunt, Defensive Tackle Paris Jackson, Receiver Jason Jimenez, Offensive Tackle Brent Johnson, Defensive Tackle Dante Marsh, Cornerback Paul McCallum, Punter Barron Miles, Safety Rob Murphy, Offensive Tackle Geroy Simon, Receiver Ian Smart, Special Teams Cameron Wake, Defensive End
Playoffs Week Game Date Opponent Score Result Attendance20 West Semi-Final Nov 8 at Saskatchewan Roughriders 33–12 Win 30,94521 West Final Nov 15 at Calgary Stampeders 22–18 Loss 35,650
Games played with white uniforms.
West Semi-Final Date and time: Saturday, November 8, 3:30 PM Central Standard TimeVenue: Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field, Regina, Saskatchewan Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 TotalBC Lions 7 9 10 7 33Saskatchewan Roughriders 0 6 3 3 12
West Final Date and time: Saturday, November 15, 2:30 PM Mountain Standard TimeVenue: McMahon Stadium, Calgary, Alberta Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 TotalBC Lions 6 6 3 3 18Calgary Stampeders 0 9 6 7 22
References