VANCOUVER B´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·” Bryan Burnham had three touchdowns and his B.C. Lions trounced the Toronto Argonauts 55-8 Saturday.

The loss officially eliminates the Argos (2-12) from playoff contention, while keeping the LionsB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™ (5-10) faint hope for a post-season berth alive.

Burnham tallied 145 receiving yards in the effort and B.C. quarterback Mike Reilly threw for 276 yards, including five touchdowns. Danny OB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™Brien came in to relieve Reilly midway through the fourth quarter, adding seven passing yards.

Argos quarterback James Franklin completed 6-of-9 attempts for 32 yards with an interception. He was replaced by McLeod Bethel-Thompson in the third quarter, who connected on 9-of-14 attempts for 94 yards, including a touchdown.

B.C. dominated offensively, allowing Toronto just 167 offensive yards and 16:36 in possession time.

Catch.

Of.

The.

Year. 🤯 |

B´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·” CFL (@CFL)

Bungled offensive plays plagued Toronto throughout the game, starting on the ArgosB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™ first drive of the night when Lions defensive lineman Jonathan B´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·ome knocked down FranklinB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s first pass.

The ball bounced to B.C.B´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s T.J. Lee, who returned it 11 yards.

The Leos capitalized on the opportunity, with Reilly getting a 14-yard toss to Burnham. The receiver stretched into the end zone for the first touchdown of the night.

Toronto fumbled the ball away again minutes later and B.C.B´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s Gary Peters ended up with it at the bottom of a heap.

Reilly completed the ensuing drive, sending a long pass into the end zone where Burnham, under pressure from a pair of Argos defenders, made a one-armed catch and managed to keep a foot on the field to chalk up another major strike.

The dynamic duo collaborated once about midway through the second quarter, with the quarterback sending a 38-yard pass to Burnham along the sidelines on a second down.

The play broke open another scoring opportunity for the Leos and backup pivot OB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™Brien finished off the 11-play, 81-yard drive, smuggling through a crowd and into the end zone for his first-ever CFL rushing touchdown.

Toronto gave up yet another chance before the end of the half. Running back Chris Rainey appeared to get a short pass off to receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr. in the LionsB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™ end but B.C.B´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s Jamel Lyles recovered the ball instead, giving his team an opportunity to set up along the goal line.

OB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™Brien bulldozed his way through traffic but the play was called back on a penalty.

Sergio Castillo went for a 32-yard field goal instead. His successful kick put the Lions up 34-0 going into the half.

The kicker made both of his field goal attempts on Saturday and added six single-point converts for the Lions.

B.C. widened the lead just over six minutes into the third quarter when Reilly found Shaq Johnson deep in the end zone. Despite having TorontoB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s Trumaine Washington draped all over him, Johnson caught the 21-yard toss to add another major strike to the LionsB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™ tally.

Another unbelievable catch from Burnham increased the lead yet again with less than three minutes to go in the third.

Reilly sent a 31-yard bomb sailing deep into scoring territory. The ball bounced in BurnhamB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s hands but the receiver managed to recover it and hold it tight before hitting the turf.

His teammate Duron Carter celebrated by bowing at BurnhamB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s feat.

The touchdown put the Lions up 48-0 at the end of the frame B´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·” the largest lead the club has ever had heading into a fourth quarter.

READ MORE:

But B.C. wasnB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™t content with the advantage and kept pressing.

Just over seven minutes into the fourth, the Lions completed another scoring drive with Reilly sending a 25-yard toss to Carter just inside the sidelines in the ArgosB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™ end zone.

TorontoB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s only points of the game came with just six seconds left on the clock when Amanti Edwards caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Bethel-Thompson.

The receiver also caught a three-yard toss for the two-point conversion.

The Argos will be back in Toronto next week, hosting the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday. The Lions will head to Edmonton to battle the Eskimos on Saturday.

NOTES: B.C. has won four games in a row, marking the first time since 2017 that the team has accomplished the feat. B´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·¦ Lions receiver Benjamin Plu saw his first CFL action. The 25-year-old from Le Mans, France, was picked by B.C. in the leagueB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s first-ever European draft in April.

THE CANADIAN PRESS

Like us on and follow us on