Lions rout Roughriders, will host West semifinal

Jonathon Jennings and the B.C. Lions took care of business Saturday, securing second place in the West Division with a 41-18 rout of the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The Lions (12-6) will host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (11-7) at BC Place on Nov. 13. The Lions needed to win, since Winnipeg held the tiebreaker after sweeping a home-and-home series in mid-October.

The only shortcoming of the Lions' attack this season has been turnovers, particularly when they had nine while losing those two games against the Blue Bombers. The 24-year-old Jennings stoked some early anxiety with an interception on his first pass of the night, but settled in and finished 17-of-25 for 307 yards with three touchdown passes before being lifted after the third quarter. Jennings upped his season tally to 5,226 yards, third in the CFL behind Edmonton's Mike Reilly (5,554) and Calgary's Bo Levi Mitchell (5,385).

Lions SB Emmanuel Arceneaux had a milestone night while racking up 10 receptions for 180 yards and two TDs. Arceneaux became the fifth Lions player to reach 100 receptions in a season when he hauled in his second scoring pass of the night - and CFL-leading 13th of the season - during the first quarter. The 29-year-old brought his career-year totals up to 105 receptions for 1,566 yards.

Arceneaux made a 61-yard reception that set up the Lions' third touchdown, which opened a 24-4 halftime lead.

About the only frightening moment for the Lions came with 3:24 left in the first quarter. Leading rusher Jeremiah Johnson's right ankle bent awkwardly when he was hit hard behind the line of scrimmage by Roughriders MLB Henoc Muamba. Johnson was able to put weight on his foot as he was assisted to the sideline, but returned later in the game.

The Roughriders (5-13) used three backup quarterbacks - Mitchell Gale, G.J. Kinne, and Brandon Bridge - after opting not to play longtime starter Darian Durant. The 34-year-old quarterback, who was sacked a CFL-high 41 times this season in spite of missing time with injuries, is in a tense contract negotiation with the Roughriders. Farhan Lalji of TSN reported during the game that the Roughriders would like Durant to take a pay cut, while the 34-year-old wants the going rate for a marquee player.

The Lions led by as much as 37 points in the fourth quarter before Bridge oversaw two window-dressing touchdown drives. The Canadian scrambled for a 16-yard rushing TD, then directed a 77-yard march that RB Greg Morris capped with a 33-yard scamper to pay dirt.

The lopsided loss was a fitting capper to a season in which first-year Roughriders coach-GM Chris Jones made massive changes to the roster. Only three players - LT Thaddeus Coleman, DT Corvey Irvin, and OLB Otha Foster - started all 18 games.

Lions SB Bryan Burnham made seven receptions for 96 yards to finish fourth in the league with 1,392 yards. He caught a touchdown pass from backup QB Travis Lulay in the fourth quarter.

Paul McCallum, the 46-year-old kicker whom the Lions have brought out of retirement, was 4-of-4 on field goals. Punter Richie Leone added a single on a kickoff.

Bridge was 10-of-11 for 120 yards for the Roughriders, while Gale was 6-of-11 for 56. Saskatchewan gained only 274 yards.

Saskatchewan's Tyler Crapigna was 1-of-2 on field goals with a single, finishing his rookie year 36-of-42.

The Lions and Blue Bombers will be meeting in the postseason for the first time since the 2011 Grey Cup, when Winnipeg was in the East Division. On Oct. 8, the the Blue Bombers made a late goal-line stand and won 37-35. Six days later in Vancouver, Winnipeg won 35-32 after scored 13 unanswered points in the final three minutes, aided by an interception and a fumble by the Lions.