HAMILTON - With both teams at the bottom of their respective divisions, the B.C. Lions and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats were already in desperate situations just midway through the season, both fighting to stay close to their division rivals.
It was the Lions who looked serious about the challenge, soundly defeating the Tabbies 35-12 in front of 18,723 disgruntled fans at Ivor Wynne Stadium on Saturday.
The win improved the Lions' record to 5-5 and allowed them to keep pace with Edmonton and Calgary, both 6-4 and tied for second in the West.
Hamilton is now at 2-8 and at the bottom of the East. Winnipeg went into its Sunday afternoon game against Saskatchewan also with just two wins.
B.C. hasn't had a losing season since 2001 and has been shell-shocked by its record the first half of the season. This effort seemed to get the train back on track.
"It was a game where we had pretty much control of it from the beginning," said head coach Wally Buono about an effort in which the Lions led 27-6 at the half and finished the game with 431 yards of total offence to Hamilton's 258 yards.
The defence also boasted seven sacks and an interception returned for a touchdown.
"Can we play a lot better? I believe that we can. The good thing is we won and we get back into the (playoff) hunt."
B.C. also has an edge on the cross-over playoff spot. In the CFL, a division's fourth-place team can earn a playoff berth if its record is better than the other division's third-place team. Buono said he's not even thinking about it.
"The only thing I don't like is losing," he said. "It's a long season and from our point of view, we're not looking (at anything) other than the fact we've got eight more games left. The playoffs will take care of themselves.
B.C. Lions quarterback Buck Pierce threw for one touchdown and scrambled for another to lead his team. He finished with 29 completions on 37 attempts for 364 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
"We're really just gelling right now," he said. "We know we might not hit a lot of home run balls, get a lot of touchdowns, but we're going to hold onto the football. We're going to wear that defence out. They were dog tired by the third quarter."
Running back Charles Roberts, recently acquired from Winnipeg, did not dress for the game.
Pierce, Jamall Johnson (interception return) and Lyle Green each scored first-half touchdowns for the Lions. Two of those TDs were the result of first-half turnovers by Hamilton pivot Casey Printers, who was replaced to start the second half by Richie Williams.
Meanwhile, Hamilton head coach Charlie Taaffe just laughed when asked about the playoffs.
"Playoffs? No sense talking about that," he said, adding that he hopes the team can simply regroup and play better when they head into Edmonton.
Printers, celebrating the one-year anniversary of his signing with Hamilton, finished with seven completions in 15 pass attempts for 91 yards and an interception. He rushed for 27 yards.
Williams led Hamilton to its first touchdown of the game, eventually scored by Terry Caulley late in the third quarter. It was a messy 54-yard drive that featured a sack, a fumbled snap, a 30-yard pass to Chris Bauman and a 17-yard run by Jesse Lumsden. It was also aided by a roughing-the-passer and pass interference calls.
Williams was replaced by third-string pivot, Quinton Porter, midway through the fourth quarter. B.C. sent in back-up pivot Jarious Jackson late in the fourth.
B.C. kicker Paul McCallum hit four of five field-goal attempts, making kicks from 25, 43, 27 and 34 yards but missing a 41-yarder. Hamilton kicker Nick Setta hit his two field goals, from 20 and 22 yards.
The Lions took a 27-6 halftime lead as the Steeltown crowd booed its team into the locker room.
Setta's 20-yarder gave Hamilton a quick 3-0 lead before the Lions took over, scoring 24 unanswered points two touchdowns the result of Printers' turnovers.
Johnson intercepted Printers midfield and ran it 56 yards into the end zone for a 10-3 lead. Pierce then drove the offence 80 yards on eight plays, taking it in himself, through the arms of would-be tacklers, from seven yards out.
On Hamilton's following possession, Printers was sacked by B.C.'s Cameron Wake, who also forced the fumble. The Lions' Brent Johnson recovered the ball on their 49. Five plays later, Pierce hit Green for the 12-yard pass and run, as Green escaped the clutches of Hamilton's Rontarius Robinson and took it into the end zone.