Lions give Buono record win over Argos
Last Updated: Sunday, September 20, 2009 | 2:02 AM ET
CBC Sports
B.C. head coach Wally Buono, right, is congratulated by Barron Miles on becoming the CFL's all-time winning coach following a win over Toronto in Vancouver on Saturday. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press) The B.C. Lions added some suspense to head coach Wally Buono's record-setting 23-17 win on Saturday over the visiting Toronto Argonauts. At one time holding a 14-0 advantage, the Lions gave up 17 straight points to the Argos before a trio of Sean Whyte field goals in the second half pushed B.C. to the victory.
The win is the 232nd of Buono's career, giving him the title of CFL's winningest coach, previously held by Don Matthews.
"There is a lot of things about this that is important to me," said Buono, who collected the wins over a 19-year career with B.C. and Calgary. "You have to look at who you are.
"I have been very fortunate in my life. My mother has always sacrificed for us. Right now she is not doing well. Then you go through all the people that have helped you. This is not something that one individual can accomplish."
Matthews was among the crowd of 27,515 at B.C. Place for the game.
"We have a friendship, a mutual respect," Buono said about Matthews. "Don has won a lot of games. We understand the pressure of winning. A lot of people think it's easy.
"Every game is tough. That is one of the things I think we respect about each other."
Lions use turnovers to take early lead
The Lions spotted themselves a 14-0 lead through most of the second quarter on the strength of two field goals and a single from Whyte plus a rushing touchdown by Martell Mallett. All of the first half points came from Toronto turnovers.
But with less than four minutes to go in the half, the Argos rallied to put up 10 points before the break.
A Justin Medlock 44-yard field goal was followed by a blocked punt by Toronto's James Green. Teammate Jordan Younger scooped the ball and lumbered in for a touchdown to slice the B.C. lead to four points.
The late plays in the second quarter made up for two interceptions of Argos quarterback Cody Pickett, who had defensive back Corey Banks of the Lions snag both picks.
Pickett went 11-for-23 for 166 yards while teammate Buck Pierce returned from concussion problems to go 20-for-28 and throw for 170 yards.
Argos take over in 2nd half
The Argonauts continued to roll in the second half as Pickett hooked up with receiver Chad Lucas for a 62-yard pass to put the ball on the Lions' 12-yard line.
Facing third and two, Toronto coach Bart Andrus opted to keep his offence on the field and it paid off. Running back Jamal Robertson pushed it to the goal line for a first down and three plays later it was Robertson who scampered in on another third down to put Toronto on top by three.
The Lions evened the score on a Whyte 41-yard field goal and a 54-yard punt return by Ryan Grice-Mullen set Whyte up for another from 32 yards out to pull B.C. ahead with less than 10 minutes to go.
Whyte added his fifth kick through the uprights to ice the game with 36 seconds left.
With files from the Canadian Press
