Chase Brice will make his first career CFL start when the BC Lions battle the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday night at Vancouver.
Reigning CFL Most Outstanding Player Nathan Rourke injured his left shoulder in last week’s 19-17 road loss against the Edmonton Elks. He will miss multiple weeks but will avoid surgery.
Rourke was injured on the Lions’ second offensive play. Brice took over and was intercepted four times while completing 20 of 34 passes for 226 yards and one touchdown.
Brice, 28, is in his fourth season with the Lions. He’s well aware he needs to limit his miscues in his next opportunity for BC (1-4).
“I do a good job of getting the ball out quick, but there is adversity and it’s how I respond,” Brice told reporters. “There’s always pressure, and Friday was a huge learning experience to just trust your eyes. And that comes with reps. I’m very comfortable with this offense to let our big players make plays.”
Brice has thrown just 74 CFL passes after last week’s appearance. He had United States college stops at Clemson, Duke and Appalachian State.
BC coach Buck Pierce is hopeful some of the lessons of being thrown into the fire will pay off for Brice against the Argonauts.
“You’re looking for decisive command of the offense,” Pierce said. “You have to understand what guys do well and put them in those positions. Go play and let the game come to you. It’s sticking with the offense because mistakes are going to come.”
One thing that could help is that Toronto ranks eighth (of nine teams) in passing yards allowed (348.8 per game) and opponents’ completion percentage (73.8). The Argonauts are seventh in scoring defense at 34.5 points per game.
Toronto made a move to shore up the defense by signing veteran defensive Shawn Lemon. The 37-year-old has 103 sacks in 147 regular-season games.
This is Lemon’s second stint with the Argonauts. He had 28 sacks from 2017-19 for Toronto.
“I’ve got a lot of gas left in the tank,” Lemon said. “My body feels fresh. I’ve been fortunate to not have a lot of surgeries. I’ve had some time off through my career as well. I feel great.”
Toronto (2-4) has dropped three consecutive games, and last week’s 24-23 setback against host Hamilton was extra painful as Lirim Hajrullahu missed a chip-shot, 31-yard field goal as time expired.
Chad Kelly completed 25 of 35 passes for 322 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He ranks third in passing yardage (2,126) and touchdown passes (15) but has thrown a league-worst nine interceptions.
–Field Level Media
