Smith's trio of TD's leads Lions past Argo's

Jul 30, 2006, 5:25 GMT

Toronto, ON - Rookie Joe Smith rushed for three touchdowns as the British Columbia Lions pounded the Toronto Argonauts, 28-8.

Smith rushed for 79 yards on 16 carries and now has six touchdowns in his last two games. Dave Dickenson, meanwhile, completed 14-of-23 passes for 239 yards with a touchdown pass and an interception for the Lions (4-3), who have won two games in a row.

Geroy Simon had 162 yards receiving on six catches while Ryan Thelwell added four receptions for 42 yards and a TD.

Damon Allen returned to Toronto and completed 16-of-33 passes for 256 yards with three interceptions. Allen was the Argonauts opening day starter, but broke a finger on his throwing hand in the game.

Allen was also Toronto's leading rusher with 48 yards on five carries. Jeff Johnson added 19 yards and a touchdown on five carries for the Argos (2-4), who have lost four of their last five games.

Arland Bruce made seven catches for 70 yards while Johnson had 33 yards receiving in the loss.

The Lions drew first blood in the opening quarter as Dickenson connected with Thelwell for an 11-yard touchdown pass to give B.C. a 7-0 lead with under a minute to go in the first.

The Argos picked up their first point on a single late in the second, but the Lions countered with a one-yard TD burst by Smith with just over a minute to go until halftime to carry a 14-1 lead into the break.

Smith's second one-yard plunge of the contest near the mid-way point of the third gave British Columbia a comfortable 21-1 advantage. Smith found the end zone again in the fourth quarter with his third one-yard touchdown run of the game, giving B.C. a 28-1 lead early in the frame.

Toronto made it a 28-2 game with a single in the fourth and Johnson accounted for the Argos' only TD of the game when he recovered his own fumble in the end zone with under a minute left to play. Toronto failed on the two-point conversion to account for the final score.

Game Notes

The Lions were 4-for-4 in the red zone.

B.C. became the first CFL team to surpass 200 points scored on the season.

Smith was property of the Tennessee Titans of the NFL last season.

The Lions outgained the Argos 325-300.

© 2006 The Sports Network