Dickenson, Lions down struggling Alouettes

Sep 17, 2006, 5:45 GMT

Vancouver, BC - Dave Dickenson threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns to lead the British Columbia Lions past the struggling Montreal Alouettes, 36-20.

Dickenson completed 17-of-21 passes before leaving in the third quarter with a head injury. He was replaced by Buck Pierce, who was 7-of-8 passing for 56 yards.

Geroy Simon caught six passes for 157 yards with a pair of TD receptions while Jason Clermont added eight catches for 102 yards with a score for the Lions (9-3), who have won seven straight games as they boast the top record in the CFL.

Paul McCallum was a perfect 4-for-4 on field goal attempts for the Lions.

Anthony Calvillo connected on 13-of-22 passes for 148 yards with two TD passes for the Alouettes (7-5), who have lost five straight after opening the season 7-0.

Calvillo was under pressure all night as the Lions defense amassed 14 sacks. Kerry Watkins caught two touchdown passes in defeat.

The Lions opened the scoring in the first on McCallum's 40-yard field goal with 7:32 left in the opening quarter.

However, Montreal was able to respond and take a 7-3 lead less than three minutes later as Calvillo hit Watkins for a 23-yard TD reception.

In the second, B.C. jumped ahead 10-7 after Dickenson hooked up with Simon for a 40-yard touchdown pass and later in the quarter, Otis Floyd was able to haul down Calvillo in the end zone for a safety to make it 12-7 with just under 5 1/2 minutes left until halftime.

The Alouettes managed a pair of field goals before the break as Damon Duval connected on field goals of 48 yards and nine yards to put Montreal up 13-12.

The Lions quickly reclaimed the lead in the third as less than a minute into the frame, Dickenson found Simon for an 81-yard touchdown through the air.

However, Calvillo and the Alouettes responded when the QB found Watkins for a 24-yard TD pass with 7:22 remaining in the third to give Montreal a 20-19 edge.

The two teams continued to trade scores in the third when Dickenson threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Clermont with 3:38 left in the third to make it 26-20 and McCallum extended that lead to 12 with a 32-yard field goal early in the fourth which he later followed with a 28-yard connection.

A single with 7:37 to go later made it a 33-20 B.C. lead and McCallum hit his third field goal of the quarter from 18 yards out with just over two minutes left to make it a 16-point lead.

Game Notes

The Lions' previous record for sacks in a game was 11. Their 14 sacks in this contest fell one short of the CFL record, which was set in 1993 by Edmonton.

Pierce left the game with a hip injury that is not considered serious.

Montreal lost five straight games for the first time since 2001.

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