Lions Finally Get Hands on Another Grey Cup : Three Long Pass Plays Give British Columbia a 37-24 Victory Over Hamilton

British Columbia’s big-play offense, which led the team to its third straight divisional title, was dominant Sunday as the Lions captured their first Canadian Football League championship in 21 years.

“It sure was a big-play football game,” said B.C. Coach Don Matthews following the Lions’ 37-24 Grey Cup victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. “We won a couple of the jump balls and turned them into long touchdowns.”

B.C. quarterback Roy Dewalt threw three touchdown passes, hitting wide receiver Ned Armour on 84 and 60-yard scoring plays, and wide receiver Jim Sandusky on a 66-yard touchdown play.

Matthews, an assistant coach in Edmonton during the Eskimos’ five-year Grey Cup tenure from 1978 to 1982, was a picture of composure following the game, while his players showered each other with champagne in an adjoining room.

“Victories are always fleeting in the athletic world, so this one is something special because it is now,” Matthews said. “You have all winter to remember your last game.

“Fortunately, this year our last game is a victory and it will make it easy to remember during the winter months.”

B.C. General Manager Bob Ackles, a team employee since the Lion franchise entered the CFL in 1954, said the team’s second Grey Cup title was much more satisfying for him personally, coming 21 years after the Lions defeated Hamilton, 34-24, in Toronto.

“It’s much sweeter for me the second time around,” said Ackles, who was the equipment manager in 1964. “This time I’ve been much more part of what’s gone on with this team.”

Armour, who caught two touchdown passes as a replacement for injured Mervyn Fernandez, said he received constant encouragement from Fernandez on the sidelines.

“I’ve watched Merv and all his good points this year, and when I got the opportunity to play, I used it the best I could,” said Armour, who had three catches for 151 yards. “It’s satisfying to finally be part of something as great as this.”

Dewalt completed 14 of 28 passes for 394 yards without an interception for the Lions, who finished first in the Western Division with a 13-3 record. The Tiger-Cats, champions of the East with an 8-8 record, rallied from a 13-0 deficit to take a one-point lead in the second quarter, but they couldn’t contain the Lions’ explosive offense.

Nor could they handle a defense that harassed Hamilton quarterback Ken Hobart all day and sacked him eight times.

B.C. defensive end Nick Hebeler said: “We had some difficulty with their quarterback (Hobart), but we had a good game plan and did a pretty good job executing it. Hobart’s a great player and he’ll be heard from in future years.”

Dewalt, named the game’s outstanding player, not only tossed the three touchdown passes, but kept the Lions’ offense moving enough to set up five field goals by Lui Passaglia, named the game’s top Canadian.

Hamilton’s touchdowns came on a 35-yard catch by Ron Ingram, a one-yard dive by Johnny Shepherd and a 12-yard catch by Steve Stapler. Bernie Ruoff had three conversions and a 21-yard field goal.

The attendance was announced as 56,723, a sellout, although there were several thousand empty seats in Olympic Stadium.