# 2008 BC Lions season

The 2008 BC Lions season was the 51st season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 55th overall. The Lions finished the season in third place in the West Division with an 11–7 record and appeared in the West Final, losing to the eventual Grey Cup champion Calgary Stampeders.

## Offseason
### CFL draft

In the 2008 CFL Draft, 48 players were chosen from among 752 eligible players from Canadian universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. The first two rounds were broadcast on TSN.ca with host Rod Black.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School/Club Team |
| 1 | 5 | Justin Sorensen | OL | South Carolina |
| 2 | 9 (via Hamilton) | Rolly Lumbala | RB | Idaho |
| 3 | 18 (via Edmonton) | Justin Shaw | DL | Manitoba |
| 3 | 20 (via Saskatchewan via Montreal) | Jason Arakgi | LB | McMaster |
| 3 | 22 | Mike McEachern | LB | Western Illinois |
| 5 | 38 | Brady Browne | DB | Manitoba |
| 6 | 46 | Hubert Buydens | OL | Saskatchewan |

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Attendance | Record |
| A | June 13 | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | 33–13 | Loss | 28,800 | 0–1 |
| B | June 19 | Calgary Stampeders | 39–35 | Win | 26,242 | 1–1 |
    # Games played with white uniforms.

## Regular season

* On September 13, Lions running back and former Blue Bomber, Charles Roberts reached over 10,000 rushing yards in his CFL career versus the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
* On July 6, Bobby Ackles, an integral member of the B.C. Lions for more than 50 years, died of a heart attack at his family's cabin on Bowen Island. Ackles started with the team as a waterboy in 1954. Ackles was sixty nine years old. Under Ackles' leadership, the Lions captured the Grey Cup in 1985 and in 2006.
* On September 20, an unsportsmanlike incident occurred during a game in Saskatchewan. It started in the fourth quarter when Saskatchewan fans became angry about a B.C. play they thought should have been a face mask penalty. Lions defensive back Dante Marsh fired the ball into the stands, and Saskatchewan fans responded by pelting the Lions with full cans of beer. The incident occurred on the night when the Roughriders were honouring past CFL legend Ron Lancaster, who had recently died at the age of 69.
* On November 1, B.C. Lions kick returner Ian Smart set a new CFL record for most kickoff return yardage.

### Season standings

West Divisionviewtalkedit :
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pts |
| Calgary Stampeders | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 595 | 420 | 26 | Details |
| Saskatchewan Roughriders | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 500 | 471 | 24 | Details |
| BC Lions | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 559 | 479 | 22 | Details |
| Edmonton Eskimos | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 512 | 536 | 20 | Details |

### Season schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Attendance | Record |
| 1 | June 26 | at Calgary Stampeders | 28–18 | Loss | 30,159 | 0–1 |
| 2 | July 4 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 26–16 | Loss | 33,813 | 0–2 |
| 3 | July 11 | at Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 42–24 | Win | 26,735 | 1–2 |
| 4 | July 18 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 27–18 | Win | 37,174 | 2–2 |
| 5 | July 25 | Montreal Alouettes | 36–34 | Win | 30,132 | 3–2 |
| 6 | July 31 | at Edmonton Eskimos | 35–24 | Loss | 35,008 | 3–3 |
| 7 | Aug 8 | Edmonton Eskimos | 40–34 | Win | 30,863 | 4–3 |
| 8 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | 4–3 |
| 9 | Aug 22 | Calgary Stampeders | 36–29 | Loss | 34,221 | 4–4 |
| 10 | Aug 29 | at Montreal Alouettes | 30–25 | Loss | 20,202 | 4–5 |
| 11 | Sept 6 | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 35–12 | Win | 18,723 | 5–5 |
| 12 | Sept 13 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 28–23 | Win | 38,608 | 6–5 |
| 13 | Sept 20 | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | 27–21 | Win | 30,945 | 7–5 |
| 14 | Sept 27 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 40–10 | Win | 31,161 | 8–5 |
| 15 | Oct 3 | at Toronto Argonauts | 24–20 | Win | 28,273 | 9–5 |
| 16 | Oct 10 | Edmonton Eskimos | 27–20 | Loss | 34,778 | 9–6 |
| 17 | Oct 17 | at Edmonton Eskimos | 43–28 | Win | 34,342 | 10–6 |
| 18 | Oct 25 | Toronto Argonauts | 55–32 | Win | 35,994 | 11–6 |
| 19 | Nov 1 | at Calgary Stampeders | 41–30 | Loss | 30,275 | 11–7 |
    # Games played with colour uniforms.
    # Games played with white uniforms.
    # Games played with alternate uniforms.

### Roster
## Player stats
### Passing

| Player | Att. | Comp | % | Yards | TD | INT | Rating |
| Buck Pierce | 362 | 232 | 64.1 | 3018 | 19 | 9 | 97.4 |
| Jarious Jackson | 288 | 158 | 54.9 | 2164 | 17 | 10 | 84.3 |
| Paul McCallum | 2 | 2 | 100.0 | 53 | 0 | 0 | 158.3 |
| Zac Champion | 3 | 2 | 66.7 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 158.3 |
| Charles Roberts | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 |
| Stefan Logan | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 |

### Rushing

| Player | Att. | Yards | Avg. | TD | Fumbles |
| Stefan Logan | 122 | 889 | 7.3 | 0 | 4 |
| Jarious Jackson | 63 | 362 | 5.7 | 2 | 4 |
| Charles Roberts | 65 | 298 | 4.6 | 5 | 1 |
| Joe Smith | 55 | 236 | 4.3 | 3 | 0 |
| Buck Pierce | 29 | 177 | 6.1 | 2 | 2 |

### Receiving

| Player | No. | Yards | Avg. | Long | TD |
| Geroy Simon | 82 | 1418 | 17.3 | 79 | 10 |
| Paris Jackson | 76 | 1180 | 15.5 | 56 | 8 |
| Jason Clermont | 50 | 640 | 12.8 | 36 | 3 |
| Stefan Logan | 52 | 477 | 9.2 | 31 | 3 |
| Clarence Coleman | 34 | 389 | 11.4 | 39 | 3 |

## Awards and records

* Cameron Wake (DE), British Columbia Lions – CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award
* Cameron Wake, Norm Fieldgate Trophy

### 2008 CFL All-Stars

* Brent Johnson, Defensive Tackle
* Aaron Hunt, Defensive Tackle
* Jason Jimenez, Offensive Tackle
* Dante Marsh, Cornerback
* Barron Miles, Safety
* Geroy Simon, Receiver
* Cameron Wake, Defensive End

### Western Division All-Star Selections

* Korey Banks, Defensive Back
* Javier Glatt, Linebacker
* Aaron Hunt, Defensive Tackle
* Paris Jackson, Receiver
* Jason Jimenez, Offensive Tackle
* Brent Johnson, Defensive Tackle
* Dante Marsh, Cornerback
* Paul McCallum, Punter
* Barron Miles, Safety
* Rob Murphy, Offensive Tackle
* Geroy Simon, Receiver
* Ian Smart, Special Teams
* Cameron Wake, Defensive End

## Playoffs

| Week | Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Attendance |
| 20 | West Semi-Final | Nov 8 | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | 33–12 | Win | 30,945 |
| 21 | West Final | Nov 15 | at Calgary Stampeders | 22–18 | Loss | 35,650 |
    # Games played with white uniforms.

### West Semi-Final

Date and time: Saturday, November 8, 3:30 PM Central Standard Time Venue: Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field, Regina, Saskatchewan
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
| BC Lions | 7 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 33 |
| Saskatchewan Roughriders | 0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 12 |

### West Final

Date and time: Saturday, November 15, 2:30 PM Mountain Standard Time Venue: McMahon Stadium, Calgary, Alberta
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
| BC Lions | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 18 |
| Calgary Stampeders | 0 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 22 |