BCLions.com Staff

The Lions hit the practice field on Monday morning for Day 9 of Training Camp in Kamloops followed by a special teams walkthrough session late in the afternoon as GM and head coach Wally Buono continued to prepare his squad for Wednesday’s first pre-season game in Calgary (6:00 pm PT; TEAM 1410, TSN2).

The ongoing chess match between offensive line coach Dan Dorazio and defensive line coach Randy Melvin continued through the morning session as Dorazio’s linemen had a distinct edge over their opposition with left tackle Ben Archibald, centre Angus Reid, right tackle Jovan Olafioye and guard Jon Hameister-Ries delivering standout performances during the one-on-one, pass rush and pass protection periods.

In keeping with the first week of training camp, all five quarterbacks continued to show tremendous consistency on Monday morning, with second-year Leo Mike Reilly in particular demonstrating remarkable accuracy with a number of crisp passes.  Rookie Matt Johnson, who appears to be gaining confidence by the day as camp marches on, had the play of the day with a deep ball into double coverage to receiver Dobson Collins who caught the pass in stride. 

Receiver Calvin Simon demonstrated his athleticism with a great catch late in the morning session while recent addition Kamau Peterson appears to be becoming more comfortable with the Lions offence as the days progress and made several tough catches during the morning session.

Running backs Jamal Robertson, Michael Smith and Tim Brown also delivered standout performances during the skelly, red zone and team periods.

Not to be outdone on the defensive side of the ball, rookie linebacker Adam Bighill continued to impress with another physical play during the inside run session.  On the heels of his two-interception performance on Sunday afternoon, defensive back David Hyland followed up with a solid Monday morning practice.

On special teams, veteran kicker Paul McCallum and rookie Hugh O’Neill were consistently on the mark with crisp, accurate field goals.

Watching:  Michael Carter (hamstring), Joe Henderson (hamstring), Stanley Franks (groin), Shawn Gore (hamstring), Dante Marsh (hamstring)

Next Up:   Tuesday, June 14th – 1 practice (time TBA)