B.C. Lions humiliated in playoff loss to Alouettes

The B.C. Lions season came to a brutal end with a 50-17 loss to the Montreal Alouettes in the 2014 CFL East Division semifinal.

The Lions, who crossed over into the East Division from the West Division after finishing the season with a better record than the Toronto Argonauts, struggled to move the ball on offence and were called for several momentum-killing penalties on defence, ending a season that will have GM Wally Buono thinking long and hard about his team’s future.

Lions starting quarterback Kevin Glenn had 64 passing yards and two interceptions on 6-for 18 passing in what was likely his last game in orange and black.

The game got off to a sloppy start with the only first-quarter scoring coming off an Alouettes rouge. Als quarterback Jonathan Crompton’s two touchdown passes gave Montreal a 15-3 lead at halftime.

The Lions gave up three touchdowns in the third quarter, including two rushing scores from Tanner Marsh.

In the fourth, a 64-yard touchdown run by Chris Rainey followed by a 103-yard from Jerald Brown gave the Als a 50-3 lead.

Lions Most Outstanding Player candidate Solomon Elimimian finished with a game-high nine tackles.

Montreal is 4-0 all-time against crossover opponents, with three of those wins against the Lions. They will take on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East Division final.

The loss ends the run of three straight years in which a team playing at home won the Grey Cup. The championship game is slated for Nov. 30 at BC Place.

With Glenn’s poor performance and quarterback Travis Lulay’s history of injuries, plenty of questions remain as to who will lead the Lions offence next season.

-with files from Canadian Press