1985 BC Lions season
The 1985 BC Lions season was the 28th season for the team in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and their 32nd overall. The Lions finished in first place in the West Division with a 13–3 record and won the Grey Cup by defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 37–24 in the 73rd Grey Cup game. The win captured the second championship in franchise history and also ended the longest Grey Cup drought for the Lions at 21 years.
| 1985 BC Lions season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Don Matthews |
| General manager | Bob Ackles |
| Home field | BC Place Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 13–3 |
| Division place | 1st, West |
| Playoff finish | Won Grey Cup |
| Uniform | |
 | |
Offseason
CFL Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | John Ulmer | DE | North Dakota |
| 1 | 7 | Rick Ryan | DB | Weber State |
| 2 | 14 | Bruce Barnett | DB | British Columbia |
| 2 | 16 | Joe Pariselli | TB | York |
| 3 | 22 | Bob Jedicke | DL | Western Ontario |
| 3 | 26 | Chris Spence | TB | Simon Fraser |
| 4 | 34 | Kurt Wilchuck | LB | Oregon |
| 5 | 43 | John Moffatt | WR | Western Ontario |
| 6 | 52 | Chester Krala | LB | Calgary |
| 8 | 70 | John Melvin | DL | British Columbia |
| 9 | 79 | Bob Ros | TE | British Columbia |
Preseason
| Week | Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Sun, June 9 | vs. Calgary Stampeders | 19–9 | Win | 1–0 |
| B | Mon, June 17 | at Edmonton Eskimos | 17–16 | Win | 2–0 |
| C | Fri, June 21 | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 28–18 | Loss | 2–1 |
| D | Fri, June 28 | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | 21–3 | Win | 3–1 |
Regular season
Season standings
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BC Lions | 16 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 481 | 297 | 26 |
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 16 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 500 | 259 | 24 |
| Edmonton Eskimos | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 432 | 373 | 20 |
| Saskatchewan Roughriders | 16 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 320 | 462 | 10 |
| Calgary Stampeders | 16 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 256 | 429 | 6 |
Season schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sat, July 6 | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 42–8 | Win | 1–0 |
| 2 | Sat, July 13 | vs. Edmonton Eskimos | 25–10 | Win | 2–0 |
| 3 | Sun, July 21 | at Calgary Stampeders | 39–14 | Win | 3–0 |
| 4 | Sat, July 27 | vs. Montreal Concordes | 28–15 | Win | 4–0 |
| 5 | Thurs, Aug 1 | at Toronto Argonauts | 43–18 | Win | 5–0 |
| 6 | Bye | 5–0 | |||
| 7 | Sat, Aug 17 | vs. Calgary Stampeders | 35–32 | Loss | 5–1 |
| 8 | Sat, Aug 24 | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 21–11 | Win | 6–1 |
| 9 | Fri, Aug 30 | at Ottawa Rough Riders | 18–13 | Win | 7–1 |
| 10 | Fri, Sept 6 | vs. Toronto Argonauts | 32–23 | Win | 8–1 |
| 11 | Bye | 8–1 | |||
| 12 | Fri, Sept 20 | at Montreal Concordes | 31–20 | Win | 9–1 |
| 13 | Sat, Sept 28 | vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders | 33–9 | Win | 10–1 |
| 14 | Sun, Oct 6 | at Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 33–26 | Loss | 10–2 |
| 15 | Fri, Oct 11 | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 31–10 | Loss | 10–3 |
| 16 | Sun, Oct 20 | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | 42–18 | Win | 11–3 |
| 17 | Sun, Oct 27 | at Edmonton Eskimos | 42–29 | Win | 12–3 |
| 18 | Fri, Nov 1 | vs. Ottawa Rough Riders | 17–10 | Win | 13–3 |
Awards and records
- CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award – Mervyn Fernandez (WR)
- CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award – Mike Gray (DT)[4]
- CFLPA's Most Outstanding Community Service Award – Tyrone Crews (LB)
- CFL's Coach of the Year – Don Matthews
- Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy – Mervyn Fernandez (WR)
1985 CFL All-Stars
- RB – Keyvan Jenkins, CFL All-Star
- WR – Mervyn Fernandez, CFL All-Star
- OT – John Blain, CFL All-Star
- DT – Mike Gray, CFL All-Star
- DE – James "Quick" Parker, CFL All-Star
- LB – Kevin Konar, CFL All-Star
- DB – Darnell Clash, CFL All-Star
Playoffs
| Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Semi-Final | Bye | ||||
| West Final | Sun, Nov 17 | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 42–22 | Win | 1–0 |
| 73rd Grey Cup | Sun, Nov 24 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 37–24 | Win | 2–0 |
West Final
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 8 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 22 |
| BC Lions | 7 | 10 | 22 | 3 | 42 |
Grey Cup
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BC Lions | 10 | 13 | 6 | 8 | 37 |
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 0 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 24 |
First Quarter
BC – TD Armour 84 yard pass from Dewalt (Passaglia convert)
BC – FG Passaglia
Second Quarter
BC – FG Passaglia
HAM – TD Ingram 35 yard pass from Hobart (Ruoff convert)
HAM – TD Shepherd 00 yard pass from Hobart (Ruoff convert)
BC – TD Armour 59 yard pass from Dewalt (Passaglia convert)
BC – FG Passaglia
Third Quarter
BC – FG Passaglia
BC – FG Passaglia
Fourth Quarter
HAM – FG Ruoff
BC – Single Passaglia
BC – TD Sandusky 66 yard pass from Dewalt (Passaglia convert)
HAM – TD Stapler 35 yard pass from Hobart (Ruoff convert)
References
- "1985 CFL Season Schedule & Scores". Canadian Football League. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
- "1985 CFL Season Standings". Canadian Football League. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
- "BC Lions All-Time Canadian Football League (CFL) Records". Archived from the original on 2009-05-07. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-04-22. Retrieved 2010-10-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2017-08-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)