Nothing good seems to happen to Travis Lulay when he faces the Montreal Alouettes in September.
The veteran quarterback suffered a dislocated left shoulder on the opening series of the B.C. Lions' 32-14 road win in Montreal on Friday night. It's unclear if Lulay's season is done but the best-case scenario would seem to be missing four-to-six weeks before rejoining the squad sometime next month.
It's the latest in a long string of injuries for Lulay, who turns 35 later this month. But he's been especially snake-bit when facing the Alouettes in September.
Lulay has been hurt in four of his last five starts versus Montreal, all coming in the unlucky month.
He suffered a torn right labrum against Montreal on Sept, 13, 2013 then a strained left medial collateral ligament Sept. 3, 2015. And Sept. 8, 2017, Lulay's season ended with a torn right anterior cruciate ligament in a home contest versus the Alouettes.
Lulay was also forced from B.C.'s 26-14 home win over Ottawa on Sept. 7 after Redblacks' defensive lineman J.R. Tavai used his helmet to hit Lulay on the chin. No penalty was called but the CFL admitted one should've been, then fined Tavai.
To add insult to injury Friday night, Lulay was also randomly selected following the contest to provide a urine sample for drug testing.
Once again, the Lions are Jonathon Jennings' team. He opened the season as the starter before being replaced by Lulay after passing for just 487 yards with three interceptions and two TDs in B.C.'s first three contests.
Jennings finished 19-of-30 passing for 180 yards with a TD and interception against Montreal. He also ran eight times for 46 yards (5.8-yard average).
Jennings completed 10-of-12 passes for 68 yards and a touchdown versus Ottawa. The six-foot, 195-pound native of Columbus, Ohio, threw for 5,226 yards with 27 TDs in 2016 but dipped to 3,639 yards last season with more interceptions (19) than touchdowns (16).
Jennings' return comes with B.C.'s defence playing tough football. The unit had seven sacks and four interceptions — returning two for TDs — against Montreal while allowing just 224 offensive yards.
B.C. tops the CFL in sacks (31) and interceptions (16) and is third in fewest points allowed (24 per game).
B.C. (5-6) is currently tied with Winnipeg (5-7) for fourth in the West Division. The Lions will have a home-and-home with Hamilton (5-6) starting Saturday then host Toronto (3-8) on Oct. 6.
After that, B.C. will finish its regular season against West teams — Oct. 13 at Calgary, Oct. 19 versus Edmonton, at Saskatchewan on Oct. 27 then hosting Calgary on Nov. 3.
– Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press
