Game Summary

In an exciting finish to their inaugural season in the CFL, the Sacramento Gold Miners thrashed the B.C. Lions 64-27 in front of 18,748 fans at Hornet Field on Saturday night. QB David Archer was outstanding as he threw for 375 yards and four touchdowns, making him only the third pivot to pass for over 6,000 yards in a season. The Miners took an early lead as Mike Oliphant capped off an 80-yard drive with a 5-yard run for the score. Two B.C. turnovers led to two more TDs for the home team as FB Mike Pringle ran in from the 44-yard line following a fumble by Sean Millington to put his team up 14-0. On the following kickoff, former Gold Miner Freeman Baysinger fumbled when he was hit by Bobby Humphery. The ball was recovered at the Lions’ 48-yard line. Four plays later, Archer scored from the 1-yard line. B.C. finally put some points on the board when K Lui Passaglia connected on a 26-yard FG and then another from the 37 (Sacramento K Jim Crouch missed one from the 42 for a single in between). Miner receiver Carl Parker caught a 20-yard toss to put his team up 29-6 before half-time. Sacramento continued their romp in the third as Greg Joelson returned a fumble 31 yards for the major and then Archer passed for 2 more TDs (13 yards to Tre Everett and 3 yards to Parker) while Lions QB Danny Barrett found Ray Alexander for a 22-yard toss and a one-yard throw to Darren Flutie to make the count 49-20 after 3 periods. The final quarter saw Archer pass a 3rd TD to Parker, this one from 2 yards out and had Pringle run from the 3-yard line before Millington ran one in for his team as the Gold Miners won their sixth game of the year. Crouch tied a CFL Record in that game for Most Converts in One Game with 9.