1981 BC Lions season
The 1981 BC Lions finished in third place in the West Division with a 10–6 record.
| 1981 BC Lions season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Vic Rapp |
| Home field | Empire Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–6 |
| Division place | 3rd, West |
| Playoff finish | Lost West Final |
Joe Paopao had an excellent season with 3777 yards passing and 28 passing touchdowns and running back Larry Key had 19 touchdowns in a bounceback season after missing most of the 1980 season due to injury. Wideout Ty Gray had a breakout season with 1428 yards receiving.
The Lions beat Winnipeg in the West Semi-Final, but fell to the Eskimos 22-16 in the Western Final when Warren Moon hit Brian Kelly for a late 4th quarter touchdown. The Western Final included a game changing officiating error involving a Devon Ford kickoff return for a Lions touchdown when the officials incorrectly stated he stepped out-of-bounds. Television replays showed he clearly did not step out-of-bounds (video replay was instituted 25 years later in 2006).
Running back Larry Key and centre Al Wilson made the CFL all-star team.
This season marked the first time in Lions history that every regular season (16 in all) and playoff game (2) was televised.
Offseason
CFL Draft
| Rd | Pick | Player | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Preseason
| Date | Opponent | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
Regular season
Season standings
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edmonton Eskimos | 16 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 576 | 277 | 29 |
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 517 | 299 | 22 |
| BC Lions | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 438 | 377 | 20 |
| Saskatchewan Roughriders | 16 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 431 | 371 | 18 |
| Calgary Stampeders | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 306 | 367 | 12 |
Season schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 4 | vs. Montreal Alouettes | 48–8 | Win | 1–0 |
| 2 | Bye | 1–0 | |||
| 3 | July 16 | at Toronto Argonauts | 32–28 | Win | 2–0 |
| 4 | July 25 | vs. Ottawa Rough Riders | 31–17 | Win | 3–0 |
| 5 | July 31 | at Calgary Stampeders | 52–29 | Win | 4–0 |
| 6 | Aug 9 | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | 28–24 | Win | 5–0 |
| 7 | Aug 16 | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 37–23 | Loss | 5–1 |
| 8 | Aug 23 | at Montreal Alouettes | 29–14 | Win | 6–1 |
| 9 | Aug 29 | vs. Calgary Stampeders | 31–21 | Win | 7–1 |
| 10 | Sept 4 | at Ottawa Rough Riders | 17–7 | Loss | 7–2 |
| 11 | Sept 13 | at Edmonton Eskimos | 38–21 | Loss | 7–3 |
| 12 | Sept 19 | vs. Toronto Argonauts | 45–14 | Win | 8–3 |
| 13 | Sept 27 | at Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 46–10 | Loss | 8–4 |
| 14 | Oct 3 | vs. Edmonton Eskimos | 22–12 | Loss | 8–5 |
| 15 | Bye | 8–5 | |||
| 16 | Oct 17 | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 49–22 | Loss | 8–6 |
| 17 | Oct 25 | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 34–7 | Win | 9–6 |
| 18 | Oct 31 | vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders | 13–5 | Win | 10–6 |
Playoffs
West Semi-Final
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BC Lions | 0 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 15 |
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 7 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 11 |
Offensive leaders
| Player | Passing yds | Rushing yds | Receiving yds | TD |
| Joe Paopao | 3777 | 25 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Key | 1098 | 237 | 19 | |
| John Henry White | 482 | 386 | 1 | |
| Tyrone Gray | 10 | 1428 | 9 | |
| Ricky Ellis | 13 | 594 | 4 | |
| Al Charuk | 0 | 582 | 5 | |
| Harry Holt | 4 | 367 | 2 | |
Awards and records
1981 CFL All-Stars
- RB – Larry Key, CFL All-Star
- C – Al Wilson, CFL All-Star
1981 CFL Western All-Stars
- RB – Larry Key, CFL Western All-Star
- WR – Tyrone Grey, CFL All-Star
- C – Al Wilson, CFL Western All-Star
References
- "CFL.ca". Archived from the original on 2009-07-22. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
- "British Columbia Lions All-Time Canadian Football League (CFL) Records". Archived from the original on 2009-05-07. Retrieved 2009-03-08.