B.C. Lions' Korey Banks and Jamall Lee dump Gatorade over athletic therapist Bill Reichelt following the Lions 40-23 win over the Edmonton Eskimos at the CFL Western Final football game in Vancouver, B.C., on Sunday November 20, 2011. Reichelt lost his son Dylan in a car accident in Langley, B.C. last week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan HaywardJONATHAN HAYWARD/The Canadian Press
The B.C. Lions will begin their hometown Grey Cup week on a sombre note.
After winning Sunday's West Division final, the Lions will attend a Monday memorial service for Dylan Reichelt, the son of long-time trainer Bill Reichelt. Dylan, 18, was killed recently in a car crash. He had frequently worked for the Lions on game days.
In Sunday's 40-23 win over the Edmonton Eskimos, the B.C. players all wore DR stickers on their helmets while the coaches wore DR buttons.
Veteran receiver Geroy Simon scored a second-quarter touchdown for the Lions and gave the ball to Bill Reichelt. Television cameras showed Reichelt placing a strip of adhesive tape on the ball and writing 'Dylan' on it before storing it away.
"Geroy's a class act," Bill Reichelt told the Vancouver Sun. "The support (from the team) has been unbelievable. They just seem to know when to bring me back up. They just get you back laughing; get your mind off everything. It was awesome."
The Lions could become the first team since their 1994 counterpart to win a Grey Cup on their home field. B.C. hosts the East Division champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers this Sunday.
This has been an emotionally trying year for both the Lions and Blue Bombers.
In late July, Winnipeg defensive coach Richard Harris suffered a heart attack inside the team's office and later died. Harris, 63, had also been an assistant coach with the Lions, who lost to the Blue Bombers two days later in Winnipeg.