(Victoria)- The BC Lions machine was in line with the weather conditions in our capital. Sizzling hot, clear and with no signs of clouding over. Nathan Rourke and company made Touchdown Pacific a night to remember as they cruised to a 38-12 win over the Ottawa Redblacks in front of a packed house of 14, 727 at Royal Athletic Park. The Lions move to 6-6 on the season while snapping their five-game losing skid. At the same time, they sent a message to the rest of the league that this is still a squad that should be taken seriously as the run to the playoffs heats up.
Victoria-Born Kid Shines Out
Rourke and the offence came out firing with an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive on the strength of William Stanback. Rourke punched in a one-yard score to finish it, and the Redblacks couldn’t garner much momentum outside of a well-executed fake punt, leading to half of their six points in the opening half. The Lions took a 31-6 lead to the locker room after Rourke hit Alexander Hollins and Ayden Eberhardt for touchdowns while Stanback ran one in to contribute to the damage. Rourke finished 21/30 for 325 yards and four total offensive majors in a performance reminiscent of his solid 2022 campaign before moving south.
“I think it was big. That’s a good football team, Ottawa. They’re well-coached, they play hard and physical,” Rourke said.
“We knew that at halftime they weren’t just going to roll over and take it. And we left a lot out there too. There’s a lot to build on. I think that’s a good thing, though. I think it’s good to peak at this part of the season. We still need to continue to play four quarters. We played good complimentary football today, which is good to see. So, we just need to keep building on this.”
It seemed clear from the start that this team was excited and motivated to show out well on the heels of a great few days of festival fun in the first-ever Touchdown Pacific. That’s especially true with the defence who limited Dru Brown and company to just one touchdown courtesy of a Rourke interception to begin the first half. It was perhaps their most complete effort of the season. Mathieu Betts recorded a key sack in his first game back with the team.
“It’s fun. Obviously, it’s when the season starts to get important. The older guys that I was around in this league, they say the season starts after Labour Day, so I guess I got here right on time,” Betts chuckled after the win.
“It just felt natural. I just felt like I was right back in. A couple of new guys, especially in the d-line room. It’s a great group of guys with the guys we had last year with (Josh) Banks, Sione (Teuhema), Tibo (Debailliie) and these guys and the young guys we have on the team now, and Cov (Christian Covington). We have a great group and I’m just looking forward to working with everybody.”
There weren’t many missed tackles that were so prevalent in the opening matchup with these same Redblacks. Discipline was the key in all facets. You can even look to after Rourke’s opening major where Ottawa got a jolt from a big DeVonte Dedmon kickoff return that set them up inside Lion territory. Betts and the defence didn’t allow them to move the chains with that great field position.
“We came out here with an edge that I hadn’t seen all season,” defensive back Garry Peters told TSN’s Farhan Lalji after the win.
“I feel like we finally got it right in the back end, we had a lot of moving parts. I told you earlier in the week I felt like this was the group we needed to have in the back end. Adding Betts in, that was just the extra boost for us. Him coming off the edge, you don’t have to cover long. We came out with an aggression and a mindset that I’d seen all week in practice and I knew it was going to carryover.”
It may only be one result, but perhaps it can give the squad its swagger back after the key plays hadn’t gone their way in key times in recent weeks.
“Just execution. They didn’t change much, we didn’t change much,” Rourke added.
“We just did a better job of, personally, going through the reads. and not getting out of our own way. That’s what it comes down to. Against good teams like this, it comes down to who executes one-on-ones and who executes better. I thought we did a better job today, I thought they did a better job last week. So, that’s what it came down to.”
Breathe Lions Nation. This team’s fate is far from sealed.
Key Numbers
1,026- McInnis has eclipsed the 1K mark for the first time in his career. He led all receivers with 72 yards on only three receptions.
444– net offence for Rourke and the Lions in this victory.
171– yards from scrimmage for the bruising Stanback as he had 93 on the ground and 78 receiving.
4- quarterback sacks for the winning team, one each from Betts, Christian Covington, Juliano Falaniko, and Ryder Varga
11-2 the Lions improve their all-time Labour Day weekend record against Ottawa clubs, the last defeat coming in 1983 to the Rough Riders at BC Place.
Next Up
A short turnaround as the Lions now prepare to visit the 10-1 Montreal Alouettes next Friday at Percival Molson Stadium. Kickoff is 4:00 pm. The Alouettes are on a bye this week.