Regina, SK- The BC Lions must be road warriors in November. And it must come with a much better performance than this one. The 8-9 Lions are assured of a third-place finish after falling 39-8 to the 9-7-1 Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday in front of a spirited crowd at Mosaic Stadium. The win for Saskatchewan keeps the door open for top spot in the West which will be determined in the final week of action as both the Riders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers head into a bye. The Lions will either return to Regina or travel to Manitoba for the November 2 Western Semi-Final. Now for some game takes.
Giveaways The Word Of The Night
Nathan Rourke and company were behind the eight-ball on the first series of the game as the quarterback’s first pass of the night was bobbled by William Stanback, bounced off his foot and at least one Rider defender before landing in the hands of A.J. Allen who returned it 48 yards for an opening major. After that, the Lions’ defence bent but didn’t break, allowing a pair of field goals before David Mackie’s one-yard plunge made it a 13-8 game midway through the second quarter.
When the Riders tacked on another field goal, Rourke drove the offence down the field and had them in position to perhaps pull them to within a point before Mackie was stuffed on a third and two. The Lions’ next two offensive possessions were a fumble by Justin McInnis and a Rourke interception to C.J. Avery, gifting the home side ten more points and it was a 26-8 deficit at halftime. Game, set and match at that point. Rourke was pulled after the third quarter in favour of Chase Brice.
Head coach Rick Campbell indicated to Moj and Giulio on the 980 CKNW post-game show that he didn’t want to put Vernon Adams Jr. into that situation with the score out of hand and without taking many first-team reps. during the week. The quarterback questions will for sure linger but on the loss, Campbell said:
” I want to make sure people get our best shot. When they do get our best shot, we’re pretty good. We haven’t been doing that on a consistent basis. We’ll make sure we look at this and get ready for big games coming up.”
Rourke finished his night 15/23 for 200 yards and two interceptions. At the end of the day, this team will lose sleep over missing out on so many of those opportunities in the early stages. The chances you have to dictate the play of the game that don’t come to fruition is what often separates victory from defeat.
“Turnovers never help us and obviously, it starts with me. The ball’s in my hand and I’ve got to do a better job of hanging on to it, making good decisions and watch the film and try to get better from it,” a frustrated Rourke said after the loss.
“It’s tough. Sometimes it doesn’t go your way but good things find a way to bounce back and we have to do a better job doing that.”
And now the squad must find a way to get back to their winning ways with a final clash to come next week at home against the Montreal Alouettes. They will then have a bye before the Western Semi-Final.
“If this is our route, so be it,” said veteran defensive back T.J. Lee.
“It never really matters the route. What matters is winning the game when it counts. There’s no better way to go through in the playoffs is to go through somebody’s house, win, win and win and then go to our house for the championship.”
Added Rourke on what needs to change against these Roughriders or the Blue Bombers in three weeks: “Different mentality, we’ve got to come in, we’ve got to play well. We’ve got to play all three phases together and be a cohesive bunch. We haven’t done that in the last couple of weeks. We’ve got to sort it out, figure it out and make the most of it next time.”
Key Numbers
4- the number of first-half turnovers committed by Rourke and company; the three interceptions and a crucial one on downs to begin the bizarre sequence to close out the opening half. The Riders would score 17 points on those takeaways. The Lions turned it over on downs twice more in the second half to bring the total to 6.
5.3- average yards per carry for Saskatchewan running back A.J. Ouellette who was a bruiser with 84 yards on 16 total carries. His ability to get the Riders in second and short situations proved to be vital.
1- the number of offensive touchdowns scored by the Lions over the last two games.
7– a team-high in tackles for Ben Hladik who also had the Lions’ lone sack of the game.
Next Up
The regular season concludes next Saturday, October 19 when the Lions host Montreal. The kickoff for our Future Stars game is 4:00 pm when we salute amateur football throughout the province. Adult tickets start at $25 while kids 17 and under get in for only $15. Secure your seats HERE.