REGINA. SK– In a week where memories of last November’s Western Final came flooding back in the buildup to this big season opener, the result looked the same and felt the same. This time, the BC Lions will have plenty of chances to redeem themselves. Trevor Harris hit Samuel Emilus for his third touchdown of the night with only 42 ticks on the clock to lift the defending Grey Cup champions to a 31-27 win over the visiting Lions in front of another raucous crowd at Mosaic Stadium.
The winning major came right after James Butler’s second touchdown of the night gave the Lions their first lead in a game that saw them start too slow before a second-half surge. It was a pair of heavyweight fighters going at it and you just sensed that once the visitors overcame their tough start, it would come down to the wire once again. While the sting of the loss was fresh, Nathan Rourke did his best to take the high road in the moments following the conclusion.
“I think we’re very close. There’s a lot of good things to take away from this and I’m glad that it’s only game one,” said the quarterback.
“We’ve got a lot of things to improve on and we get these guys two more times. But yeah, end-of-game situations need to be better. We need a better start from us offensively and we’ve got to be better in the score zone. So I think it was exactly that (a measuring stick). I’m grateful for that.”
One red-zone situation that he and the offence will want back was when Rourke was sacked on a second-and-goal from the six, forcing Sean Whyte to kick a field goal to cut the Riders’ lead to one early in the fourth. The Lion defence then held the Riders to a field goal on their ensuing drive before Butler put them ahead. It’s hard to think of positives, but you get the sense this is an offence that will never be out of games.
Fresh off the unveiling of their 2025 championship banner, the home side came out rolling as Harris and the Riders hit pay dirt on each of their first two offensive series, including a 109-yard drive to jump ahead 14-0 early in the second quarter. Rourke and the visitors found their groove before the break, with the reigning Most Outstanding Player bulldozing his way in for a 15-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 17-10.
Still, miscues cost them in the end, a big one coming right before half when a Michael Couture facemask penalty wiped out a big reception by Stanley Berryhill that could have set them up to potentially tie the game, or at the very least get a field goal to get to within four. Rourke finished his night 24/37 for 330 yards and 59 rushing yards and the major on five carries.
Once again, the defence will face the hard questions after not only falling behind the eight-ball early on, but also the inability to close it while Harris engineered an 82-yard winning drive.
“You’re going to get behind early in a game sometimes,” said Jonah Tavai.
“There’s nothing to it, you’ve just got to stick to what you know, stick together as a team and just keep playing. I thought we had some good things. We obviously had some things we know now that we have to work on. Getting that early in the season is a lot better than getting it at the end. I think a lot of people in the locker room know they didn’t play their greatest game. I know that I didn’t. We lost by four points, they did a great job and it was just a great game.”
Head coach Buck Pierce pointed to the bad start as the main catalyst for how this result transpired.
“I think that’s the tale of the tape tonight. We got behind early, took us a bit of time to get going. We’ll look at the reasons why and try to improve that for next week. I thought our guys fought. I thought we showed some grit and toughness in some tough situations. Regardless of the result, we’re going to continue to work and find ways to get better. We have to get better and that’s what were going to focus on.”
Key Stat
489– Saskatchewan’s net offence in this victory. Harris finished 30/36 for 417 yards and the three touchdown tosses to Emilus. Kian Shaeffer-Baker was the top receiver of the night, recording 165 yards on 11 receptions.
Injuries To Watch
The Lions lost return man Seven McGee to a foot injury in the opening quarter. He was wearing a walking boot following the game. Wide receiver Jevon Cottoy left later on with an apparent thigh injury. Left tackle Kory Woodruff missed one series after getting his ankle worked on, but returned soon after.
Next Up
The Lions invade Hamilton for a Friday night matchup next week. Kickoff is 4:00 pm PT. The Tiger-Cats are 1-1 following a 37-27 victory in Winnipeg to kick off week two on Thursday.