The B.C. Lions (2-3) visited Percival Molson Memorial Stadium against the Montreal Alouettes (3-2) on Saturday night. Nathan Rourke returned as the starting quarterback for the Lions after missing the last two games. McLeod Bethel-Thompson got another start for Montreal as Davis Alexander continues to recover from a hamstring injury.
First Quarter:
B.C. returner Jermaine Jackson returned the opening kickoff for 20 yards to their 31-yard line. Running back James Butler had two carries for eight yards, quarterback Nathan Rourke rushed for 12 yards, and completed a pass for 22 yards to the 32-yard line. On the next play, Rourke’s pass intended for Keon Hatcher was intercepted by Montreal defensive back Kabion Ento in the endzone.
Montreal running back Sean Thomas-Erlington began the drive with two carries for 35 yards to the 45-yard line. On the next play, quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw a short pass to Tyson Philpot. He dodged several tackles while getting a couple of good blocks up front before sprinting toward the endzone for the touchdown. Montreal led 7-0 with 10:17 left to cap off a three-play drive for 80 yards.
Late in the first quarter, B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke threw three passes for 58 yards and was sacked by Tyson Beverette for a four-yard loss. The Lions moved the ball to the 14-yard line to begin the second quarter down 7-0. Montreal’s offense had 99 yards (61 yards passing, 43 yards rushing, 5 yards lost), and B.C.’s offense had 121 yards (98 yards passing, 23 yards rushing).
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, quarterback Nathan Rourke threw a 12-yard pass to Ayden Eberhardt to the two-yard line. Then, Rourke sneaked his way into the endzone for the touchdown. Kicker Sean Whyte’s extra-point was blocked by Montreal defensive lineman Geoffrey Cantin-Arku, and the Lions trailed the Alouettes 7-6 to cap off a six-play drive for 68 yards.
Montreal’s offense moved the ball up to the 41-yard line. On the next play, Montreal quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson’s pass intended for Tyler Snead was intercepted by B.C. defensive back Deontai Williams.
Williams returned the ball for 13 yards before losing the ball and Montreal recovered. After all that, it did not matter due to B.C. defensive back Jalon Edwards-Cooper being called for an illegal contact penalty.
Montreal moved the ball up to the 27-yard line before losing nine yards when Thompson was sacked by Kemoko Turay setting up third down. Kicker Jose Carlos Maltos attempted a 44-yard field goal. He missed the field goal after the ball hit the right upright, resulting in a dead ball.
B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke completed five passes for 66 yards and rushed for two yards, leading the offense to the six-yard line. On the next play, Rourke scrambled to his left side to score the touchdown. However, a holding penalty on B.C. took away the touchdown and backed them up 10 yards. They were unable to get into the endzone, and kicker Sean Whyte made a 24-yard field goal. The Lions led the Alouettes 9-7 with 2:37 left.
Late in the second quarter, Montreal’s offense moved the ball plus two B.C. penalties to the 14-yard line. On the next play, quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Sean Thomas-Erlington to cap off a 10-play drive for 70 yards. The Alouettes led the Lions 14-9 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Montreal had 165 yards on offense (117 yards passing, 62 yards rushing, 14 yards lost), 14 first downs, 1 for 1 in the redzone, and the team was penalized three times for 25 yards. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 8 of 11 passes (72%) for 117 yards, and two touchdowns.
Running back Sean Thomas-Erlington had five carries for 42 yards, two catches for 22 yards, and one touchdown. Wide receiver Tyson Philpot made two catches for 51 yards, and one touchdown, while Tyler Snead made two catches for 18 yards. The defense made one sack and one forced fumble.
B.C. had 210 yards on offense (180 yards passing, 35 yards rushing, 5 yards lost), 14 first downs, 1 for 2 in the redzone, and the team had disciplinary issues with eight penalties for 108 yards. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 11 of 16 passes (69%) for 180 yards, one interception, four carries for 16 yards, and one rushing touchdown.
Running back James Butler had seven carries for 15 yards, and wide receiver Justin McInnis made two catches for 45 yards. The defense made two sacks and one forced fumble.
Third Quarter:
In the third quarter, Montreal quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed two passes for 36 yards. After he threw an incomplete pass on the next play, Montreal challenged the play for defensive pass interference and won, moving the ball to the 51-yard line. Thompson took a hit to the chest two plays later and left the game for several plays.
Caleb Evans replaced Thompson. He rushed for 11 yards and completed a pass for 14 yards to the 23-yard line. Thompson returned and completed a six-yard pass to Tyson Philpot. He would later recover a fumble on a bad handoff which led to kicker Jose Carlos Maltos making a 30-yard field goal for a 17-9 lead with 1:40 left.
B.C had the ball for the rest of the third quarter. They made it to the 27-yard line to end the third quarter down 17-9, facing third down. Montreal’s offense had 79 yards and B.C.’s offense had 92 yards.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, B.C. kicker Sean Whyte made a 38-yard field goal. The Lions trailed the Alouettes 17-12 with 14:42 left in the game.
Later in the fourth quarter, Nathan Rourke threw two passes for 26 yards to the 46-yard line. On the next play, Rourke threw the ball to a wide-open Stanley Berryhill III for the touchdown. Montreal defensive back Marc-Antoine Dequoy tripped allowing Berryhill III to get wide-open. B.C. attempted a two-point conversion, but did not get it. They led 18-17 with 4:32 left to cap off a six-play drive for 72 yards.
Late in the fourth quarter, Montreal kicker Jose Carlos Maltos made a 23-yard field goal to give the Alouettes a 20-18 lead with 28 seconds left. B.C.’s offense had one more chance. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed three passes for 31 yards to the 36-yard line with 0.2 seconds left. Kicker Sean Whyte kicked the game-winning 44-yard field goal for a 21-20 win.
Final Stats:
B.C. had 430 yards on offense (352 yards passing, 88 yards rushing, 10 yards lost), 26 first downs, 1 for 2 in the redzone, and the team was penalized 11 times for 146 yards. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 22 of 36 passes (61%) for 352 yards, one touchdown, one interception, eight carries for 43 yards, and one rushing touchdown.
Running back James Butler had 12 carries for 41 yards. Wide receiver Justin McInnis led the receivers making six catches for 109 yards, while Stanley Berryhill III made four catches for 85 yards, and one touchdown. The defense made 40 tackles, one tackle for loss, two sacks, and one forced fumble.
Montreal had 312 yards on offense (206 yards passing, 120 yards rushing, 14 yards lost), 23 first downs, 1 for 3 in the redzone, and the team was penalized five times for 50 yards. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 15 of 23 passes (65.2%) for 192 yards, two touchdowns, and two carries for nine yards.
Running back Sean Thomas-Erlington led the rushers with 11 carries for 76 yards, two catches for 22 yards, and one touchdown. Wide receiver Tyson Philpot led the receivers making three catches for 57 yards, and one touchdown, while Cole Spieker made three catches for 54 yards. The defense made 42 tackles, two sacks, one interception, and one forced fumble.
Next week, the B.C. Lions visit the Edmonton Elks on Sunday at 7 pm on TSN and CFL+. The Montreal Alouettes are off.
