The B.C. Lions (7-7) hosted the Ottawa Redblacks (4-9) on Friday night from B.C. Place Stadium to conclude the home-and-home series. Dustin Crum once again was the starting quarterback for Ottawa. Meanwhile, B.C. did not have defensive back Jalon Edwards-Cooper (knee).
First Quarter:
In the first quarter, B.C.’s offense was on the 45-yard line. Quarterback Nathan Rourke threw three passes for 49 yards, and running back James Butler had one carry for seven yards. They also got a defensive pass interference penalty called on Ottawa defensive back Robert Priester, moving the ball to the one-yard line.
Backup quarterback Jeremiah Masoli was sacked by Adarius Pickett for a two-yard loss before James Butler got a yard back to the two-yard line. James Butler finished the drive by leaping over everyone to score the touchdown. The Lions took a 7-0 lead with 8:40 left to cap off an eight-play drive for 65 yards.
Later, Ottawa quarterback Dustin Crum threw four passes for 39 yards to lead the offense to the 45-yard line. Kicker Lewis Ward made a 47-yard field goal, and the Redblacks trailed the Lions 7-3 with 4:54 left.
Late in the first quarter, B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke completed two passes for 17 yards and two carries for 25 yards, helping the offense to the 19-yard line. On the next play, Rourke threw the ball to Keon Hatcher. He broke two tackles to score the touchdown. The Lions led the Redblacks 14-3 with 43 seconds left to cap off a seven-play drive for 70 yards.
Ottawa’s had the ball on the 42-yard line. Quarterback Dustin Crum completed a three-yard pass to William Stanback to the 45-yard line. On the final play of the first quarter, Dustin Crum was sacked by Mathieu Betts for a two-yard loss. However, an unnecessary roughness penalty on B.C. moved the ball to the 52-yard line, and an automatic first down.
B.C.’s offense had 127 yards (85 yards passing, 44 yards rushing, 2 yards lost), and Ottawa’s offense had 31 yards (42 yards passing, 11 yards lost).
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Ottawa’s offense moved the ball to the one-yard line. Quarterback Dustin Crum finished the drive off with a touchdown. The Redblacks trailed the Lions 14-10 with 10:47 left to cap off an eight-play drive for 68 yards.
B.C.’s offense had the ball on the 44-yard line. On the third play, he threw a 51-yard pass to Keon Hatcher to the one-yard line. Then, Rourke took it in for the touchdown. The Lions led 21-10 with 8:44 left to cap off a four-play drive for 66 yards.
Later, Ottawa’s offense moved the ball to the 16-yard line. B.C.’s defense stopped Dustin Crum when Mathieu Betts sacked him for a one-yard loss. Kicker Lewis Ward made a 24-yard field goal. The Redblacks trailed the Lions 21-13 with 3:52 left.
Late in the second quarter, B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke led the offense to the four-yard line. Then, he followed his linemen into the endzone for a 28-13 lead at halftime to cap off a seven-play drive for 70 yards.
First Half Stats:
B.C.’s offense had 261 yards (214 yards passing, 51 yards rushing, 4 yards lost), 16 first downs, 4 for 4 in the redzone, and the team was penalized two times for 25 yards. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 12 of 13 passes (92%) for 214 yards, one touchdown, four carries for 30 yards, and two rushing touchdowns.
Running back James Butler had seven carries for 21 yards and one touchdown. Wide receiver Keon Hatcher made three catches for 78 yards and one touchdown, while Justin McInnis made three catches for 54 yards. The defense made four sacks, three of them by Mathieu Betts.
Ottawa’s offense had 174 yards (164 yards passing, 31 yards rushing, 21 yards lost), 16 first downs, 1 for 2 in the redzone, and the team was penalized two times for 18 yards. Quarterback Dustin Crum completed 14 of 17 passes (82.3%) for 164 yards, four carries for 29 yards, and one touchdown.
Running back William Stanback had one carry for two yards. Wide receiver Bralon Addison made nine catches for 117 yards, while Justin Hardy made three catches for 37 yards. The defense made one sack.
Third Quarter:
B.C. got the ball on the 39-yard line to start the third quarter. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed five passes for 60 yards and rushed for six yards to the five-yard line. The drive stalled, and kicker Sean Whyte made a 13-yard field goal for a 31-13 lead with 10:53 left.
Later, B.C.’s defense pressured Dustin Crum. Deontai Williams sacked and stripped Dustin Crum of the football. He recovered it to score a 41-yard touchdown. It was now 38-13 with 8:03 left.
Ottawa’s offense moved the ball to the 11-yard line. Quarterback Dustin Crum threw a touchdown pass to Justin Hardy. They did not get the two-point conversion, and trailed the Lions 38-19 with 2:49 left to cap off an eight-play drive for 51 yards.
On the kickoff, Ottawa successfully made an onside kick to retain the ball on the 46-yard line. The offense moved the ball to the 45-yard line before the drive stalled. Late in the third quarter, B.C.’s offense moved the ball to the 29-yard line. The Lions led the Redblacks 38-19 heading into the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Ottawa quarterback Dustin Crum completed four passes for 54 yards to lead the offense to the four-yard line. On third down, Crum tried to score the touchdown, but B.C. defensive back Josh Woods sacked him for a 10-yard loss, and turned the ball over with 9:21 left.
B.C.’s offense started on the 14-yard line. The Lions took their time gaining yards while chewing up the clock. They reached the 53-yard line before James Butler tried to get a first down, but Ottawa’s defense stopped him. The Redblacks took over on the 52-yard line.
Ottawa quarterback Dustin Crum completed four passes for 32 yards. The offense moved the ball to the one-yard line before Crum scored the touchdown. Then, Crum would successfully get two points by throwing the ball to Justin Hardy. It was now 38-27 with 35 seconds left to cap off a 12-play drive for 58 yards.
B.C.’s offense killed the rest of the clock and would go on to defeat the Ottawa Redblacks 38-27 to split the home-and-home series.
Final Stats:
B.C.’s offense had 387 yards (308 yards passing, 83 yards rushing, 4 yards lost), 24 first downs, 4 for 5 in the redzone, and the team was penalized four times for 55 yards. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 21 of 26 passes (80.7%%) for 308 yards, one touchdown, five carries for 36 yards, and two rushing touchdowns.
Running back James Butler had 13 carries for 44 yards and one touchdown. Wide receiver Keon Hatcher made five catches for 97 yards and one touchdown, while Justin McInnis made four catches for 73 yards. The defense made 52 tackles, one tackle for loss, seven sacks, four of them by Mathieu Betts, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one touchdown.
Ottawa’s offense had 351 yards (307 yards passing, 92 yards rushing, 48 yards lost), 31 first downs, 3 for 5 in the redzone, and the team was penalized five times for 28 yards. Quarterback Dustin Crum completed 30 of 35 passes (85.7%) for 307 yards, one touchdown, nine carries for 58 yards, and two touchdowns.
Running back Daniel Adeboboye had five carries for 28 yards. Wide receiver Bralon Addison made 11 catches for 132 yards, while Justin Hardy made nine catches for 100 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 38 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, and one turnover on downs.
Next week, the B.C. Lions visit the Calgary Stampeders on Friday at 9:30 pm on TSN and CFL+. The Ottawa Redblacks host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday at 3 pm on CTV, TSN, and CFL+.
