The B.C. Lions (11-7) visited Mosaic Stadium on Saturday night against the Saskatchewan Roughriders (12-6) in the final game of the regular season. Saskatchewan played most of their starters in the first half before putting in their backups, and the B.C. Lions played their starters.
First Quarter:
B.C. returner Seven McGhee returned a 74-yard kickoff for 26 yards. An unnecessary roughness penalty on Saskatchewan placed the ball on the 32-yard line. On the first play of the game. B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke threw the ball to a wide-open Ayden Eberhardt for a 63-yard touchdown. Kicker Sean Whyte missed the extra point. The Lions took a 6-0 lead with 14:03 left.
Saskatchewan had the ball on the 38-yard line. The offense moved the ball to the one-yard line. Third-string quarterback Jack Coan scored the touchdown, and the Roughriders led 7-6 with 6:24 left to cap off a 14-play drive for 72 yards.
B.C. had the ball on the 50-yard line. Nathan Rourke threw a 25-yard pass to Keon Hatcher to the 35-yard line. James Butler rushed for four yards before Rourke was sacked by Malik Carney for an 11-yard loss. Kicker Sean Whyte made a 50-yard field goal. The Lions took a 9-7 lead with 3:45 left.
Saskatchewan’s offense had the ball on the 40-yard line. Quarterback Trevor Harris completed three passes for 28 yards, and A.J. Ouellette had two carries for eight yards. Jack Coan rushed for 14 yards, and running back Thomas Bertrand-Hudon rushed for one yard to the 19-yard line as the first quarter came to an end. The Lions led the Roughriders 9-7.
Saskatchewan’s offense had 122 yards (68 yards passing, 54 yards rushing), and B.C.’s offense had 81 yards (88 yards passing, 4 yards rushing, 11 yards lost).
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Saskatchewan kicker Michael Hughes made a 28-yard field goal to give the Roughriders a 10-9 lead with 14:19 left. B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke threw a 28-yard pass to Justin McInnis to the 42-yard line.
Two plays later, Rourke was sacked by Habakkuk Baldonado for an 11-yard loss. Punter Carl Meyer punted the 73 yards into the end zone, where Saskatchewan returner Mario Alford conceded the single point. The game was tied 10-10 with 11:54 left.
Saskatchewan’s offense moved the ball to the one-yard line. Third-string quarterback Jack Coan took it in for the touchdown. The Roughriders led 17-10 with 7:24 left to cap off a nine-play drive for 70 yards. On the kickoff, Michael Hughes kicked the ball 90 yards into the end zone for a single point. It was now 18-10 with 7:23 left.
B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke threw a seven-yard pass to Ayden Eberhardt to the 47-yard line. Three plays later, Rourke’s pass intended for Justin McInnis was intercepted by Nelson Lokombo for a 14-yard return to the 44-yard line.
B.C.’s defense quickly got the ball when Saskatchewan quarterback Jake Maier’s pass was overthrown to Ajou Ajou, and Jackson Findley was there for the interception on the 52-yard line.
Nathan Rourke completed two passes for 43 yards, and Zander Horvath rushed for two yards to the seven-yard line. On third down, kicker Sean Whyte made a 14-yard field goal. The Lions trailed the Roughriders 18-13 with 2:30 left.
Late in the second quarter, Saskatchewan quarterback Jake Maier bobbled the ball, causing a fumble, and it was recovered by Mathieu Betts on the 24-yard line. B.C.’s offense reached the 55-yard line before time ran out. The Roughriders led the Lions 18-13 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Saskatchewan’s offense had 238 yards (153 yards passing, 85 yards rushing), 17 first downs, 2 for 3 in the red zone, and the team was penalized two times for 20 yards. Quarterback Trevor Harris completed 10 of 11 passes (90%) for 112 yards and one carry for 13 yards.
Running back A.J. Ouellette had 11 carries for 43 yards. Third-string quarterback Jack Coan had six carries for 23 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Wide receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker made five catches for 64 yards, while Tommy Nield made four catches for 41 yards. The defense made two sacks and one interception.
B.C.’s offense had 181 yards (193 yards passing, 11 yards rushing, 23 yards lost), 7 first downs, 0 for 1 in the red zone, and the team was penalized one time for one yard. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 9 of 11 passes (81%) for 193 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
Running back James Butler had three carries for six yards. Wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt made two catches for 70 yards and one touchdown, while Keon Hatcher made three catches for 55 yards. The defense made one interception and one fumble recovery.
Third Quarter:
In the third quarter, B.C.’s offense moved the ball to the 12-yard line. Two plays later, Rourke threw a nine-yard pass to Keon Hatcher. Hatcher tried to score, but Demarcus Fields caused a fumble, and Tevaughn Campbell recovered it to score a touchdown. However, after further review, the command center determined that the whistle was blown after the fumble. The ball was placed on the three-yard line.
Saskatchewan went two-and-out. B.C. had the ball on the 35-yard line. Running back James Butler rushed for five yards and caught an eight-yard pass from Rourke to the 22-yard line. On the next play, Rourke ran to his right side before throwing the ball to Ayden Eberhardt. He broke a couple of tackles before getting pushed into the end zone for the touchdown. They went for a two-point conversion, but did not get it. The Lions led the Roughriders 19-18 with 7:30 left.
For the majority of the third quarter, both teams were able to move the ball but were unable to come away with points. Late in the third quarter, Saskatchewan’s offense had the ball on the 36-yard line. They marched toward the 53-yard line. The Roughriders trailed the Lions 19-18 at the end of the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Saskatchewan quarterback Jake Maier completed two passes for 28 yards to the 25-yard line. Two plays later, B.C. defensive lineman Mathieu Betts sacked Maier for a nine-yard loss. Kicker Michael Hughes kicked a 42-yard field goal to give the Roughriders a 21-19 lead with 12:09 left.
Later, B.C. had the ball on the 37-yard line. Nathan Rourke threw five consecutive passes for 66 yards to the seven-yard line. On the next play, Saskatchewan brought pressure. Rourke scrambled out of the pocket before tossing the ball in the end zone.
Keon Hatcher came to make the catch. Initially, it was ruled an incomplete pass, but after further review, it was ruled a touchdown. The Lions went for a two-point conversion. Rourke successfully got the two points by throwing the ball to Keon Hatcher. The Lions led the Roughriders 27-21 with 3:45 left to cap off a six-play drive for 73 yards.
Late in the game, Saskatchewan’s offense was on the 39-yard line. Jake Maier threw four passes for 40 yards to lead the offense to the 38-yard line. On third down, Maier’s pass was intended for Kian Schaffer-Baker. The Roughriders challenged for defensive pass interference and lost.
B.C. running back James Butler put the game away with two carries for 13 yards. The Lions survived to beat the Saskatchewan Roughriders 27-21. With the win, B.C. secures a home game in the Western Semi-Final against the Calgary Stampeders.
Final Stats:
B.C.’s offense had 381 yards (368 yards passing, 38 yards rushing, 25 yards lost), 17 first downs, 1 for 3 in the red zone, and the team was penalized two times for 11 yards. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 23 of 28 passes (82.1%) for 368 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, and one carry for five yards.
Running back James Butler had eight carries for 28 yards. Wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt made four catches for 101 yards and one touchdown, while Keon Hatcher made seven catches for 75 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 56 tackles, one sack, one interception, one fumble recovery, and two turnovers on downs.
Saskatchewan’s offense had 382 yards (266 yards passing, 125 yards rushing), 25 first downs, 2 for 3 in the red zone, and the team was penalized four times for 40 yards. Quarterback Jake Maier completed 16 of 24 passes (66%) for 154 yards, one interception, and two carries for nine yards.
Running back A.J. Ouellette had 11 carries for 43 yards. Third-string quarterback Jack Coan had eight carries for 24 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Wide receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker made six catches for 69 yards, while Tommy Nield made eight catches for 75 yards. The defense made 34 tackles, two sacks, and one interception.
Next Saturday, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will visit the Montreal Alouettes in the Eastern Semi-Final at 2 pm on CTV, TSN, and CFL+, followed by the B.C. Lions hosting the Calgary Stampeders at 5:30 pm on TSN and CFL+.
