The Saskatchewan Roughriders (1-0) and the B.C. Lions (0-1) played their first game of the 2026 season on Saturday night at Mosaic Stadium. This was the first time these two teams had met since last year’s Western Final. Before the game, the Roughriders unveiled their championship banner commemorating the 2025 Grey Cup champs.
In the first quarter, Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris completed two passes for 18 yards to the 46-yard line. The Roughriders moved the ball to the 11-yard line. On the next play, Harris threw a touchdown pass to Samuel Emilus for a 7-0 lead to conclude a nine-play drive for 64 yards.
B.C. had the ball on the 27-yard line. Quarterback Nathan Rourke threw a seven-yard pass to Stanley Berryhill III to the 28-yard line. The Lions moved the ball to the 47-yard line before the drive stalled. Saskatchewan had the ball for the remainder of the first quarter. Running back A.J. Ouellette had five carries for 22 yards, and Trevor Harris threw four passes for 60 yards, including a 23-yarder to Kian Scheffer-Baker to the 27-yard line to end the first quarter, leading 7-0.
In the second quarter, Trevor Harris threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Samuel Emilus for a 14-0 lead that took 12 plays for 109 yards. Later, the two teams would trade field goals as B.C. kicker Sean Whyte made a 25-yard field goal, and Saskatchewan kicker Alex Hale made a 35-yard field goal. The Roughriders led the Lions 17-3.
Late in the second quarter, B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke threw three passes for 53 yards, including a 28-yarder to Justin McInnis to the 17-yard line. Two plays later, Rourke took off, breaking a couple of tackles to score a 15-yard touchdown. The Lions trailed the Roughriders 17-10 at halftime to cap off a nine-play drive for 70 yards.
Saskatchewan quarterback Trevor Harris had a nice first half, completing 14 of 16 passes (87.5%) for 196 yards and two touchdowns. The Roughriders had 240 yards on offense in the first half. For B.C., they had 206 yards on offense. Nathan Rourke completed 13 of 20 passes (65%) for 172 yards, two carries for 21 yards, and one rushing touchdown.
In the third quarter, Saskatchewan had the ball on the 33-yard line. On the third play, Trevor Harris threw a 38-yard pass to Samuel Emilus to the 20-yard line. The Roughriders moved the ball to the nine-yard line, where kicker Alex Hale made a 16-yard field goal for a 20-10 lead with 8:52 left.
B.C. began to chip away at Saskatchewan’s lead. Nathan Rourke threw three passes for 52 yards, plus an unnecessary roughness penalty on Saskatchewan, moving the ball to the three-yard line. Running back James Butler got a couple of good blocks to score the touchdown. The Lions trailed the Roughriders 20-17 with 7:13 left. The drive took four plays for 70 yards.
Late in the third quarter, Saskatchewan moved the ball to the 34-yard line. Kicker Alex Hale missed a 43-yard field goal. B.C. returner Stanley Berryhill III conceded the single point. The Roughriders led the Lions 21-17 heading into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, B.C. running back James Butler rushed for 15 yards before Nathan Rourke threw four passes for 42 yards, and Butler rushed for four yards to the nine-yard line. Rourke was sacked by James Vaughters on the next play. Kicker Sean Whyte made a 23-yard field goal. It was now 21-20 with 10:59 left.
Later, Saskatchewan kicker Alex Hale made a 22-yard field goal for a 24-20 lead with 8:07 left. Late in the game, B.C.’s offense moved the ball to the one-yard line, where running back James Butler scored the touchdown. The Lions took their first lead of the game 27-24 with 3:25 left. The drive took eight plays for 63 yards.
The Roughriders quickly moved the ball to the six-yard line. On the next play, Trevor Harris threw a touchdown pass to Samuel Emilus, completing the hat trick. The Roughriders took a 31-27 lead with 46 seconds left.
B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke threw the ball two times for 17 yards and had two carries for 30 yards to the 33-yard line. On the final play of the game, Saskatchewan’s defense pressured Rourke, forcing him to throw the ball that would result in an incomplete pass. The Roughriders held on to beat the Lions 31-27.
Saskatchewan’s offense had 489 yards (417 passing yards, 77 rushing yards, 5 yards lost), 27 first downs, 3 for 5 in the redzone, and the team was penalized seven times for 85 yards. Quarterback Trevor Harris completed 30 of 36 passes (83%) for 417 yards and three touchdowns. Running back A.J. Ouellette had 15 carries for 69 yards.
Wide receiver Kian Scheffer-Baker made 11 catches for 165 yards, while KeeSean Johnson made nine catches for 131 yards, and Samuel Emilus made six catches for 91 yards and three touchdowns. The defense made 40 tackles, two tackles for loss, and two sacks.
B.C.’s offense had 418 yards (330 passing yards, 99 rushing yards, 11 yards lost), 25 first downs, 3 for 5 in the redzone, and the team was penalized three times for 32 yards. B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 24 of 37 passes (64.8%) for 330 yards, five carries for 59 yards, and one rushing touchdown. Running back James Butler had nine carries for 35 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Wide receiver Justin McInnis made eight catches for 129 yards, while Keon Hatcher made four catches for 64 yards. The defense made 47 tackles, one tackle for loss, one forced fumble, and one sack.
Next Friday, the B.C. Lions visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at 7:30 pm on TSN and CFL+, while the Saskatchewan Roughriders visit the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday at 7 pm on TSN, CFL+, and CBS Sports Network.
