The B.C. Lions (6-5) visited TD Place Stadium on Sunday night to close out Week 13 against the Ottawa Redblacks (0-11) in their first of two meetings this season.
In the first quarter, Ottawa moved the ball to the 18-yard line. As they were setting up for a field goal, a too many men penalty on the Redblacks took them out of field goal range, and they had to punt the ball. B.C. got the ball on the seven-yard line. The Lions moved the ball to the 23-yard line before Sean Whyte made a 31-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 7:21 left.
Midway through the first quarter, B.C. had the ball on the six-yard line. Nathan Rourke scrambled out of the pocket before throwing the ball intended for Justin McInnis. However, Ottawa defensive back Alonzo Addae made the interception at the 10-yard line. Two plays later, Jake Maier threw a touchdown pass to Ayden Eberhardt, giving the Redblacks a 7-3 lead with 3:53 left.
After B.C. went two-and-out, Ottawa had the ball for the rest of the first quarter. Jake Maier threw a 25-yard pass to Keelan White to the 22-yard line. Maier completed two more passes for 37 yards, and a one-yard run by Daniel Adeboboye moved the Redblacks to the one-yard line to begin the second quarter. Ottawa’s offense had 74 yards, and B.C.’s offense had 79 yards.
In the second quarter, Ottawa went for it on third down, but did not get into the endzone. Five plays later, B.C. had the ball on the 22-yard line when Nathan Rourke’s pass intended for Keon Hatcher was intercepted by Alonzo Addae for the second time. This time, he returned it for 26 yards, and Rourke horse-collar tackled Addae for a penalty. The Redblacks had the ball on the one-yard line. Bryson Barnes came in and scored the touchdown for a 14-3 lead with 11:27 left.
B.C. had the ball on the 40-yard line. The offense moved the ball to the 10-yard line before Nathan Rourke threw a touchdown pass to James Butler. The Lions trailed the Redblacks 14-10 with 6:57 left on a 10-play drive for 70 yards.
Ottawa would go two-and-out on their drive, and the Lions had the ball on the 30-yard line. On the third play, Nathan Rourke threw a high pass to Jermaine Jackson. Jackson’s fingertips touched the ball before making the catch. He sprinted for a 41-yard run to the two-yard line. Zander Horvath came in and scored the touchdown to give the Lions a 17-14 lead with 3:06 left on a four-play drive for 80 yards. Late in the second quarter, Ottawa moved the ball to the 35-yard line. Kicker Brett Lauther made a 43-yard field goal, tying the game 17-17 at halftime.
B.C.’s offense had 244 yards. Quarterback Nathan Rourke went 9 of 12 for 147 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and one carry for nine yards. Running back Zander Horvath had 11 carries for 58 yards and one rushing touchdown, while James Butler had three carries for 25 yards, one catch for 10 yards, and one touchdown. Wide receiver Jermaine Jackson made two catches for 62 yards, while Keon Hatcher made one catch for 28 yards.
Ottawa’s offense had 130 yards. Quarterback Jake Maier went 10 of 19 for 129 yards and one touchdown. Running back Greg Bell had one carry for four yards, while Bryson Barnes had one carry for one yard and one rushing touchdown. Wide receiver Justin Hardy made four catches for 45 yards, while Keelan White made two catches for 45 yards, and Ayden Eberhardt made one catch for 10 yards and one touchdown.
B.C. got the ball to start the third quarter on the 34-yard line. Running back Zander Horvath rushed for five yards before Nathan Rourke threw a 28-yard pass to Jermaine Jackson. An unnecessary roughness penalty on Ottawa moved the ball to the 18-yard line. Rourke threw two passes for 16 yards before Zander Horvath scored a two-yard touchdown for a 24-17 lead with 12:03 left on a five-play drive for 76 yards.
Midway through the third quarter, Ottawa had the ball on the 12-yard line. Jake Maier threw three passes for 47 yards to the 51-yard line. Three plays later, B.C.’s defense blitzed Maier. Maier avoided it before throwing a screen pass to Ayden Eberhardt. He broke a couple of tackles for scoring a 49-yard touchdown, tying the game 24-24 with 3:18 left on a five-play drive for 98 yards.
B.C. had the ball on the 34-yard line. Five plays in, Nathan Rourke threw a 42-yard pass to Keon Hatcher to the nine-yard line. Zander Horvath got a block from Tyran Hunt on his way into the endzone for a 31-24 lead with 27 seconds left on a six-play drive for 76 yards. On the last play of the third quarter, Jake Maier’s pass intended for Keelan White was intercepted by Jackson Findlay for a 22-yard return to the 25-yard line.
In the fourth quarter, Nathan Rourke completed an eight-yard pass to Justin McInnis. He lost the ball, and Ottawa recovered it on the 17-yard line. Ottawa went two-and-out. Nathan Rourke threw three passes for 65 yards to the 14-yard line. Then, Rourke threw a touchdown pass to Jevon Cottoy for a 38-24 lead with 10:44 left on a five-play drive for 69 yards.
Late in the game, Zander Horvath put the game away with a one-yard touchdown for a 45-24 lead with 2:56 left. It was his fourth rushing touchdown of the night on an eight-play drive for 84 yards. Rourke finished the night with 17 straight completions since his interception in the second quarter. Bryson went in for Ottawa. They moved the ball to the 29-yard line before failing to get third down. The Lions defeated the Redblacks 45-24 for their fifth straight win. The Redblacks have now lost 17-straight games dating back to 2025. Jake Maier set a CFL record for the most consecutive losses as a starter.
B.C.’s offense had 576 yards (355 passing yards, 231 rushing yards, 10 yards lost), 36 first downs, 6 for 6 in the redzone, and the team was penalized 10 times for 84 yards. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 22 of 25 passes (88%) for 355 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and one carry for nine yards. Running back Zander Horvath had 24 carries for 164 yards, four rushing touchdowns, and four catches for 30 yards, while James Butler had seven carries for 45 yards, two catches for 11 yards, and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Jermaine Jackson made four catches for 128 yards, while Keon Hatcher made three catches for 81 yards, and Jevon Cottoy made four catches for 82 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 34 tackles, two tackles for loss, three sacks, and one interception.
Ottawa’s offense had 329 yards (348 passing yards, 0 rushing yards, 16 yards lost), 18 first downs, 2 for 4 in the redzone, and the team was penalized 13 times for 154 yards. Quarterback Jake Maier completed 19 of 33 passes (57%) for 291 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and one carry for one yard. Quarterback Bryson Barnes completed five passes for 57 yards, two carries for two yards, and one touchdown. Running back Greg Bell had two carries for -1 yard, and Daniel Adeboboye had one carry for one yard.
Wide receiver Keelan White made eight catches for 127 yards, while Justin Hardy made seven catches for 90 yards, and Ayden Eberhardt made two catches for 59 yards and two touchdowns. The defense made 51 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, two interceptions, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Next Friday, the B.C. Lions visit the Montreal Alouettes at 7:30 pm on TSN and CFL+, while the Ottawa Redblacks are on a bye week.
