The B.C. Lions (9-6) visited BMO Field on Saturday afternoon against the Toronto Argonauts (9-7) in their second and final meeting of the season. Nick Arbuckle was the starting quarterback for the Argonauts in place of Chad Kelly, who missed this game with a right-hand injury.
In the first quarter, B.C. kicker Sean Whyte put the Lions up 3-0 when he made a 39-yard field goal with 10:07 left. Toronto had the ball on the 40-yard line. Quarterback Nick Arbuckle threw five passes for 60 yards. A couple of penalties hurt the Argonauts during the drive, and kicker Lirim Hajrullahu made an 18-yard field goal to tie the game 3-3 with 5:33 left.
B.C. got the ball on the 40-yard line. Nathan Rourke began the drive by throwing a 29-yard pass to Jermaine Jackson to the 41-yard line. Rourke threw two more passes for 20 yards, and running back Zander Horvath rushed for nine yards to the 17-yard line before the drive stalled. Kicker Sean Whyte made a 26-yard field goal to give the Lions a 6-3 lead heading into the second quarter. B.C.’s offense had 91 yards, and Toronto’s offense had 63 yards.
In the second quarter, both teams struggled to move the football, going two-and-out several times. Midway through the second quarter, the Lions had the ball on the 35-yard line. Quarterback Nathan Rourke threw a 39-yard pass to Keon Hatcher, and rushed for nine yards to the 27-yard line. Running back Zander Horvath rushed for three yards to the 24-yard line, and the drive stalled. Kicker Sean Whyte made a 32-yard field goal for a 9-3 lead with 2:48 left.
The Argonauts had the ball on the 40-yard line. Quarterback Nick Arbuckle threw five passes for 61 yards, and running back Samuel Hicks rushed for four yards to the five-yard line. Then, Arbuckle’s pass was behind Makai Polk, but he made a twisting one-handed catch for the touchdown, giving the Argonauts a 10-9 lead with 1:35 left on a seven-play drive for 70 yards.
The Lions had the ball on the 31-yard line. Running back James Butler had three carries for 13 yards, while Nathan Rourke threw the ball three times for 45 yards to the 11-yard line. Kicker Sean Whyte made a 12-yard field goal. The Lions led the Argonauts 12-10 at halftime.
B.C.’s offense had 224 yards, 14 first downs, and 8 for 13 on second downs. Quarterback Nathan Rourke went 9 of 18 for 157 yards, and three carries for 21 yards. Running back Zander Horvath had six carries for 28 yards. Wide receiver Keon Hatcher made four catches for 69 yards, and Jermaine Jackson made three catches for 66 yards.
Toronto’s offense had 157 yards, 9 first downs, and 5 for 9 on second downs. Quarterback Nick Arbuckle went 13 of 15 for 139 yards and one touchdown. Running back Samuel Hicks had four carries for 19 yards. Wide receiver David Ungerer III made seven catches for 60 yards, while Damonte Coxie made three catches for 49 yards, and Makai Polk made two catches for 16 yards and one touchdown.
Toronto got the ball to start the third quarter on the 35-yard line. Running back Isaiah Smith started the drive with two carries for 14 yards, followed by Nick Arbuckle throwing an 18-yard pass to David Ungerer III. On the next play, B.C. brought pressure. Nick Arbuckle’s pass was tipped and intercepted by Deontai Williams, who landed on his teammate, Lorenzo Mauldin IV, before getting up and returning it for 17 yards to the 30-yard line.
Quarterback Nathan Rourke rushed for 20 yards before Toronto defensive back Alex Teubner forced it out and B.C. wide receiver Keon Hatcher recovered it on the 10-yard line. Rourke threw two incomplete passes before kicker Sean Whyte made a 19-yard field goal for a 15-10 lead with 10:41 left.
After Toronto went two-and-out, B.C. had the ball on the 20-yard line. James Butler had two carries for 38 yards, Zander Horvath had three carries for 10 yards, and Nathan Rourke threw two passes for 15 yards to the 29-yard line. On second down, B.C. tried to get the first down, but Zander Horvath fumbled the ball before recovering it for a three-yard loss.
Kicker Sean Whyte made a 40-yard field goal for an 18-10 lead with four minutes left. Late in the third quarter, B.C. had the ball on the 34-yard line. They moved the ball to the 32-yard line to end the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Nathan Rourke threw an 18-yard pass to Jevon Cottoy to the 14-yard line. Running back James Butler rushed for five yards to the nine-yard line before Rourke was sacked by Shawn Lemon for a 12-yard loss. Kicker Sean Whyte made his seventh field goal of the day for 29 yards. The Lions led the Argonauts 22-10 with 12:27 left.
Toronto had the ball on the 40-yard line. Quarterback Nick Arbuckle threw three passes for 28 yards to the 42-yard line. Running back Samuel Hicks rushed for six yards to the 36-yard line. On the next play, Arbuckle quickly threw the ball to David Ungerer III. He broke a tackle before running into the endzone. The Argonauts trailed the Lions 21-17 with 9:20 left on a seven-play drive for 70 yards.
Midway through the fourth quarter, B.C. kicker Sean Whyte set a new franchise record with his eighth field goal for 48 yards. The Lions led the Argonauts 24-17 with 4:51 left. Late in the game, Toronto’s offense moved the ball to the 17-yard line before Arbuckle’s pass intended for Makai Polk was intercepted by T.J. Lee at the 11-yard line. The Lions went two-and-out.
Toronto had the ball on the 43-yard line. Nick Arbuckle threw four passes for 32 yards and rushed for 10 yards to the one-yard line. B.C.’s defense denied Arbuckle twice to end the game. The Lions beat the Argonauts 24-17 to split the season series. The Lions have now won three games in a row, while the Argonauts ended a four-game winning streak.
B.C.’s offense had 393 yards (254 passing yards, 151 rushing yards, 12 yards lost), 24 first downs, 14 for 24 on second downs, 0 for 4 in the redzone, and the team was penalized five times for 25 yards. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 15 of 32 passes for 254 yards, and six carries for 50 yards. Running back James Butler had nine carries for 64 yards, and Zander Horvath had 11 carries for 37 yards.
Wide receiver Jermaine Jackson made five catches for 94 yards, while Jevon Cottoy made four catches for 74 yards, and Keon Hatcher made four catches for 69 yards. The defense made 41 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, and a turnover on downs. Kicker Sean Whyte made eight field goals, one field goal shy of the record, which was set by Vincent Blanchard last week.
Toronto’s offense had 338 yards (292 passing yards, 57 rushing yards, 11 yards lost), 19 first downs, 11 for 20 on second downs, 1 for 4 in the redzone, and the team was penalized six times for 53 yards. Quarterback Nick Arbuckle completed 27 of 33 passes (81%) for 292 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and three carries for 10 yards. Running back Samuel Hicks had six carries for 30 yards.
Wide receiver David Ungerer III made 12 catches for 124 yards and one touchdown, while Damonte Coxie made four catches for 57 yards, and Kevin Mital made three catches for 42 yards. The defense made 42 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, and two forced fumbles.
Next Friday, the B.C. Lions host the Ottawa Redblacks at 10 pm on TSN and CFL+. The Toronto Argonauts are on a bye week.
