The B.C. Lions (10-6) hosted the Ottawa Redblacks (0-16) on Friday night at B.C. Place Stadium in their second and final meeting of the season.
B.C. got the ball to start the first quarter on the 26-yard line. Three plays in, quarterback Nathan Rourke threw a 27-yard pass to Stanley Berryhill III to the 43-yard line. Rourke threw four more passes for 33 yards to the 10-yard line. Then, he threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Keon Hatcher for a 7-0 lead with 10:04 left on an eight-play drive for 84 yards.
After Ottawa went two-and-out, B.C. had the ball on the 36-yard line. Nathan Rourke threw a 34-yard pass to Jermaine Jackson to the 40-yard line. Running back James Butler rushed for five yards, followed by Rourke throwing two more passes for 24 yards to the 11-yard line. On the next play, Zander Horvath rushed up the middle to score the touchdown for a 14-0 lead with 5:29 left.
The Redblacks had the ball on the 37-yard line. On the first play, a defensive pass interference penalty on B.C. moved the ball to the 48-yard line. Running back Daniel Adeboboye caught a seven-yard pass from McLeod Bethel-Thompson and rushed for 19 yards to the 36-yard line. Bethel-Thompson threw an 18-yard pass to Keelen White to the 18-yard line.
Then, he threw the ball to Daniel Adeboboye for the touchdown. Kicker Paul Geelen missed the extra point. The Redblacks trailed the Lions 14-6 to end the first quarter on the five-play drive for 73 yards. B.C.’s offense had 155 yards, 8 first downs, and 5 for 6 on second downs, while Ottawa’s offense had 83 yards, 5 first downs, and 2 for 3 on second downs.
In the second quarter, Ottawa kicker Paul Geelen made a 38-yard field goal. The Redblacks trailed the Lions 14-9 with 13:10 left. Later, B.C.’s offense moved the ball to the 21-yard line before Ottawa’s defense stopped them on third down. Ottawa’s offense moved the ball to the 52-yard line until B.C. defensive lineman Mathieu Betts stripped-sacked Bethel-Thompson, and Casey Sayles recovered it on the 43-yard line.
Nathan Rourke threw a 17-yard pass to Justin McInnis to the 26-yard line. Two plays later, Rourke threw a touchdown pass to a wide-open Stanley Berryhill III for a 21-9 lead with 4:53 left on a three-play drive for 43 yards. Late in the second quarter, Ottawa defensive back Alonzo Addae picked off Nathan Rourke at the 48-yard line. It was his sixth interception of the season. Kicker Paul Geelen made a 24-yard field goal. The Redblacks trailed the Lions 21-12 at halftime.
B.C.’s offense had 271 yards, 13 first downs, and 8 for 12 on second downs. Quarterback Nathan Rourke went 16 of 21 for 211 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Running back James Butler had four carries for 39 yards, while Zander Horvath had four carries for 18 yards and one rushing touchdown. Wide receiver Stanley Berryhill III made five catches for 95 yards and one touchdown, while Keon Hatcher made three catches for 31 yards and one touchdown, and Jermaine Jackson made three catches for 42 yards.
Ottawa’s offense had 187 yards, 12 first downs, and 7 for 12 on second downs. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson went 15 of 20 for 155 yards and one touchdown. Running back Daniel Adeboboye had five carries for 40 yards, three catches for 37 yards, and one touchdown. Wide receiver Keelen White made three catches for 36 yards, and Ayden Eberhardt made five catches for 33 yards.
Ottawa got the ball to start the third quarter. The Redblacks moved the ball for 33 yards to the 43-yard line before kicker Paul Geelen made a 52-yard field goal. The Redblacks trailed the Lions 21-15 with 12:21 left. Later, Ottawa’s defense created a turnover when Nathan Rourke completed a 13-yard pass to Keon Hatcher. Ottawa defensive back Kahzir Brown stripped the ball out, and it was recovered by Amani Bledsoe at the 23-yard line. Ottawa running back Mario Anderson Jr. had four carries for 14 yards and caught a pass for six yards to the 43-yard line. The Redblacks continued to move the ball until reaching the 10-yard line before kicker Paul Geelen made an 18-yard field goal. The Redblacks trailed the Lions 21-18 with 3:55 left.
B.C. had the ball on the 40-yard line. Zander Horvath had two carries for 43 yards, and Nathan Rourke rushed for seven yards to the 20-yard line. Rourke threw two passes for 19 yards to the one-yard line. Zander Horvath finished the drive off with a touchdown. The Lions led the Redblacks 27-18 heading into the fourth quarter on a six-play drive for 70 yards.
In the fourth quarter, B.C. defensive lineman Casey Sayles stripped sacked McLeod Bethel-Thompson, and it was recovered by linebacker Darnell Sankey at the 41-yard line. Zander Horvath started the drive with an eight-yard run. James Butler had two carries for 15 yards and caught a 10-yard pass to the eight-yard line.
Two plays later, Nathan Rourke threw a touchdown pass to Jevon Cottoy. Kicker Sean Whyte missed the extra point, and Ottawa returner Kalil Pimpleton returned it for two points. The Lions led 34-20 with 11:07 left on a six-play drive for 41 yards.
Three plays later, Ottawa quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson’s pass was intercepted by Deontai Williams at the 30-yard line. B.C. running back James Butler caught a short pass from Nathan Rourke for 55 yards, while Zander Horvath had two carries for 11 yards to the 14-yard line. On the next play, James Butler rushed up the middle for the touchdown. It was now 41-20 with 6:45 left on a four-play drive for 80 yards.
For the rest of the game, B.C.’s defense stopped Ottawa on third down with four minutes left, and both Ottawa and B.C. put in their backup players. The Lions would go on to beat the Redblacks 41-20 to sweep the season series and clinch a playoff berth.
B.C.’s offense had 531 yards (360 passing yards, 175 rushing yards, 4 yards lost), 28 first downs, 13 of 19 on second downs, 5 for 5 in the redzone, and the team was penalized five times for 51 yards. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 25 of 31 passes (81%) for 360 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, and one carry for seven yards. Running back Zander Horvath had 14 carries for 89 yards and two rushing touchdowns, while James Butler had eight carries for 76 yards, one rushing touchdown, and two catches for 65 yards.
Wide receiver Stanley Berryhill III made six catches for 105 yards and one touchdown, while Jevon Cottoy made six catches for 48 yards and one touchdown, and Keon Hatcher made four catches for 44 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 47 tackles, one tackle for loss, five sacks, one turnover on downs, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and one interception. Casey Sayles had four tackles, one tackle for loss, two sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Ottawa’s offense had 294 yards (253 passing yards, 67 rushing yards, 26 yards lost), 19 first downs, 10 of 23 on second downs, 1 for 2 in the redzone, and the team was penalized three times for 20 yards. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 25 of 35 passes (71.4%) for 253 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and one carry for four yards. Running back Daniel Adeboboye had eight carries for 43 yards, five catches for 51 yards, and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt made seven catches for 45 yards, and Justin Hardy made two catches for 44 yards. The defense made 45 tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one turnover on downs.
Next Friday, the Ottawa Redblacks host the Toronto Argonauts at 7 pm on TSN and CFL+, while the B.C. Lions visit the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday at 7 pm on TSN and CFL+.
