Saskatchewan Roughriders

REGINA — Nathan Rourke continued his strong season in Week 8 by leading the BC Lions to a 32-17 comeback win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders with three ...

The Lions’ offensive line also bounced back in the second half while giving Rourke time to make key throws down the field. “We’ve got each other’s back, so when they are playing down we just keep them in the game,” Purifoy told TSN after the win. The Canadian pivot also added a rushing touchdown against the Riders and now has four this season.

Like Rourke, defensive lineman Mathieu Betts was confident the Lions had the time and ability to turn the game around. “The vibe was good even though we were ...

The Lions also got a safety when Marcus Sayles tackled Riders running back Jamal Morrow in the end zone in the second quarter. Friday’s game was the first of three scheduled meetings between the teams in a five-week stretch. The Riders are heading into a bye week after working through a couple of rough weeks. “Fajardo is a good quarterback in this league. That was a big key to us turning things around.” We’re very confident that when we execute to the best of our abilities, nobody can get in our way except ourselves,” said Rourke. B.C. entered the game with only four sacks allowed in its first five games. We had a couple of tweaks that we had to do and just try to reset and do our best to try to give the offence the ball back and that's what we did,” said Betts. He now has 1,941 yards on 153-of-193 passing with 16 touchdowns. But they certainly got together,” said Rourke. It was a rough start and they'd be the first ones to tell you that. We really didn't change anything defensively.

Two of the top teams in the CFL's West Division square off on Friday, with the Lions visiting the Roughriders.

The Roughriders were also 4-1 to start the season, but have dropped their last two games. Thanks to their explosive offense - paired with the league's second-best scoring defense allowing 20.8 points per game - the Lions have gotten off to a 4-1 start this year. BC takes on the Roughriders in CFL action, after winning its first low-scoring game last week.

The B.C. Lions are off to their best start since 2007 following a 32-17 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Friday.

The Lions also got a safety when Marcus Sayles tackled Riders running back Jamal Morrow in the end zone in the second quarter. The Lions got touchdowns from Rourke on a one-yard run along with a 15-yard reception from Jevon Cottoy, and a 14-yard catch by Dominique Rhymes. Kicker Sean Whyte hit field goals of 16 and 39 yards and added a single on a miss from 46 yards. He now has 1,941 yards on 153-of-193 passing, with 16 touchdowns.

REGINA -- The B.C. Lions are off to their best start since 2007 following a 32-17 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The Lions also got a safety when Marcus Sayles tackled Riders running back Jamal Morrow in the end zone in the second quarter. Friday's game was the first of three scheduled meetings between the teams in a five-week stretch. The Riders are heading into a bye week after working through a couple of rough weeks. ``Fajardo is a good quarterback in this league. That was a big key to us turning things around.'' We're very confident that when we execute to the best of our abilities, nobody can get in our way except ourselves,'' said Rourke. B.C. entered the game with only four sacks allowed in its first five games. They didn't blink early in the game. We had a couple of tweaks that we had to do and just try to reset and do our best to try to give the offence the ball back and that's what we did,'' said Betts. He now has 1,941 yards on 153-of-193 passing with 16 touchdowns. It was a rough start and they'd be the first ones to tell you that. We really didn't change anything defensively.

The Riders fell to 4-4 after a 32-17 loss to the B.C Lions on Friday.

Rhymes scored on a 14-yard one-handed catch to cap the drive at 7:28 of the third quarter. Lauther booted the convert and the Riders held a 10-1 lead at 9:43 of the first quarter. B.C. followed up the single with a seven-play, 70-yard drive that was capped by Rourke’s one-yard touchdown run. B.C.’s Marcus Sayles tackled Morrow for a three-yard loss and the subsequent safety. Alford ran the ball to Saskatchewan’s two-yard line. Fajardo followed the catch by Williams with the one-yard touchdown run. Williams moved the Riders B.C.’s one-yard line with a 16-yard reception. The Riders responded on their next possession when Fajardo connected with Samuel Emilus on a 32-yard pass. Friday was the first game back for Williams after serving a one-game suspension. Then they did a good job of just driving the field.” One play later, running back Jamal Morrow was tackled for a three-yard loss as the Lions picked up the safety. We’re very confident that when we execute to the best of our abilities, nobody can get in our way except ourselves.

After a couple of humbling weeks, the B.C. Lions returned to their dominant ways at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, toppling the Saskatchewan Roughriders by a ...

That’s every possible type of point you can score in the CFL, though I suppose it would have taken a two-point conversion to really make that claim. “That’s when it becomes fun on defence for the players and the coaches when you can rush four guys and win and find a way to get to the quarterback.” The future Hall of Famer’s get-off was a real problem for left tackle Joel Figueroa early in this game, forcing him to turn his shoulders almost instantly. I’ve seen a couple of random online commenters accuse Rourke of throwing up too many 50/50 balls and nothing could be further from the truth. Lee has been one of the league’s elite defensive backs virtually since he arrived in 2014 and quite frankly, doesn’t get enough attention for his play. Heavily criticized in Edmonton last year, Mathieu Betts turned Na’Ty Rodgers into a turnstile, notching two sacks, another QB takedown at the line of scrimmage and the hit on Fajardo that caused Louchiez Purifoy’s game-sealing interception. Make no mistake, that belief comes directly from the team’s faith in Rourke and his ability to deliver the ball exactly where it needs to be. I stand by that opinion and felt there were opportunities for him to do more on the ground against Saskatchewan, taking off only once for 12 yards. It wasn’t perfect execution by any stretch of the imagination, but Butler didn’t need it to be. “At halftime, I said the thing I was most impressed with was their poise and their belief. To his credit, offensive coordinator Jordan Maksymic stuck to his system and Rourke executed it to a tee. Add in the adverse environment that is Mosaic Stadium and every armchair quarterback was ready to do something drastic.