REGINA — The playoff seeding came down to the final three minutes of the regular season finale as the BC Lions defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders to lock in a home playoff game next weekend. Nathan Rourke and his Leos held on for a 27-21 road victory with his touchdown pass to Keon Hatcher Sr. in the fourth giving BC a lead they would not let slip away.
The BC defence stood firm after the three-minute warning as Saskatchewan looked to manufacture a game-winning touchdown drive. In the end, the Riders came up short and BC locked up the West Division’s three seed.
Rourke ended the game with three touchdown passes, 368 passing yards, and an interception on 23-28 passing. Ayden Eberhardt came down with two of those scores, including on BC’s first play from scrimmage just seconds into the game.
Trevor Harris got the start for Saskatchewan but made way for Jake Maier in the second quarter. Jack Coan had the two Riders touchdowns, running in from short range in the first and second quarter.
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The Lions came out roaring on the first play from scrimmage. Rourke sent a play-action pass to Eberhardt and his receiver did the rest, running down the right sideline for a 63-yard score. Sean Whyte missed the extra point to keep it at 6-0 early.
They didn’t quite score off their first play on offence, but Saskatchewan answered back with a lengthy 14-play drive. Facing third-and-two, Coan dived to his right for a first down to keep the drive alive. A few plays later, Coan broke the plane on a one-yard run. Michael Hughes‘ extra point put the Riders up 7-6.
Rourke sent a pass 25 yards to Hatcher Sr., bringing BC’s quarterback over the 5000 yard mark on the season. A few plays later he took a sack from Malik Carney for an 11-yard loss. Sean Whyte atoned for his missed extra point with a 50-yard field goal to put the visitors up 9-7 late in the opening quarter.
Back in possession, Harris found Schaffer-Baker for two first downs, while Coan managed to pickup 14 yards facing second-and-short. Starting the game 7-7 through the air, Harris’ first incomplete pass brought Hughes onto the field for a 28-yard field goal. His make put the Riders on top 10-9.
On the ensuing drive, Rourke tried to evade pressure from Saskatchewan’s defence but was dragged down by Habakkuk Baldonado for a loss of 12 on second down. Carl Meyer‘s punt gave BC a single to even things up at 10-10.
The Riders maintained their momentum with a third consecutive scoring drive. Harris threw for three first downs and ran 13 yards for another before Coan ran in for another short-yardage score to put Saskatchewan up 17-10. Hughes made it 18-10 on the follow-up kickoff with a rouge.
Rourke couldn’t continue his hot start, throwing an interception on his fifth pass attempt, with Nelson Lokombo picking him off. Jake Maier came onto the field for Saskatchewan’s offensive series but was intercepted by Jackson Findlay on just his second attempted pass. The Lions would get three points off of the turnover courtesy of Whyte’s 14-yard make after the three-minute warning.
Maier turned the ball over once again on his second offensive series, this time mishandling a snap. Mathieu Betts recovered the loose ball but BC didn’t have enough time to mount a scoring drive as they went into the dressing room down 18-13.
After running in two short-yardage scores, Coan came up short on a third-and-one attempt early in the third, giving the Lions offence possession at midfield. A couple of plays later, Rourke delivered to Hatcher Sr., who tried to outstretch across the plane but instead lost control of the football. Tevaughn Campbell scooped up ball and returned it 108 yards to the house, but a review by the CFL Replay Centre determined that the play had been whistled dead at Saskatchewan’s three-yard line right after the fumble recovery. Saskatchewan would eventually punt it away.
A 31-yard punt return from Seven McGee meant that the Lions would begin their next series in Saskatchewan territory. On the third play of the drive, Rourke rolled to his right and threw a short pass to Eberhardt who rolled into the end zone for a 22-yard score. Zander Horvath couldn’t run it in on the two-point try, leaving the score at 19-18 in favour of BC midway through the third.
The next score would come early in the fourth as a Hughes field goal pushed the Riders into a two-point lead. Betts recorded his 15th sack of the year when he brought Maier down for a nine yard loss, forcing the Riders into a 42-yard attempt to end an 11-play drive.
BC retook the lead off of a a perfect passing drive from Rourke. He completed all six of his throws, four of which for first downs, on a 73-yard drive. Rourke’s final throw of the series was a seven-yard shovel pass which was initially deemed to be incomplete, but an automatic review by the CFL Replay Centre overruled the original decision, giving Hatcher Sr. the touchdown. Rourke got the football to Hatcher Sr. on the two-point try as well to give BC a six point advantage just before the three-minute warning.
Needing a touchdown to tie things up, Maier led the Riders to BC’s 38 but their drive would stop there as the Lions held on for a 27-21 win in Regina.
With the result, the Lions will host the Calgary Stampeders in the West Division semi-final on Saturday, November 1. The Roughriders will welcome the winner of that matchup to Mosaic Stadium in the Western Final on Saturday, November 8.