B.C. Lions dump visiting Edmonton Elks 31-14 in season opener – Edmonton

Nathan Rourke threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns, and the B.C. Lions opened their CFL season with a 31-14 win over the Edmonton Elks on Saturday.

“They had some answers, definitely, for what we were doing,” Elks head coach Mark Kilam said after the loss.

“I thought we gassed out a little bit on defence. We need to maintain a few more drives on offence to help those guys out. But really there were errors in all three phases, and we are a three phase football team, so there’s definitely things we need to get better at in all three phases.”

The Canadian quarterback went 27-for-36 on his passing attempts, linking up with Stanley Berryhill III twice in the end zone. Justin McInnis caught his first TD of the year and James Butler drove in another major.

Veteran kicked Sean Whyte contributed a 22-yard field goal for the Lions, who played their first game under rookie head coach Buck Pierce.

Elks quarterback Tre Ford put up 178 passing yards, connecting on 17 of his 27 attempts and throwing one interception. He was sacked twice.

“I don’t think we did fantastic offensively,” Tre said.

“I think we were stuck in a lot of second and longs, which isn’t a good situation for offence, so we’ve got to do better on first down. But a lot of that stuff comes back on me, right, I’m the quarterback. I have to make some more things happen out there for us.”

Cody Fajardo chalked up two short-yardage rushing majors for Edmonton, who also have a first-year head coach in Mark Kilam.

Rapper Snoop Dogg performed for the announced crowd of 52,837 fans before kickoff.

The game got off to a promising start for the Lions with Rourke and his teammates steadily working the ball up the field to give B.C. a first down at Edmonton’s two-yard line.

Chase Brice came in for short yardage duty and appeared to stretch the ball into the end zone on third down. A review by the command centre, though, determined the QB went down before getting the ball across the line.

Ford struggled early, going 0-for-3 on his first attempts of the game before connecting with Zach Mathias for a six-yard gain on his fourth attempt of the night.

Edmonton got on the board with just over three minutes left in the first quarter when Cody Grace sent a 66-yard punt into the end zone for a rouge.

B.C. again came within inches of a touchdown early in the second frame when Rourke threaded a crisp pass to Jevon Cottoy directly under the uprights. The Canadian receiver fumbled the ball, then stared at his gloves in apparent disbelief.

Whyte posted the home side’s first points of the night, booting a 22-yard field goal to give the Lions a 3-1 lead.

The Elks took control again midway through the second quarter when Fajardo muscled his way through traffic for a one-yard rushing major. Vincent Blanchard missed the convert and Edmonton went up 7-3.

The score stood at the end of the first half after the Elks kicker sent a 49-yard field goal attempt wide in the final seconds of the frame.

B.C. came alive early in the second half, stringing together a possession that ended with Rourke escaping the pocket, taking a few steps and sailing a 34-yard pass to Stanley Berryhill in the end zone.

Whyte made the convert and the Lions jumped out to a 10-7 advantage.

Edmonton had an opportunity to level the score minutes later when Blanchard lined up for a 45-yard field goal, but the kick again went wide.

Rourke proved on the next possession that he’s a dual threat, rushing for 13 yards on one play and 22 on another.

He capped the drive with a 37-yard lob to Berryhill under the uprights and another convert from Whyte increased the Lions’ lead to 17-7 midway through the third quarter.

Ford responded with some fast feet of his own in the dying seconds of the third quarter. The 27-year-old Canadian deftly darted around midfield to avoid multiple sack attempts and got a 37-yard pass off to Justin Rankin, who similarly snuck past several B.C. defenders before being felled at the three-yard line.

Edmonton opened the fourth with Fajardo powering through traffic for his second touchdown of the night. Blanchard sent the convert through the uprights to cut the Elks’ deficit to three points.

B.C. kept pressing and launched a seven-play, 86-yard scoring drive, capped by a 17-yard pass from Rourke to McInnis in the end zone.

McInnis, who hails from Pierrefonds, Que., led the CFL in receiving yards last season with 1,469.

The Lions defence got to work next with linebacker Ben Hladik picking off Ford’s pass and dashing 61 yards to put his team back in prime scoring position.

B.C. capitalized with Rourke handing off to running back Butler, who sprinted into the end zone for the home side’s fourth touchdown of the night. Another convert from Whyte put the Lions ahead 31-14.

A massive 92-yard kickoff return by Javon Leake looked to cut Edmonton’s deficit midway through the fourth, but Elks linebacker Josiah Schakel was called for an illegal block on the play.

NOTES

Lions linebacker Jeremy Lewis (hamstring) and defensive lineman Deshawn Stevens (foot) did not return for the second half. … The game marked the first time two Canadian quarterbacks have started and gone head to head in a CFL season opener.

UP NEXT

Elks: Host the Montreal Alouettes on Thursday, June 19.

Lions: Visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Thursday.