EDMONTON – The BC Lions are back to .500 after standout performances from Nathan Rourke and James Butler in a 32–14 win over the Edmonton Elks on Sunday night at Commonwealth Stadium.
Rourke racked up 345 yards, completing 26 of his 30 throws for two touchdowns as he improves to 5-0 against Edmonton on his career. The Canadian pivot’s one blemish was an interception that was deflected at the line of scrimmage.
Butler got a heavy workload as well, taking 33 touches for 207 yards, 35 of which came in the air. The 30-year-old’s 172-yard rushing total is a career high.
Keon Hatcher Sr. led the Lions on the receiving side, reeling in all nine of his targets for a game-high 130 yards.
Offence did not come easily for the Elks following their 39-point barrage over the Ottawa REDBLACKS in Week 5. Tre Ford could not follow up on his perfect-passer rating game, completing four of his 12 passes for just 34 yards in the losing effort. Cody Fajardo, who entered the game in the fourth quarter in relief, was responsible for both of Edmonton’s touchdowns, one on the ground and one through the air.
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Edmonton’s opening drive showed promise, highlighted by a pair of Ford scrambles for 34 yards to move the chains. The dual-threat quarterback wanted it all with a deep shot intended for Steven Dunbar Jr., who had a step on Garry Peters downfield, but the underthrown ball gave Peters time to recover and rip it away for his second interception of the season.
With the field flipped, Rourke found his rhythm, completing six straight passes to open eight-for-eight. But his ninth attempt – a bullet to Stanley Berryhill III on second-and-nine – bounced off the pads and fell incomplete. BC settled for a 33-yard Sean Whyte field goal to open the scoring.
The Elks started the second quarter with a burst, as a swarm of defenders led by Nick Anderson dropped Rourke for a seven-yard loss. But BC answered immediately – a well-timed screen pass to Justin Rankin moved the chains, and Rourke marched the offence into the red zone before finding Jevon Cottoy for a 16-yard touchdown. Whyte’s conversion made it 10-0.
With Edmonton’s offence sputtering early – Ford completing just one of his first six passes – it was up to the defence, and a previously shaken-up Jake Ceresna, to give them a spark. With Rourke backed up on his own 36, the 2024 All-CFL defensive lineman snagged a deflected pass at the line to give the Elks their first interception of the season. Rourke managed to jar the ball loose, but Tyrell Ford jumped on the loose change to complete the turnover.
It only took the Elks three plays to find the end zone from their gifted field position, as Ford connected with Dunbar for a 15-yard strike, and Cody Fajardo polished off the short drive with a sneak from the one-yard line. Vincent Blanchard made no mistakes on the point-after, making it 10-7.
After the interception, BC turned to the run game for an answer. James Butler took three touches for 26 yards on the drive, including a 15-yard burst up the gut and into the end zone, his third rushing major of the season. Whyte added the extra point, and BC reclaimed its double-digit lead.
With two minutes left in the second quarter, Deontai Williams broke up a pass to force Edmonton’s third two-and-out. The Lions’ offence wasn’t fazed by a penalty that wiped out Seven McGee’s 92-yard punt return touchdown, and – with help from Butler’s 38-yard burst up the sidelines – promptly marched 101 yards in under 90 seconds. Rourke capped the drive – and a dominant, 243-yard half – with a strike to Berryhill III, threading it through the hands of defender Kordell Jackson. Berryhill followed the score with a rendition of Wheels on the Bus for the camera crew, and Whyte’s conversion made it 24-7.
Exiting the locker rooms at halftime, it was more of the same. After Edmonton’s fourth two-and-out, Butler went to work with a series of quick-hitters, pushing him over 100 yards on the day, setting up Rourke to exploit the underneath coverage as he connected with Keon Hatcher Sr. on a 41-yard back-shoulder fade to get BC back in the red zone. However, from the four-yard line, the Elks’ defence shut down all three bids for the end zone to force a crucial turnover on downs.
Ceresna went down once again on the Lions’ drive, this time requiring the cart for an apparent knee injury – a major blow for an Elks front already without Robbie Smith.
Pinned deep in their own end, Ford could not get out of danger after Cristophe Beaulieu came up with a big deflection on a deep shot intended for Kaion Julien-Grant. On the next play, Tomasi Laulile drew a holding call on Mark Evans in the end zone, resulting in a safety and two points for BC.
After the safety, BC went back for more. Edmonton came up with a rare Lions mistake after Rourke fumbled, but an offside penalty erased the recovery. BC would capitalise on the flag with a 36-yard field goal from Whyte, one of two CFL kickers still without a miss this season, to make it 29-7.
The going did not get easier for the Elks in the fourth quarter, with their first two plays of the frame going for a loss. Mathieu Betts clobbered Ford in the backfield for his third sack of the season to get Cory Grace on the field for his sixth punt of the game.
When the Leos received the punt, they milked the clock for a nine-minute drive. After a series of productive runs from Butler to add to his dominant outing, Whyte kicked an insurance field goal from 31 yards out, making it 25 straight makes for the sure-footed 2024 All-CFLer.
With less than three minutes remaining in the contest, the Elks turned to backup Cody Fajardo behind centre. The veteran pivot made his mark with a 31-yard deep shot to Kurleigh Gittens Jr., the Canadian receiver’s third major this season and Fajardo’s first passing touchdown as an Elk. Blanchard added the extra point to make it 32-14, but with time running out, the result was ensured for BC.
The Lions return to Save-On-Foods Field at BC Place in Week 7, set to host the Saskatchewan Roughriders on July 19. The Elks, meanwhile, get a week to reset before travelling to Regina in Week 8 to face those same Riders on July 25.