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MONTREAL – William Stanback led the way on a strange night for Nathan Rourke as the B.C. Lions defeated the league-leading Montreal Alouettes 37-23 on Friday.

The former Alouettes running back rushed for 128 yards — including a 38-yard touchdown in the third quarter — on 20 attempts before a sellout crowd of 23,035 in his first game back at Molson Stadium.

Rourke had 304 passing yards on 22-for-28 completions, throwing for one TD and running for another. But the 2022 CFL outstanding Canadian also threw three interceptions.

The Lions (7-6) won their second in a row to take sole possession of first place in the West Division. They also ended a five-game Montreal (10-2) win streak despite committing four turnovers.

Cody Fajardo was 27-for-37 for 240 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception for Montreal, which clinched a playoff spot while on a bye last week.

The Alouettes played without star receiver Austin Mack, who was placed on the six-game injured list after sustaining an ankle injury in practice this week.

Montreal kicker Jose Maltos went 3-for-3 on field goals, including a 41-yarder. B.C.’s Sean Whyte was also 3-for-3.

Stanback made it 27-16 with 6:06 left in the third quarter, bulldozing through multiple defenders for his rush into the end zone.

The Alouettes cut into the lead as Dominique Davis squeezed into the end zone with 9:48 remaining in the game.

Fajardo found Jose Barbon for an 11-yard gain on a third-down gamble two plays earlier to set up the score, but Montreal missed the two-point conversion.

The Alouettes kicked short and managed to recover the ball on the ensuing play to build momentum. The home side, however, went two-and-out and punter Joseph Zima scored a rouge.

Rourke then rushed 18 yards on third down to restore B.C.’s 11-point lead with 5:03 remaining.

An Interception by B.C.’s T. J. Lee with 3:32 left all but sealed the deal.

The Lions opened the scoring on the game’s first drive. Fullback David Mackie ran 23 yards for his sixth rushing touchdown of the season to complete a six-play, 66-yard drive 3:03 into the game.

Rourke was picked off with 5:07 left in the first quarter when Montreal’s Bryce Cosby collected a pass that deflected off the hands of B.C. receiver Justin McInnis.

Whyte kicked a field goal to put the Lions up 10-0 after the first quarter.

Up 10-3, Rourke threw another interception that deflected off a teammate. His pass bounced off Stanback and into the hands of Montreal safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy.

The Alouettes would settle for a field goal to make it 10-6 in the second quarter.

Rourke bounced back with a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. He found Ayden Eberhardt on a 15-yard TD pass with 3:41 left to give the Lions an 11-point lead.

But the turnovers didn’t stop there.

On the next B.C. possession, Kabion recovered Stanback’s fumble at Montreal’s 16-yard line. Stanback was initially ruled down but officials overturned the play after an Alouettes challenge.

Fajardo then led the Alouettes downfield on an 11-play, 91-yard drive, culminating in a six-yard TD pass to Cole Spieker deep in the end zone with less than a second left on the clock. The Lions led 17-13.

UP NEXT

Alouettes: Visit the Calgary Stampeders on Aug. 14 for the first of three straight games on the road.

Lions: Host the Toronto Argonauts next Friday to open three consecutive games at home.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.

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After finishing fourth in a deep Copa America run, coach Jesse Marsch and the 40th-ranked Canadian men now get to test themselves against the three top-ranked teams in CONCACAF.

The run of friendlies starts Saturday against the 16th-ranked U.S. in Kansas City, a matchup the Canadians go into with a “bit of swagger,” according to Marsch.

“You see that they’ve grown. There’s more self-confidence,” Marsch said in a virtual availability Friday. “That they believe in themselves. They believe in the process that’s been created. They’re all committed, all the way.

“It’s a great team to work with, in terms of the mentality, the work ethic, the commitment to play for the national team. It’s a real special group. And it gives us the opportunity and optimism that we can continue to get better.”

After the Americans, Canada faces No. 17 Mexico on Tuesday in Arlington, Texas, before hosting No. 35 Panama on Oct. 15 at Toronto’s BMO Field.

And while all three games are friendlies, it’s a chance to make a mark.

“The U.S. has established itself as the best team in the region,” said Marsch, a former U.S. international. “Even though Canada won the (CONCACAF) qualifying group for (the 2022) World Cup, I still think that everyone knows that with the resources, with the size of the country, with the establishment of what the sport has been in the United States, that this is a big measuring stick for us.”

Saturday marks Canada’s first action since a penalty shootout loss to No. 11 Uruguay in the July 13 third-place game at Copa America.

Canada is 1-3-4 — albeit against elite opposition, including a pair of 2-0 losses to top-ranked Argentina — since Marsch took the reins, with one of those ties turning into the shootout loss to Uruguay and another into a shootout win over No. 37 Venezuela in the Copa quarterfinal.

The two North American rivals last met in July 2023 when the U.S., under former coach Gregg Berhalter, defeated Canada in a penalty shootout in Cincinnati after the Gold Cup quarterfinal finished knotted at 2-2. The previous month, the U.S. blanked Canada and then-coach John Herdman 2-0 in the CONCACAF Nations League final in Las Vegas.

The U.S. are currently led by assistant coach Mikey Varas with former Tottenham and Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino reportedly the favourite to become the permanent replacement for Berhalter, who was fired July 10 after the Americans failed to survive the Copa America group stage.

“I think Canada had a good run in Copa America and we had a disappointing run,” Varas said Friday. “And that’s pretty much where it’s left for me.

“We know that we’re showing up here with the objective of showing who we are. We want to show ourselves who we are but show everybody else who we are. And that’s all we’ve really been focused on.”

The U.S. goes into Saturday’s game with a 17-10-13 record against Canada.

The Canadian men’s last win over the U.S. was in January 2022, a 2-0 decision in World Cup qualifying play in Hamilton. Their last victory over the Americans on U.S. soil was in July 1957, a 3-2 World Cup qualifying victory in St. Louis.

“I don’t think it’s really important,” Canada captain Alphonso Davies said of that history. “Every single game that we play, we want to win. Obviously playing the U.S. in the U.S. is a big game. Every time Canada plays the U.S., a lot of people tune in.”

Watching the U.S. lift the Nations League trophy after beating Canada last year in Las Vegas is motivation enough “to go out there and try and do something that hasn’t been done in a long time,” he added.

“I think we’re ready for it. And we’re prepared for the occasion.”

The Americans go into Saturday’s contest with an 8-0-2 record at Children’s Mercy Park, where they have outscored their opposition 20-2.

Marsch’s squad includes uncapped midfielders Niko Sigur (Hadjuk Split, Croatia) and Nathan Saliba (CF Montreal) and forward Stephen Afrifa(Sporting Kansas City).

Sigur, born in Burnaby, B.C., with parents of Croatian descent, represented Croatia at youth level but has switched international allegiance to Canada. The Toronto-born Afrifa was also eligible for Ghana.

The 20-year-old Salibaand 21-year-old Columbus forward Jacen Russell-Rowe have come in for the injured Sam Adekugbe and Theo Bair. York United assistant coach Mauro Eustaquio, the older bother of vice-captain Stephen Eustaquio, has been added to Marsch’s coaching staff for the September window.

The U.S. brought in Chivas Guadalajara midfielder Cade Cowell to replace the injured Gio Reyna. The American roster includes uncapped defender Marlon Fossey (Standard Liege, Belgium) and goalkeeper Diego Kochen (FC Barcelona B).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024

PARIS – Canadian wheelchair racer Cody Fournie doesn’t love the limelight, but he raced into it at the Paralympic Games in Paris.

Fournie won the T51 men’s 100 metres Friday at Stade de France to become a double gold medallist in his Paralympic debut.

The 35-year-old from Victoria also won Tuesday’s 200 metres. Fournie took the 100 in a Paralympic-record time of 19.63 seconds.

“It means the world to me,” Fournie said.

The work he and coach Geoff Harris did on Fournie’s starts since he took silver in the 100 in May’s world para athletics championship in Kobe, Japan, was evident Friday.

The Canadian rocketed off the start line and no competitor could catch him.

“It was just a new technique Geoffrey and I worked on since Kobe, Japan,” Fournie said. “It was quick frequency leading into longer strides.”

Fournie thrived on the track, but was uncomfortable with the attention his success brought.

“I don’t know how to take it,” he said. “The new-found fame is not something I’m used to. I’m better one on one. I don’t like people staring at me and looking at me. I definitely don’t like talking to all these reporters.”

Earlier Friday, Toronto discus thrower Jesse Zesseu claimed a silver medal.

The 25-year-old put the disappointment of the 2023 world para athletics championship in Paris behind him with a 53.24-metre toss that put him on the podium in his first Paralympic Games.

“I was here last year in exactly the same city, Paris, at the Stade Charlety and I triple faulted. It was the worst moment in my life and I cried,” Zesseu said.

“I cried again now in Paris but for a different reason, a good reason.”

He was just over four metres shy of Tolibboy Yuldashev from Uzbekistan, whose gold-medal throw travelled 57.28 metres.

Bronze medallist Haider Ali of Pakistan threw 52.54.

“Over there, Yuldashev (set a personal best) by six metres; I love that guy. It’s incredible to have this feeling of being here,” Zesseu said. “The crowd was insane.”

Zesseu competes in the men’s F37 classification. He has mild cerebral palsy from a stroke at birth, which limits function on the right side of his body.

He came to para sport as an adult and was encouraged to explore his Paralympic potential while working for Cerebral Palsy Ontario.

“Everything in the last three years since I started para sport was to do this. I have no words, it’s just incredible,” Zesseu said.

Fournie’s neck was broken at age 11 when he was run over by a truck while he was crossing the road in Kamloops, B.C., which rendered him a quadriplegic.

His wife Abigail didn’t travel to Paris because the couple have another trip planned for October.

“We’re saving our money to go to Mexico,” Fournie explained. “I didn’t want to spend a bunch of money for her to come and watch me for a minute and stay at an Airbnb all by herself.”

He was the only man in Friday’s sprint final to go under 20 seconds.

“I attribute my success to my faith in Christ, my hard work in training and the team at the West Hub in Victoria,” Fournie said.

“They have helped me tremendously get here and work on everything I need to work on.”

Silver medallist Peter Genyn of Belgium finished in 20.47 seconds and Toni Piispanen of Finland took bronze in 21.14.

Fournie was born in Rimbey, Alta., but the former wheelchair rugby player lives in Victoria where he’s been training at Athletics Canada’s West Hub on the Camosun College camps since 2021.

Nate Reich, the reigning Paralympic champion in the men’s T38 1,500 metres, and wheelchair racer Austin Smeenk, who won a T34 100-metre bronze in Paris, also train there.

Reich will attempt to defend his title and Smeenk races the 800 metres in Saturday’s track and field finale.

Fournie’s medal was Canada’s seventh, and fourth gold, at the track. Brent Lakatos won the men’s T53 800 metres and Greg Stewart the F46 men’s shot put.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.