VANCOUVER — Rookie quarterback Nathan Rourke proved he’s a bonifide CFL starter Friday, leading his B.C. Lions to a decisive 43-10 victory over the Edmonton Elks in Vancouver.
The Victoria-born Rourke threw for 359 yards, connecting on 23 of 34 attempts with a passing touchdown and two interceptions. He also ran in three TDs in his second-ever CFL start.
But the University of Ohio alum still sees room for improvement.
“It wasn’t a perfect performance by any means. There were two interceptions and you can’t have that in the CFL, teams are too good. So gotta learn from that,” Rourke said.
“But it’s good going into the off-season knowing I can play in this league, I’ve shown it. I can help this team win. But there’s still a lot that I left there on the field. And that’s exciting because there’s so much to go after in the off-season. And I’m motivated to do that.”
Friday’s game was a season finale for B.C. (5-9) and Edmonton (3-11), with both teams missing the playoffs and finishing the season in fourth and fifth place respectively in the West Division.
It was a much-needed result, however, for a Lions team that came in on a seven-game losing skid after starting the campaign 4-2.
“I’m glad we played with a lot of effort and passion and finished it off the correct way,” said head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell. “The season didn’t go the way we wanted it but I think there’s a lot of really good pieces here and players that can win a lot of games for the B.C. Lions and we’re going to work hard at improving ourselves.”
B.C.’s defence also had a strong showing on Friday, with five interceptions, three pass knockdowns and two sacks.
Halfback T.J. Lee said it was a game where “everything basically came to fruition.”
“We call this a campaign game where you’re campaigning for next year,” he said. “It’s all about the future, it’s all about longevity. You’re playing for a lot of things, you’re playing for your last name.”
Elks quarterback Taylor Cornelius was replaced midway through the second quarter after tossing for just 27 yards and three interceptions. Dakota Prukop had 183 passing yards and threw one touchdown in relief, but had two passes picked off by the B.C. defence.
A massive first half saw the Lions jump out to a 34-0 lead before Edmonton could muster a single point.
The offence was quieter in the second, with both sides limited to field goals.
Nick Vogel recorded 43 and 44-yard kicks for B.C. in the third quarter, then added a 24-yarder in the fourth. Edmonton kicker Sean Whyte made a 12-yard field goal early in the third, marking his team’s final points of the night.
The Elks finally got on the board with seconds left in the first half after Prukop sent an arching 45-yard bomb down the field to Armanti Edwards, giving Edmonton a first down at the B.C. 13-yard line. Prukop capped the scoring drive with a three-yard toss to Jalen Toliver in the end zone and Whyte made the convert.
“In a game like this, you really need to come out fast to create some adrenaline, some juice that can really sustain you. And we didn’t do that,” said Elks head coach Jamie Elizondo.
Edmonton was coming off a 13-7 win over the Toronto Argonauts on Tuesday and playing their third game in less than a week. Elizondo admitted his group was running on fumes.
“There’s no doubt we struggled in having our legs under us. It showed up in missed tackles, it showed up in drops, it showed up on special teams. So it showed up in a number of different areas,” he said.
“But I’m proud of the fact that these guys tried to do something that’s never been done in football. They came out and tried to give us their best and at the end of the day, there was just nothing left in the tank.”
Lucky Whitehead recorded B.C.’s fifth touchdown of the night late in the second quarter, weaving his way out of several attempted tackles and dashing 79 yards down field for the score.
Just minutes earlier, Lions defensive back Anthony Cioffi put his side in scoring position when he picked off a pass from Cornelius and ran it back 25 yards.
Rourke followed the interception with a 33-yard pass to Dominique Rhymes and capped the drive with a two-yard run for his third TD of the night.
It was the second time a Lions interception turned into a touchdown Friday.
Earlier in the quarter, T.J. Lee picked off a pass and went for a 14-yard run. B.C. worked its way down the field before Rourke sprinted five yards into the end zone to give the home side a 20-0 lead.
There were some tense moments midway through the second when B.C.’s rookie returner Quadree Henderson went down with a serious leg injury. Players from both teams immediately took a knee as trainers rushed onto the field and the former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver gave a thumbs up as he was taken off on a stretcher.
By the end of the first quarter, the Lions had already jumped out to a 14-0 lead.
Whitehead appeared to dive over the goal line for a major midway through the frame, but the play was reviewed, with officials determining he had been taken down by contact. The ball was instead placed on the Edmonton one-yard line before Rourke muscled it over for a touchdown.
A trick play helped B.C. open the scoring. Vogel appeared ready to attempt a 52-yard field goal midway through the first quarter, but punter Stefan Flintof kicked it across the field to Jevon Cottoy instead, giving the Lions a first down at the Edmonton 30-yard line.
Rourke finished off the 10-play, 77-yard scoring drive with a 10-yard toss to a wide-open Bryan Burnham in the end zone.
NOTES: Rourke got the start in place of veteran B.C. quarterback Michael Reilly who is on the six-game injured list with a lingering elbow issue. … Vogel has made all eight of his field goal attempts since joining the Lions earlier this month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2021.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
