VICTORIA, B.C. — The BC Lions welcome the Ottawa REDBLACKS to Royal Athletic Park in Victoria for Touchdown Pacific presented by WestJet on Saturday.
The game also opens up OK Tire Labour Day weekend and is a Week 12 rematch of that saw Ottawa outlast BC 34-27.
It’s been a tale of two teams over the past several weeks when analyzing the play of the REDBLACKS and Lions. Ottawa is 5-0-1 in their past six, while BC has lost five in a row.
Quarterback Dru Brown was a major reason for their most recent win, picking apart the Lions’ secondary for 390 yards and three touchdowns.
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» Game Notes: Touchdown Pacific
But Brown will be without significant receiving pieces as Jaelon Acklin, Bralon Addison and Kalil Pimpleton are all out with injuries. That means more responsibility is set to fall on Justin Hardy, Dominique Rhymes and Nick Mardner. The rookie Mardner pulled down 95 yards in a breakout game last week.
Emmanuel Rugamba picked off a Brown pass in the Lions’ latest loss and has to step up again when the ball goes his way, while T.J. Lee and Garry Peters need to provide veteran leadership downfield to help slow Hardy, Rhymes and Mardner. So far this season, their secondary is giving up 298.7 yards per game.
Watch live. Ottawa REDBLACKS @ BC Lions, Sept. 1, 01:00 CET (1 am, 7 pm Aug.31, EDT)
Part of the success of the REDBLACKS has been the comfort they’ve shown in close games, Brown said. It’s something they’ll have to be ready for again this week.
“I really believe that good teams find ways to win,” Brown told reporters. “Even if it’s ugly, if it’s a single-digit game or if it’s a double-digit game, good teams find a way and they feed off each other. We do that here. We have a bunch of guys that care a lot about the game and the preparation and then they care about one another.”
The Lions’ front seven, led by Sione Teuhema on the defensive line and the emergence of Ryder Varga at linebacker did a good job of limiting REDBLACKS’ running back Ryquell Armstead to just 52 yards on 11 carries last week. Stopping Armstead for a second time will be no easy task given he’s just one yard shy of 600 on the season.
Help is on the way, though, as the Lions see the return of All-Star defensive lineman Mathieu Betts after a stint in the National Football League.
The transition back to the CFL hasn’t been linear for Nathan Rourke thus far. Through two games, Rourke’s thrown for 360 yards while failing to find the end zone and he’s been intercepted three times.
Despite the early struggles, he’ll get another opportunity to shake off the rust and return to his 2022 form.
Watch live. Ottawa REDBLACKS @ BC Lions, Sept. 1, 01:00 CET (1 am, 7 pm Aug.31, EDT)
For Rourke to find success, Justin McInnis and Alexander Hollins have to be the leaders of the receiving corps. If Jevon Cottoy, Ayden Eberhardt and Keon Hatcher can prove to be a viable supporting cast, it’ll place even more pressure on the REDBLACKS’ secondary.
Defensive back Alijah McGhee has turned himself into a reliable defender in Bob Dyce’s secondary which also features the talented Alonzo Addae, Brandin Dandridge, Deandre Lamont and Damon Webb. They’ve been impressive over their last three games, allowing an average of 267.3 yards.
The defence’s ability to apply pressure on opposing quarterbacks has been critical, with Webb, Cleyon Laing and Michael Wakefield all recording a sack last week. The Lions’ offensive line will also have to deal with Bryce Carter, who’s back from injury as they try find a way to give their offence more time to let plays develop.
Nathan Rourke will look to get back to his defence-dissecting ways in his birthplace of Victoria on Saturday (Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca)
Rourke remains confident that the work he and the receiving corps are putting in will get them back on track.
“I feel like we’re getting better everyday,” Rourke told reporters. “(A) familiar opponent I think also works in our favour. We’re hoping to get a better result this time around. I’d like to see less turnovers, preferably none, and a win. They’re a good team. They’re physical, they fly around, they’re very well coached. They do what they do and they do it very well.”
If the options aren’t there for Rourke, William Stanback will have to shoulder more of the offensive load. Stanback has been a bright spot in the Lions’ offensive scheme of late, rushing for 286 yards in his last three games, including 99 in the nation’s capital.
Ottawa is looking to run its unbeaten streak to seven games with a victory.
The West Division is up for grabs and a win would put the Lions into first place at 6-5.