On Saturday night at BC Place, the BC Lions (2-0) closed out week three with a 44-3 beatdown against the Toronto Argonauts (1-1).
Lions’ quarterback Nathan Rourke was 39/45 for 436 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions, and three carries for 15-yards. Rourke’s first touchdown came in the first quarter when he threw to Bryan Burnham for 19 yards to take a 7-0 lead.
Then, the Lions’ kicker Sean Whyte made a 21-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead with 17-seconds left in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Rourke threw his second touchdown pass to Dominique Rhymes for 19 yards and a 17-3 lead with 7:29 left.
Lions’ kicker Sean Whyte made two more field goals, one that went 44 yards just as the second quarter ended and a 50-yarder with 5:48 left in the third quarter for a 23-3 lead.
Late in the third quarter, Rourke threw his third touchdown of the night to Jevon Cottoy for 29 yards, making it 30-3 with 1:36 left. Finally, Rourke found Dominique Rhymes for the second time for 24 yards, and it was 37-3 with 10:08 left in the game. Rhymes led the receivers with eight catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns.
BC’s final touchdown of the night went to running back David Mackie for one yard, and it was 44-3 with 1:45 left in the game. Mackie led the Lions’ rushers with 16 carries for 90 yards and one touchdown.
The Lions’ defense allowed 242 yards, 35 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles, two pass breakups, two interceptions, and two fumble recoveries.
Meanwhile, Argonauts’ quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson was 15/21 for 178 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception. His backup, Chad Kelly, was 2/4 for 26 yards, no touchdowns, and one interception.
Andrew Harris led the Argo’s rushers with seven carries for 27 yards, while DaVaris Daniels caught four passes for 60-yards. Kicker Boris Bede scored the only Argo’s points of the game in the second quarter with a 23-yard field goal. The Argo’s defense allowed 583 yards, 70 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, three pass breakups, and one fumble recovery.
This game bares one question. Are the Lions really good, or are the Argonauts that bad? This is the second time the Lions have put 40 or more points on opponents this season. No one picked the Lions to go anywhere this year, and if they keep this up, the other teams will have a hard time stopping them.
Meanwhile, Toronto did not look good in this game. They have to make changes to their roster immediately if they want to compete. So, this game should be a wake-up call for them.
Next week, the Lions take on the Ottawa Redblacks on Thursday Night Football at 7:30 pm on ESPN2, while the Argonauts clash with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Monday at 4 pm on ESPN+.
