The B.C. Lions (5-1) hosted the Saskatchewan Roughriders (4-1) on Saturday night for the first time this season from B.C. Place where the winner took over first place in the West Division. This game was filled with lots of action with the majority of the scoring coming from the kickers. The fans in B.C. were treated to an entertaining game.
First Quarter:
In the first quarter, B.C. quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. threw a 55-yard pass to Ayden Eberhardt. Two players later, he threw an 11-yard pass to William Stanback on the Roughriders’ 9-yard line. Kicker Sean Whyte made a 16-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 12:19 left.
On the second play for Saskatchewan, quarterback Shea Patterson attempted to throw the ball to Kian Schaffer-Baker but B.C. defensive back Adrian Green jumped the route to make the interception on their 52-yard line with 11:25 left of the first quarter. B.C.’s offense was unable to take advantage of the turnover and gave it right back to Saskatchewan.
On B.C.’s next possession, quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. led the Lions on a six-play drive for 63 yards before Adams Jr. threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Justin McInnis. The Lions extended their lead to 10-0 with 4:45 left of the first quarter.
Saskatchewan kick returner Mario Alford put the Roughriders in a great position with a 41-yard return before he was tackled on their 48-yard line. Saskatchewan went on a three-play drive for 62 yards ending with running back A.J. Ouellette scoring a three-yard touchdown.
The score was now 10-7 B.C. with 2:12 left. On the final play of the first quarter, Saskatchewan defensive tackle Micah Johnson sacked B.C. quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. for a five-yard loss on the Roughriders’ 43-yard line.
The Lions led the Roughriders 10-7 at the end of the first quarter. B.C. had 168 yards on offense (159 yards passing, 19 yards rushing, 10 yards lost). Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 9 of 11 passes for 159 yards, one touchdown, and two carries for 14 yards. Saskatchewan had 64 yards on offense (59 yards passing, five yards rushing). Quarterback Shea Patterson completed 2 of 4 passes for 59 yards, and one interception.
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, B.C. kicker Sean Whyte made a 50-yard field goal extending the B.C.’s lead to 13-7 with 14:42 left. On their next possession, B.C. went on a four-play drive for 53 yards resulting in kicker Sean Whyte making his third field goal of the night for 28 yards making it 16-7 Lions with 8:58 left before halftime.
Saskatchewan came back putting together a three-play drive for 52 yards before stalling. Kicker Brett Lauther made a 13-yard field goal and the score was now 16-10 B.C. with 6:52 left of the second quarter.
B.C. started their next drive when quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. was sacked by Anthony Lanier II for a seven-yard loss. They responded by going on a four-play drive for 64 yards before kicker Sean Whyte made a 44-yard field goal for a 19-10 lead with 1:49 left before halftime.
Both teams would get one more possession in the second quarter but neither could add any more points. The Lions led the Roughriders 19-10 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
B.C. had 269 yards on offense (282 yards passing, 31 yards rushing, 44 yards lost). Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 17 of 26 passes (65%) for 282 yards, one touchdown, and three carries for 27 yards. Running back William Stanback had four carries for four yards and made two catches for 14 yards.
Wide receiver Justin McInnis made nine catches for 148 yards, one touchdown, while Ayden Eberhardt made one catch for 55 yards. B.C.’s defense made two tackles for loss, one sack, and one interception. The Lions were penalized three times for 40 yards.
Saskatchewan had 145 yards on offense (141 yards passing, 5 yards rushing, one yard lost). Quarterback Shea Patterson completed 8 of 11 passes (72%) for 141 yards, one interception, and one carry for one yard. Running back A.J. Ouellette had four carries for four yards and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Samuel Emilus made four catches for 119 yards, and Jerreth Sterns made two catches for 9 yards. Saskatchewan’s defense made four sacks, and one tackle for loss. The Roughriders were penalized three times for 35 yards.
Third Quarter:
In the third quarter, the Roughriders had a chance to pull within six points but kicker Brett Lauther missed a 47-yard field goal wide left and B.C. returner Terry Williams returned it for 56 yards on their 40-yard line.
Saskatchewan’s defense came up with a big play when Rolan Milligan Jr. intercepted Vernon Adams Jr.’s pass intended to Stanley Berryhill III. Milligan Jr. returned the ball for 31 yards plus the Roughriders got 15 yards extra on a face mask penalty by B.C. The Roughriders took advantage when kicker Brett Lauther kicked a 24-yard field goal and the score was now 19-13 B.C. with 4:15 left of the third quarter.
The Lions responded in the next series. Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. led the team on a four-play drive for 45 yards leading to kicker Sean Whyte making a 32-yard field goal for a 22-13 lead with 1:04 left of the third quarter. Whyte had now kicked 37 consecutive field goals.
On the second play for Saskatchewan, quarterback Shea Patterson completed a 49-yard pass to Kian Schaffer-Baker to the Lions’ 14-yard line. The final play of the third quarter saw quarterback Shea Patterson rush for a gain of one yard on the Lions’ four-yard line. The Lions led the Roughriders 22-13 to end the third quarter.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Saskatchewan faced third down from the one-yard line. Quarterback Shea Patterson tried to score the touchdown using the quarterback sneak but the Lions’ defense stood tall to prevent the Roughriders from scoring a touchdown.
Saskatchewan’s defense made quick work to get their offense back out when Deontai Williams intercepted Vernon Adams Jr. on the Lions’ eight-yard line.
The Roughriders capitalized when running back A.J. Ouellette moved the Lions’ defense with the help of his offensive lineman pushing him into the endzone for an eight-yard touchdown. The Roughriders trailed the Lions 22-20 with 11:32 left in the game.
Saskatchewan’s special teams faked the kickoff for an onside kick and Brett Lauther recovered it on their 41-yard line. However, their luck did not go as planned when wide receiver Samuel Emilus caught a 13-yard pass from Shea Patterson before Joshua Archibald tackled the football out of his arm and the Lions recovered it on their 49-yard line.
B.C. quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. made quick work putting together a three-play drive for 61 yards before Adams Jr. scrambled out of the pocket to score a 12-yard touchdown. The Lions led the Roughriders 29-20 with 7:29 left in the game.
B.C.’s defense made two key stops not allowing the Roughriders to move the ball. Kicker Sean Whyte made a 20-yard field goal that made it 32-20 with 1:31 left. On the final play of the game, Sean Whyte made a 35-yard field goal, and the B.C. Lions defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders 35-20. The Lions take over first place in the West Division.
Final Stats:
B.C. had 457 yards on offense (451 yards passing, 53 yards rushing, 47 yards lost). Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 26 of 42 passes (62%) for 451 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, four carries for 39 yards, and one touchdown. Running back William Stanback had 12 carries for 14 yards and made two catches for 14 yards.
Wide receiver Justin McInnis made 14 catches for 243 yards, and one touchdown, while Alexander Hollins made five catches for 83 yards. Kicker Sean Whyte made seven field goals with a long of 50 yards. Whyte has made 39 consecutive field goals. B.C.’s defense made 37 tackles, four tackles for loss, four sacks, one interception, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and eight tackles on special teams. B.C. was penalized four times for 55 yards.
Saskatchewan had 340 yards on offense (278 yards passing, 86 yards rushing, 24 yards lost) Quarterback Shea Patterson completed 17 of 25 passes (68%) for 278 yards, one interception, and five carries for 14 yards. Running back A.J. Ouellette had 12 carries for 72 yards, two touchdowns, and made one catch for seven yards.
Wide receiver Samuel Emilus made eight catches for 161 yards, while Kian Schaffer-Baker made four catches for 82 yards. Kicker Brett Lauther made two field goals with a long of 24 yards. Saskatchewan’s defense made 42 tackles, six tackles for loss, four sacks, two interceptions, and seven tackles on special teams. The Roughriders were penalized six times for 70 yards.
Final Thoughts:
Kickers in the CFL do not get paid enough in this league. If it were not for the kickers, we would be seeing low-scoring games across the league. B.C. kicker Sean Whyte continues to make history with every field goal being made without a miss.
Last week, Whyte broke Paul McCallum’s record with 31 straight field goals. The defenses for both teams played exceptionally well. They combined allowing four touchdowns in the game.
For Saskatchewan, their defense gave the offense plenty of chances and they could not do it. I think the Roughriders needed to run the ball more instead of passing. Shea Patterson was not bad, but you cannot keep relying on the kicker to get you points. Saskatchewan should have had a couple of touchdowns and we might have had a different outcome of this game.
For the Lions’ offense, this was not their best game since Week 1. Vernon Adams Jr. threw some good passes but his receivers dropped a handful of them including Alexander Hollins, who had a touchdown in front of him but could not make the catch.
Going forward, the Lions need to get their running backs more involved in the offense and not let Adams Jr. run the ball as much. All in all, it was an entertaining game and it should be a fun one next time they meet again.
Next week, the Saskatchewan Roughriders host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday at 9:30 pm on TSN and CFL+, while the B.C. Lions visit the Calgary Stampeders on Sunday at 7 pm on TSN and CBS Sports Network. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
