The Ottawa Redblacks (7-2-1) hosted the B.C. Lions (5-6) on Saturday night from TD Place Stadium. Dru Brown returned as the starting quarterback missing last week’s game with a knee injury. Meanwhile, Nathan Rourke made his second start at quarterback for the B.C. Lions looking to have a better performance than last week against Saskatchewan.
First Quarter:
In the first quarter, B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke threw three passes for 47 yards plus rushing for a gain of 8 yards to the Redblacks’ 14-yard line. On the next play, Rourke tried to complete a pass to Alexander Hollins but it was incomplete at the 1-yard line. However, a defensive pass interference penalty on Alijah McGhee gave the Lions a first down from the 1-yard line.
B.C. Lions fullback David Mackie was the quarterback on third down. He scored the touchdown with a quarterback sneak for a 7-0 lead with 11:25 left of the first quarter capping off a six-play drive for 69 yards.
On Ottawa’s first drive of the game, quarterback Dru Brown threw two passes for 52 yards, and running back Ryquell Armstead rushed for a gain of 6 yards to the Lions’ 17-yard line. The drive stalled and kicker Lewis Ward made a 24-yard field goal. The Redblacks trailed the Lions 7-3 with 8:36 left of the first quarter.
B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke and running back William Stanback led the offense on a six-play drive for 61 yards to the Redblacks’ 9-yard line. After Rourke’s pass to Keon Hatcher was incomplete, kicker Sean Whyte made a 16-yard field goal for a 10-3 lead with 4:45 left of the first quarter.
B.C.’s defense forced a two-and-out with 3:24 left of the first quarter. B.C. returner Terry Williams gave the offense good field position after returning a punt for 37 yards to the Redblacks’ 44-yard line. B.C.’s offense moved the ball to the Redblacks’ 30-yard line facing third down as the first quarter ended up 10-3.
B.C. had 136 yards on offense (107 yards passing, 29 yards rushing), 9 first downs, and 1 for 2 in the red zone. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 9 of 10 passes for 107 yards. Ottawa had 58 yards on offense (52 yards passing, 6 yards rushing), 2 first downs, and 0 for 1 in the red zone. Quarterback Dru Brown completed 4 of 5 passes for 52 yards.
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, B.C. kicker Sean Whyte attempted a 37-yard field goal. Ottawa defensive back Brandin Dandridge blocked the field goal. The ball rolled into the end zone which was recovered by DeVonte Dedmon. Instead of running it out of the end zone, Dedmon conceded a single and the Lions led 11-3 with 14:09 left.
On the third play for Ottawa, quarterback Dru Brown threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Dominique Rhymes but it was called back after Rhymes was called for offensive pass interference with 12:55 left of the second quarter. B.C.’s defense stopped them forcing the Redblacks to punt the ball. B.C.’s offense started from their 10-yard line with 11:34 left.
After William Stanback rushed for a gain of 13 yards to their 23-yard line, quarterback Nathan Rourke was sacked by Cleyon Lang for a 12-yard loss. On the next play, Rourke tried to force a throw into coverage in the direction of Ayden Eberhardt. Eberhardt who had two Ottawa players on him before Ottawa defensive back Alijah McGhee leaped up in the air to make the interception. He returned it for 3 yards before getting tackled at the Lions’ 34-yard line.
Ottawa quarterback Dru Brown threw a 9-yard pass to Dominique Rhymes and running back Ryquell Armstead rushed for a gain of 3 yards to the Lions’ 22-yard line. On second down, Brown threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Jaelon Acklin. The Redblacks went for a two-point conversion to tie the game but missed and trailed the Lions 11-9 with 8:09 left of the second quarter.
On B.C.’s next drive, quarterback Nathan Rourke rushed for a gain of 51 yards, and running back William Stanback had two carries for 7 yards before the drive stalled. Kicker Sean Whyte made a 21-yard field goal for a 14-9 lead with 5:37 left before halftime.
Ottawa quarterback Dru Brown threw two passes for 42 yards. B.C.’s defense came up big when Patrice Rene intercepted Brown on their 21-yard line. Rene was also tacked with an objectionable conduct penalty for 10 yards and the Lions’ offense started on their 11-yard line. B.C. went two-and-out and the Redblacks’ offense started on the Lions’ 48-yard line.
On the first play, B.C. linebacker Ayinde Eley used his helmet to tackle the ball out of Ottawa running back Ryquell Armstead’s arm and Ryder Varga recovered it on their 46-yard line. B.C.’s offense moved the ball for 36 yards before the drive stalled and kicker Sean Whyte made a 35-yard field goal for a 17-9 lead with 1:17 left before halftime.
Ottawa’s offense had the ball with 1:12 left before halftime. They went on a three-play drive for 28 yards before kicker Lewis Ward made a 54-yard field goal and the Redblacks trailed the Lions 17-12 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
B.C. had 250 yards on offense (145 yards passing, 111 yards rushing, 6 yards lost), 14 first downs, and 1 for 3 in the red zone. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 12 of 18 passes (66%) for 145 yards, one interception, and four carries for 63 yards. Running back William Stanback had 8 carries for 63 yards.
Wide receiver Justin McInnis made 5 catches for 79 yards, and Ayden Eberhardt made three catches for 43 yards. The defense made two tackles for loss, one interception, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. They were penalized 4 times for 30 yards.
Ottawa had 194 yards on offense (170 yards passing, 24 yards rushing), 8 first downs, and 0 for 1 in the red zone. Quarterback Dru Brown completed 11 of 18 passes (61%) for 170 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Running back Ryquell Armstead had 6 carries for 24 yards.
Wide receiver Braylon Addison made 3 catches for 94 yards, and Jaelon Acklin made two catches for 34 yards and one touchdown. Ottawa’s defense had one sack and one tackle for loss. They were penalized 3 times for 33 yards.
Third Quarter:
In the third quarter, Ottawa quarterback Dru Brown threw a short quick pass to Nick Mardner. Mardner made a juke move to avoid getting tackled by T.J. Lee before taking off for a 64-yard touchdown. The Redblacks went for a two-point conversion and running back Ryquell Armstead got it for a 20-17 lead with 13:49 left.
On B.C.’s first drive of the third quarter, quarterback Nathan Rourke had pressure on him with Damon Webb stripping the ball and Kene Onyeka recovered it on the Lions’ 35-yard line. On the second play for the Redblacks, quarterback Dru Brown threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Jaelon Acklin. However, B.C. challenged for offensive pass interference and won.
The Redblacks lost 10 yards and resumed play on the Lions’ 39-yard line. After going two-and-out, kicker Lewis Ward attempted a 36-yard field goal but the ball hit the left upright for a dead ball and they came away with no points still up 20-17 with 11:16 left of the third quarter.
Moving ahead into the action, Ottawa’s offense had the ball on their 32-yard line with 9:03 left of the third quarter. They went on a six-play drive for 100 yards to the Lions’ 22-yard line. On the next play, quarterback Dru Brown threw a short pass to Nick Mardner and he turned on the jets to score a 22-yard touchdown for a 27-17 lead with 5:45 left of the third quarter.
When B.C. got the ball, quarterback Nathan Rourke completed five passes for 40 yards to the Redblacks’ 7-yard line. Running back William Stanback had two carries for 6 yards before David Mackie scored a 1-yard touchdown using a quarterback sneak. The Lions trailed the Redblacks 27-24 capping off a 10-play drive for 63 yards in five minutes.
On the final play of the third quarter, Ottawa quarterback Dru Brown threw a 12-yard pass to Justin Hardy to their 53-yard line. Ottawa led 27-24 with one quarter left to play.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Ottawa moved the ball up to the Lions’ 13-yard line. On the next play, quarterback Dru Brown threw the ball high in the direction of Jaelon Acklin. Acklin leaped over B.C. defensive back T.J. Lee before landing hard on his back and he did not move. The Ottawa training staff and medical crew were on the scene. They carefully loaded him on the stretcher and into the ambulance before taking him to a local hospital.
Once play resumed, the Redblacks marched down to the Lions’ 1-yard line before backup quarterback Dustin Crum scored the touchdown with a quarterback sneak. Ottawa extended their lead 34-24 with 5:52 left of the game to cap off a 16-play drive for 70 yards in 9 minutes.
Ottawa’s defense made a nice play when Michael Wakefield stretched his arm out to strip the football out of Nathan Rourke’s throwing hand and he recovered it on the Lions’ 34-yard line. On the next play, quarterback Dru Brown threw a short pass to Braylon Addison. Addison lost the ball when linebacker Christian Covington knocked it out and Jonah Tavai recovered it on their 45-yard line. B.C.’s offense went on a six-play drive for 55 yards before kicker Sean Whyte made a 17-yard field goal and the Lions trailed the Redblacks 34-27 with 1:59 left of the game.
Ottawa got the ball on their 40-yard line. The offense did a nice job getting yards while staying out of bounds and forcing the Lions to burn their timeouts. Running back Ryquell Armstead put the final nail in the coffin with an 11-yard run for the first down with 38 seconds left and the Redblacks went into victory formation. Ottawa defeated the B.C. Lions 34-27.
Final Stats:
Ottawa had 451 yards on offense (390 yards passing, 63 yards rushing, 2 yards lost), 23 first downs, and 1 for 2 in the red zone. Quarterback Dru Brown completed 28 of 37 passes (76%) for 390 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception, and 1 carry for 1 yard. Running back Ryquell Armstead had 15 carries for 52 yards and 4 catches for 34 yards.
Wide receiver Justin Hardy made 11 catches for 114 yards, while Nick Mardner made 3 catches for 95 yards, and 2 touchdowns and Jaelon Acklin made 3 catches for 43 yards and 1 touchdown. Kicker Lewis Ward made 2 of 3 field goals with a long of 54 yards. Ottawa’s defense made 48 tackles, one tackle for loss, three sacks, one interception, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and six tackles on special teams. They were penalized 7 times for 68 yards.
B.C. had 381 yards on offense (234 yards passing, 165 yards rushing, 18 yards lost), 24 first downs, and 2 for 5 in the red zone. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 22 of 31 passes (71%) for 234 yards, one interception, and 4 carries for 63 yards. Running back William Stanback had 15 carries for 99 yards and 2 catches for 3 yards.
Wide receiver Justin McInnis made 5 catches for 79 yards, while Ayden Eberhardt made 5 catches for 61 yards. Kicker Sean Whyte made 4 for 5 field goals with a long of 35 yards. B.C.’s defense made 43 tackles, two tackles for loss, one interception, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and five tackles on special teams. They were penalized 7 times for 57 yards.
Final Thoughts:
B.C. Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke looked much better in this game after a week of practice and is slowly getting back into rhyme. He did not throw a touchdown in this game but the progression of him is what counts after not playing a full game in a couple of years.
The Lions have now lost five straight games after starting the season 5-1. They are struggling and the team needs to make changes to the playbook. Some of the plays that the coaching staff on B.C. are calling are questionable and opposing teams are picking up what they are doing before the snap of the football.
This is where I would like to see them teach Rourke and the other quarterbacks to change the play if they don’t like the play. Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, and Tom Brady were great at reading defenses and changing the play before the play clock ran out.
They’ve got to start doing this and try to throw off the defense. What also does not hurt to try is trick plays. I like it when teams try to get creative. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but no one knows how it will go if they don’t try. B.C. needs to incorporate more trick plays for situations like third down or a fake field goal. They need to take a gamble and there is a chance it can pay off.
The West Division is wide open for the taking but the teams are at a .500 win percentage or lower. There is plenty of time left in the season for this division and hopefully, once the season ends there will be three teams with a winning record.
Ottawa is one of the surprising teams this season. They are the only team to not lose at home this season. Quarterback Dru Brown is not a bad quarterback but what he did tonight is why he has a long way to go to become a great quarterback. He put a lot of players in danger and unfortunately, it cost him when he threw a high pass to Jaelon Acklin. Acklin is going to put his body on the line to make the catch but the way he landed was scary to watch.
Brown, like most of the quarterbacks in his league, put their guys in dangerous situations and the injury list is getting longer and longer. He needs to work on not putting his guys in dangerous situations. Case in point, his passes to Nick Mardner were great.
Mardner was in the right place at the right time and he scored two touchdowns because Brown threw right at him when the secondary were not close to him. If Brown can work on this, his guys will appreciate it and the team will too.
The Lions and Redblacks will play each other against next Saturday from B.C. Place at 7 pm on TSN and CFL+. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
