The B.C. Lions (7-6) visited Percival Molson Memorial Stadium on Friday night against the Montreal Alouettes (10-2) for the first time this season in a potential Grey Cup matchup. This game had a ton of action and it felt like a Grey Cup game.
First Quarter:
B.C. got the ball to start the game from their 44-yard line. B.C. running back William Stanback started the drive with a five-yard run reaching their 49-yard line. After Nathan Rourke threw a 15-yard pass to Justin McInnis, Stanback had another five-yard run reaching the Alouettes’ 41-yard line.
Next, quarterback Nathan Rourke threw two passes for 18 yards and the Lions faced second and one from the Alouettes’ 23-yard line. B.C. fullback David Mackie came in for the short yards play. He broke a tackle to score a 23-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 11:38 left capping off a six-play drive for 66 yards in three minutes.
On Montreal’s first possession, they marched to the Lions’ 53-yard line. On first down, quarterback Cody Fajardo was sacked by Christian Covington for an 8-yard loss with 7:33 left of the first quarter. On the next play, Fajardo threw a 14-yard pass to Cole Spieker but was short of the first down and punted the ball back to B.C.
B.C. started their next drive from the two-yard line. Quarterback Nathan Rourke threw two passes for 33 yards reaching their 35-yard line. Then, Rourke attempted to throw a pass to Justin McInnis but the ball deflected off his hands and up in the air before Bryce Cosby intercepted it on the Alouettes’ 54-yard line.
The Alouettes struggled to get the first down and ended up punting the ball back to B.C. The Lions started their next possession on the 17-yard line with 3:08 left. They went on a six-play drive for 66 yards before kicker Sean Whyte made a 23-yard field goal extending their 10-0 to end the first quarter.
B.C. had 139 yards on offense (105 yards passing, 34 yards rushing), eight first downs, and 0 for 1 in the red zone. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 8 of 9 passes for 105 yards, and one interception. Montreal had 39 yards on offense (38 yards passing, 9 yards rushing, 8 yards lost), two first downs, and 0 for 0 in the red zone. Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 4 of 5 passes for 38 yards.
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Montreal moved the ball six times for 36 yards before kicker Jose Carlos Maltos made a 41-yard field goal and the Alouettes trailed the Lions 10-3 with 10:45 left.
On the next play for B.C., quarterback Nathan Rourke attempted to throw the ball to William Stanback but it went off his hands and was intercepted by Marc-Antoine Dequoy on the Lions’ 43-yard line. Montreal went two plays for seven yards before kicker Jose Carlos Maltos made a 28-yard field goal and they trailed the Lions 10-6 with 8:51 left of the second quarter.
B.C. began their next drive with running back William Stanback rushing for a gain of four yards to their 44-yard line. Three plays later, the Lions were at their 52-yard line until Nathan Rourke was sacked by Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund for a six-yard loss backing them up to their 46-yard line.
Then, Nathan Rourke threw two passes for 44 yards before throwing a 15-yard touchdown pass to Ayden Eberhardt for a 17-6 lead with 3:23 left before halftime capping off a nine-play drive for 70 yards in five minutes.
After Montreal went two-and-out, B.C. had the ball on their 42-yard line. Quarterback Nathan Rourke threw two passes for 33 yards reaching the Alouettes’ 35-yard line. On the next play, Rourke completed a pass to William Stanback. Stanback ran with the football until Kabion Ento stripped it out of his hands and it was recovered by Titus Wall.
Initially, the refs ruled that Stanback was down before Montreal head coach Jason Maas challenged the play. After further review, Stanback did lose the ball before going down and Montreal recovered it on their 22-yard line with 1:59 left before halftime.
Montreal quarterback Cody Fajardo threw two passes for 25 yards reaching their 41-yard line. On the next play, Fajardo took off for an eight yard run and Walter Fletcher rushed for three yards to the Lions’ 45-yard line. Next, Fajardo threw three passes for 43 yards reaching the Lions’ 15-yard line. Then, Fajardo took off for a nine-yard run reaching the Lions’ six-yard line.
Two plays later, Fajardo threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Cole Spieker, who extended his arms to make the touchdown catch and the Alouettes trailed the Lions 17-13 at halftime capping off an 11-yard drive for 94 yards in two minutes.
First Half Stats:
B.C. had 256 yards on offense (221 yards passing, 41 yards rushing, 6 yards lost), 14 first downs, 1 for 2 in the red zone, and was penalized two times for 25 yards. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 15 of 19 passes (79%) for 221 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
Running back William Stanback had five carries for 15 yards, and two catches for 28 yards, while David Mackie had two carries for 26 yards and one touchdown. Wide receiver Alexander Hollins made four catches for 59 yards, and Ayden Eberhardt made two catches for 41 yards and one touchdown. B.C.’s defense made one sack.
Montreal had 170 yards on offense (142 yards passing, 45 yards rushing, 17 yards lost), 11 first downs, 1 for 1 in the red zone, and was penalized four times for 57 yards. Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 15 of 19 passes (79%) for 142 yards, one touchdown, and four carries for 20 yards. Running back Walter Fletcher had four carries for 12 yards.
Wide receiver Cole Spieker made four catches for 39 yards, and one touchdown, while Reggie White Jr. made three catches for 39 yards. Montreal’s defense made one sack, two interceptions, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Third Quarter:
Montreal got the ball to start the third quarter on their 53-yard line. On the first play, B.C.’s defense pressured Cody Fajardo before Jonah Tavai sacked him for eight yards causing Fajardo to lose the football and Tavai recovered it on the Alouettes’ 35-yard line with 14:14 left. B.C.’s offense went five plays for 30 yards before kicker Sean Whyte made a 12-yard field goal for a 20-13 lead with 11:24 left of the third quarter.
Montreal picked up one first down before the drive stalled and punted the ball back to B.C. The Lions started the next drive on their eight-yard line. Three plays later, quarterback Nathan Rourke’s pass intended for Alexander Hollins was intercepted by Dionte Ruffin.
Ruffin returned the ball for ten yards before getting brought down at the Lions’ 19-yard line. They went two-and-out before kicker Jose Carlos Maltos made a 26-yard field goal and the Alouettes trailed the Lions 20-16 with 7:03 left of the third quarter.
On the first play for B.C., quarterback Nathan Rourke threw a 9-yard pass to Jevon Cottoy. He was tackled by Darnell Sankey on their 49-yard line but Sankey was penalized for a horse collar tackle giving the Lions an extra 15 yards to the Alouettes’ 49-yard line.
B.C. running back William Stanback carried the ball for eight yards reaching the Alouettes’ 38-yard line. On the next play, Nathan Rourke handed the ball off the William Stanback. He bulldozed through several Alouette players on his way to scoring a 38-yard touchdown for a 27-16 lead with 5:45 left of the third quarter capping off a three-play drive for 70 yards.
After Montreal went two-and-out, B.C. had the football for the final 3:48 of the third quarter. The Lions moved the ball up to their 44-yard line before Nathan Rourke was sacked two times by Tyson Beverette and Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund for a 14-yard lost. On the last play, B.C. punter Sean Flintoft punted the ball 40 yards to Montreal returner James Letcher Jr. He returned the ball for five yards before getting tackled on their 52-yard line. The Alouettes trailed the Lions 27-16.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Montreal quarterback Cody Fajardo threw two passes for 5 yards and took off for a 14-yard run reaching the Lions’ 44-yard line. On the next play, Fajardo threw a 9-yard pass to Walter Fletcher and got an additional 15 yards due to a face mask penalty on Ryder Varga moving the ball to the Lions’ 20-yard line. On the next play, Fajardo was sacked by Sione Teuhema for a four-yard loss backing them up to the Lions’ 24-yard line.
Then Fajardo threw two passes for 22 yards reaching the Lions’ two-yard line. Two plays later, backup quarterback Dominique Davis scored the touchdown with a quarterback sneak. They went for a two-point conversion but Fajardo’s pass was out of reach for Charleston Rambo and the Alouettes trailed the Lions 27-22 with 9:28 left capping off a 10-play drive for 58 yards.
On the kickoff, placekicker Jose Carlos Maltos made an onside kick and Montreal recovered it on their 48-yard line. Quarterback Cody Fajardo threw one pass for eight yards to Cole Spieker before the drive stalled. Punter Joseph Zema punted the ball 61 yards into the end zone and out of bounds for a single point. The Alouettes trailed the Lions 27-23 with 8:16 left of the third quarter.
B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke threw a 30-yard pass to Jevon Cottoy to start the next drive. Next, both William Stanback and David Mackie had combined with three carries logging 17 yards reaching the Alouettes’ 23-yard line. Then, quarterback Nathan Rourke threw a five-yard pass to Alexander Hollins who reached the Alouettes’ eight-yard line.
On the next play, Nathan Rourke scrambled out of the pocket before scoring an 18-yard touchdown extending B.C.’s lead 34-23 with 5:03 left of the game capping off a six-play drive for 70 yards in three minutes.
On Montreal’s next drive, quarterback Cody Fajardo threw two passes for 19 yards reaching the Lions’ 53-yard line. Then, Fajardo attempted to complete a pass to Jose Barbon but the ball deflected off his hands and was intercepted by T.J. Lee for a 14-yard return reaching the Alouettes’ 52-yard line with 3:05 left of the game.
B.C.’s offense took their time running the clock down by going on a seven-play drive for 35 yards before kicker Sean Whyte made a 24-yard field goal for a 37-23 lead with 36 seconds left. Montreal quarterback Cody Fajardo completed two passes for 22 yards before taking a knee on the final play to end the game. The B.C. Lions defeated the Montreal Alouettes 37-23.
Final Stats:
B.C. had 472 yards on offense (304 yards passing, 188 yards rushing, 20 yards lost), 25 first downs, 2 for 5 in the red zone, and was penalized three times for 40 yards. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 22 of 28 passes (79%) for 304 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions, two carries for 27 yards, and one touchdown. Running back William Stanback had 20 carries for 138 yards, one touchdown, and two catches for 28 yards, while David Mackie had four carries for 33 yards and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Alexander Hollins made six catches for 78 yards, and Ayden Eberhardt made two catches for 41 yards and one touchdown. Kicker Sean Whyte made 3 of 3 field goals with a long of 24 yards. B.C.’s defense made 45 tackles, two tackles for loss, four sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, one interception, and seven tackles on special teams.
Montreal had 270 yards on offense (240 yards passing, 70 yards rushing, 40 yards lost), 18 first downs, 2 for 3 in the red zone, and was penalized six times for 77 yards. Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 27 of 37 passes (73%) for 240 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and five carries for 34 yards. Running back Walter Fletcher had six carries for 21 yards, and eight catches for 72 yards, and backup quarterback Dominique Davis had four carries for 15 yards and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Cole Spieker made six catches for 46 yards, and one touchdown, and Reggie White Jr. made three catches for 39 yards. Kicker Jose Carlos Maltos made 3 of 3 field goals with a long of 41 yards. Montreal’s defense made 47 tackles, one tackle for loss, three sacks, three interceptions, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and five tackles on special teams.
Final Thoughts:
This was a very entertaining game from a viewer’s point. Both B.C. and Montreal’s defense made some good plays on the field combining with six turnovers. B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke did not play his best game but he fought threw throwing three interceptions to lead his team to victory.
Running back William Stanback looked energized out there making his return to Montreal after spending five years there and helping them win the Grey Cup last year. While he did fumble the football, he rushed for over 100 yards, scored a touchdown, and made two catches for 28 yards. That’s a good night for the running back.
For Montreal, the Alouettes could not establish a running game with 70 total yards rushing. The receivers had problems creating separation from the B.C. secondary and no one went over 100 yards in receiving. What killed this team tonight was instead of getting 14 points off of the two Rourke interceptions, they settled for two field goals. Had they scored two touchdowns instead of the two field goals, this game would’ve been close and maybe Montreal might have won this game. Montreal will have a chance to rebound next week.
Next Saturday, the Montreal Alouettes visit the Calgary Stampeders at 7 pm on TSN and CFL+, while the B.C. Lions are on a bye week. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
