Nathan Rourke passed for 324 yards and three touchdowns, leading the host B.C. Lions to a 31-14 win over the Edmonton Elks in the 2025 CFL season opener for both teams Saturday at B.C. Place.
Rourke finished 27-for-36 on the day, and added another 54 rushing yards. Receiver Stanley Berryhill had 105 yards receiving and two TDs for the Lions, while fellow receiver Justin McInnis added another major and running back James Butler rushed 10 times for 68 yards and a TD. Kicker Sean Whyte booted a field goal and four converts.
Quarterback Tre Ford was 18-for-27 for 178 yards for Edmonton, with backup pivot Cody Fajardo scoring two short-yardage touchdowns.
The Lions (1-0) moved the ball well in the first quarter (Rourke was 9-for-10 for 90 yards) but were unable to score. Punter Cody Grace gave the Elks (0-1) a 1-0 lead with 3:24 left in the first quarter with a 66-yard single.
Early in the second quarter, Whyte gave the Lions a 3-1 lead with a 22-yard field goal, a play after B.C.’s Jevon Cottoy failed to hang on to a pass from Rourke in the end zone.
Fajardo capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive for the Elks with 8:22 left in the quarter, barely pushing over the goal line on a quarterback sneak. Kicker Vincent Blanchard missed the extra point, leaving the score 7-3 in favour of Edmonton. He missed another kick, this time a 49-yard field goal attempt, with 31 seconds left in the half.
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B.C. took the lead again at 3:58 of the third quarter, with Rourke rolling to his left and finding Berryhill for a 34-yard touchdown. Whyte added the convert to make it 10-7.
The Elks had a chance to tie with just over eight minutes to play in the quarter, but Blanchard missed another field goal, this time from 45 yards out.
Berryhill snagged his second TD of the game with 2:13 left in the quarter, a 35-yard pass from Rourke to cap off a 10-play, 107-yard drive. Whyte added another convert to make it 17-7.
On the last play of the third, Ford made an incredible scramble to elude the Lions pass rush and find Rankin for a 37-yard gain down to the B.C. two-yard line.
Two plays into the fourth, Fajardo added his second touchdown on another QB sneak. Blanchard made the conversion to pull the Elks within three at 17-14.
Rourke capped a seven-play, 86-yard drive with his third TD of the game at 4:45 of the fourth, firing a 15-yard deep out to McInnis. Whyte added the conversion to make it 24-14 Lions.
With just over seven minutes to play, B.C. linebacker Ben Hladik, a UBC product, picked off a Ford pass and took it back 61 yards to the Edmonton four-yard line.
On the next play, Butler carried it in for a TD and Whyte converted to give the Lions a 31-14 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, Javon Leake ran it all the way into the B.C. end zone, only to have the touchdown called back after an illegal block in the back penalty. The Elks challenged the call but were unsuccessful.
The Lions are back in action Thursday (5:30 p.m. PST), visiting the Blue Bombers in Winnipeg. Edmonton hosts the Montreal Alouettes on July 19.
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NOTES: The game was the first opening week featuring two Canadian starting quarterbacks (Rourke and Ford) since 1968 and the first time it happened in the same game… B.C.’s Buck Pierce and Edmonton’s Mark Kilam made their CFL head-coaching debuts… Legendary rapper Snoop Dogg headlined the pre-game concert… Rourke, 27, of Victoria, was the CFL’s top Canadian in 2022. He returned to the Lions last season following brief NFL stays with Jacksonville, New England, the New York Giants and Atlanta… Robert Carter led the B.C. defence with seven tackles, with Kemoko Turay and Dewayne Hendrix recording sacks.
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