Rourke throws 3 TDs as B.C. Lions dump Edmonton Elks 31-14 in season opener

Gemma Karstens-Smith · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jun 08, 2025 2:06 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 hours ago

Nathan Rourke threw for 324 yards and 3 touchdowns as the B.C. Lions opened their CFL play with a 31-14 triumph implicit the Edmonton Elks connected Saturday. 

The Canadian backmost went 27-for-36 connected his passing attempts, linking up with Stanley Berryhill III doubly successful the extremity zone. Justin McInnis caught his archetypal touchdown of the twelvemonth and James Butler drove successful different major. 

Veteran kicker Sean Whyte, who played his first crippled nether rookie caput manager Buck Pierce, contributed a 22-yard tract extremity for the Lions.

Elks backmost Tre Ford enactment up 178 passing yards, connecting connected 17 of his 27 attempts and throwing 1 interception. He was sacked twice.

Cody Fajardo chalked up 2 short-yardage rushing majors for Edmonton, who besides person a first-year caput manager successful Mark Kilam.

Rapper Snoop Dogg performed for the announced assemblage of 52,837 fans earlier kickoff.

The crippled got disconnected to a promising commencement for the Lions with Rourke and his teammates steadily moving the shot up the tract to springiness B.C. a archetypal down astatine Edmonton's two-yard line. 

Chase Brice came successful for abbreviated yardage work and appeared to agelong the shot into the extremity portion connected 3rd down. A reappraisal by the bid centre, though, determined the QB went down earlier getting the shot crossed the line. 

Ford struggled early, going 0-for-3 connected his archetypal attempts of the game, earlier connecting with Zach Mathias for a six-yard summation connected his 4th effort of the night. 

Edmonton got connected the committee with conscionable implicit 3 minutes near successful the archetypal 4th erstwhile Cody Grace sent a 66-yard punt into the extremity portion for a rouge. 

B.C. again came wrong inches of a touchdown aboriginal successful the game when Rourke threaded a crisp walk to Jevon Cottoy straight nether the uprights. The Canadian receiver fumbled the ball, past stared astatine his gloves successful evident disbelief. 

Whyte posted the location side's archetypal points of the night, booting a 22-yard tract extremity to springiness the Lions a 3-1 lead. 

The Elks took power again midway done the 2nd 4th erstwhile Fajardo muscled his mode done postulation for a one-yard rushing major. Vincent Blanchard missed the person and Edmonton went up 7-3. 

The people stood astatine the extremity of the archetypal fractional aft the Elks kicker sent a 49-yard tract extremity effort wide successful the last seconds of the frame. 

B.C. came live aboriginal successful the 2nd half, stringing unneurotic a possession that ended with Rourke escaping the pocket, taking a fewer steps and sailing a 34-yard walk to Berryhill successful the extremity zone. 

Whyte made the person and the Lions jumped retired to a 10-7 advantage. 

Edmonton had an accidental to level the people minutes aboriginal erstwhile Blanchard lined up for a 45-yard tract goal, but the footwear again went wide. 

Rourke proved connected the adjacent possession that he's a dual threat, rushing for 13 yards connected 1 play and 22 connected another. 

He capped the thrust with a 37-yard lob to Berryhill nether the uprights and different person from Whyte accrued the Lions' pb to 17-7 midway done the 3rd quarter. 

Ford responded with immoderate accelerated feet of his ain successful the dying seconds of the 3rd quarter. The 27-year-old Canadian deftly darted astir midfield to debar aggregate sack attempts and got a 37-yard walk disconnected to Justin Rankin, who likewise snuck past respective B.C. defenders earlier being felled astatine the three-yard line. 

Edmonton opened the 4th with Fajardo powering done postulation for his 2nd touchdown of the night. Blanchard sent the person done the uprights to chopped the Elks' shortage to 3 points. 

B.C. kept pressing and launched a seven-play, 86-yard scoring drive, capped by a 17-yard walk from Rourke to McInnis successful the extremity zone. 

McInnis, who hails from Pierrefonds, Que., led the CFL successful receiving yards past play with 1,469. 

The Lions defence got to enactment adjacent with linebacker Ben Hladik picking disconnected Ford's walk and dashing 61 yards to enactment his squad backmost successful premier scoring position. 

B.C. capitalized with Rourke handing disconnected to moving backmost Butler, who sprinted into the extremity portion for the location side's 4th touchdown of the night. Another person from Whyte enactment the Lions up 31-14. 

A monolithic 92-yard kickoff instrumentality by Javon Leake looked to chopped Edmonton's shortage midway done the fourth, but Elks linebacker Josiah Schakel was called for an amerciable artifact connected the play.

Fans dependable vexation implicit agelong introduction hold times

Some attendees expressed vexation connected societal media astir lengthy delays getting into the stadium up of the game. Several fans said they waited successful enactment for implicit an hour, with immoderate describing the concern arsenic "chaotic" and "poorly organized."

The B.C. Pavilion Corporation, which owns the venue, said the largest influx of fans arrived conscionable 30 minutes earlier Snoop Dog's performance commencement time, starring to congestion astatine definite gates.

"While our teams worked hard to get fans safely into the building, and arsenic efficiently arsenic possible, determination were hold times astatine definite gates that averaged 10-20 minutes," it said successful a statement.

The enactment said 95 per cent of attendees were wrong by the clip Snoop Dogg went connected stage.

The B.C. Lions besides said each gates were open, and immoderate had nary lines astatine all. The nine said it had urged fans passim the week to get early.

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