Zander Horvath led the B.C. Lions to a 45-24 win over the Ottawa Redblacks, rushing for 164 yards and four touchdowns. The Lions have now won five consecutive games and improved their record to 6-5, while the Redblacks remain winless at 0-11. Horvath's performance brings his league-leading total to 13 touchdown runs and ranks him fifth in rushing yards with 625 yards. The loss extends the Redblacks' losing streak to 17 games, the longest in the CFL's modern era.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-31,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The B.C. Lions defeated the Ottawa Redblacks 45-24 on Sunday night, winning their fifth consecutive game and improving to a 6-5 record. Zander Horvath had a standout performance for the Lions, rushing for 164 yards and four touchdowns, in addition to catching four passes for 30 yards. This brings Horvath's league-leading total of touchdowns to 13, and his rushing yards rank fifth with 625. The winless Redblacks struggled on offense, particularly in their run game, which ended with a minus-three net rushing yardage. Lions head coach Buck Pierce credited Horvath's growth since the start of the season, as well as the contributions of running back James Butler and the team's offensive line.
Written for “Lions Win Over Redblacks” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
OTTAWA – Zander Horvath doesn’t like talking about himself a whole lot, even when his performance gives him good reason to articulate.
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performance → like → reason
Horvath was unstoppable Sunday night, rushing for 164 yards and four touchdowns to help lead the surging B.C. Lions to a 45-24 victory over the winless Ottawa Redblacks.
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Horvath → rush → Redblacks
The Lions have won five in a row and improved to 6-5.
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Lions → win → 6
“It’s never a one-man show, it’s about everyone doing their job out there,” said Horvath, who also had four catches for 30 yards.
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who → ’ → yards
“I think we executed on offence, defence, special teams and just locked in toward the end of the game.”
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we → think → game
Horvath leads the league with 13 TDs and his 625 rushing yards ranks fifth.
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yards → lead → TDs
Lions head coach Buck Pierce says he’s seen steady improvement from the 27-year-old Horvath since the season kicked off.
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season → say → Horvath
“I think him and (running back) James Butler make each other better,” said Pierce.
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Pierce → think → ?
“We’re able to mix it up a little bit to keep those guys fresh and you’ve got to credit the O-line too, and the receivers for doing a great job on some of those runs.”
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you → ’re → runs
Butler had 45 yards on seven carries.
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Butler → have → carries
Having their run game going was in complete contrast to the struggling Redblacks who finished with minus-three net rushing yards.
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who → have → yards
The run-game has been a challenge all year for Ottawa which sits last with 548 rushing yards.
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which → sit → yards
Redblacks head coach Ryan Dinwiddie knows it’s been an issue and would love nothing more than to find a way to get it going but circumstances often make it difficult.
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“I mean, if we can just get to second and six, if we just get four yards and then we can still have a run game available on second down,” said Dinwiddie.
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Dinwiddie → know → down
The Redblacks are 0-11 on the season and will go more than a calendar year without a victory.
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Redblacks → go → victory
Ottawa last won Sept. 5, 2025 and with a bye next week won’t play again until Sept. 12.
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Ottawa → win → Sept.
The loss also put Jake Maier in a unique position as he became the first quarterback in league history to start a season with 11 straight losses.
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he → put → losses
“This is obviously challenging, you know, to the spirit of a man,” said Maier.
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Maier → challenge → man
“I think everybody is in that boat right now in terms of like this is our reality.
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this → think → terms
“But we’re not gonna lay down and we’re not gonna quit and we’re not gonna be a bunch of quitters and we’re not gonna go down that route.
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we → go → route
We’re just gonna continue to show up every day because that’s what a man is supposed to do and we believe in that.”
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we → go → that
Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke had a rough start getting picked off twice, but settled in and finished 22-for-25 for 355 yards and two touchdowns.
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Rourke → have → yards
“I’m so grateful for the other phases and other people on offence picking me up because I made some mistakes, made some bad decisions,” said Rourke.
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Rourke → ’m → decisions
“What happened in the first half is on me and I think we just played cleaner football in the second half.”
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we → happen → half
The Redblacks capitalized on Alonzo Addae’s two interceptions in the first half.
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Redblacks → capitalize → half
After picking off Rourke, Ottawa took advantage with Maier connecting on a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ayden Eberhardt for a 7-3 lead.
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Maier → pick → lead
Addae then picked off Rourke at the Lions’ 35 and returned it to the nine.
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Addae → pick → nine
A horse-collar penalty moved Ottawa to the goal line, where Bryson Barnes ran it in for a 14-3 lead.
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Barnes → move → lead
But the Lions rallied with a pair of touchdowns, Rourke connected with Butler from 10 yards out before Horvath’s two-yard run gave B.C. a 17-14 lead.
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run → rally → lead
A 43-yard Brett Lauther field goal tied the game 17-17 at the half.
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goal → tie → half
B.C. started the second half strong when a major Grade 2 unnecessary roughness penalty for 25 yards put them on Ottawa’s 18-yard line.
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penalty → start → line
Three plays later Horvath scored his second touchdown.
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Horvath → score → touchdown
Maier found Eberhardt, who spun out of a tackle and raced 49 yards for a touchdown to tie the game 24-24.
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who → find → game
Horvath would go on to add two more touchdowns and receiver Jevon Cottoy had a 14-yard catch for a major.
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Cottoy → go → major
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 30, 2026.
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report → publish → Press
