Toronto Star
· collected 2026-09-26 · by Gemma Karstens-Smith The Canadian Press
Nathan Rourke led the B.C. Lions to a 31-24 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in a crucial CFL game, passing for 375 yards with four touchdowns. The win moved the Lions to 8-6 and second place in the West Division. Despite strong performances by A.J. Ouellette and Trevor Harris, who threw for 302 yards, the Riders fell to 8-6. B.C. took an early lead and maintained it through halftime, with key plays including a 56-yard pass from Rourke to Stanley Berryhill III that set up their first touchdown.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-26,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Nathan Rourke passed for 375 yards and his B.C. Lions held off the Saskatchewan Roughriders for a crucial 31-24 victory on Friday.
asserted
Lions → pass → Friday
The Canadian quarterback connected on 22 of his 28 attempts with four touchdowns as the Lions (8-6) climbed into second place in the CFL’s West Division.
asserted
Lions → connect → Division
The result saw B.C. win the three-game season series between the two sides 2-1, and could be the tiebreaker if the Lions and Riders finish the season with identical records.
uncertain
Lions → see → records
Keon Hatcher Sr. reeled in a pair of TD passes, while Jevon Cottoy and Jermaine Jackson also found the end zone, and Sean Whyte made a 14-yard field goal.
asserted
Whyte → reel → goal
The Riders (8-6) got some key pieces back on Friday, including running back A.J. Ouellette, who amassed 77 rushing yards and a TD in his return from a knee injury that saw him sidelined for seven games.
asserted
him → get → games
Trevor Harris put up 302 passing yards, throwing a touchdown to Dylan Djete in the second quarter.
asserted
Harris → put → quarter
Kicker Dawson Hodge chalked up three field goals for Saskatchewan, including a 32-yard strike.
asserted
Hodge → chalk → strike
The Riders looked dangerous on their first possession of the game, with Harris working his way up the field.
asserted
Harris → look → field
Looking to connect with a teammate in the end zone, the QB sent a pass off of the upright and Saskatchewan settled for a 27-yard field goal to open the scoring.
asserted
Saskatchewan → look → scoring
The Lions responded swiftly.
asserted
Lions → respond → ?
Rourke lobbed a massive pass up centre field to Stanley Berryhill III for a 56-yard gain, then followed up with a toss to Hatcher in the end zone.
asserted
Rourke → lob → zone
Whyte’s single-point convert gave the home side a 7-3 lead.
asserted
convert → give → lead
A 31-yard field goal from Hodge cut Saskatchewan’s deficit to a single point early in the second quarter.
asserted
goal → cut → quarter
The Lions worked their way back into the red zone, but took a penalty for a time count violation and turned to Whyte for a 14-yard field goal.
asserted
Lions → work → goal
With just over two minutes to go in the quarter Harris spotted Djete alone near the sideline and hit the unencumbered wide receiver with a 13-yard pass.
asserted
Harris → go → pass
Djete darted over the goal line and Hodge made the single to put the Riders back on top by a score of 13-10.
asserted
Hodge → dart → 13
The lead didn’t last until halftime.
asserted
lead → last → halftime
Rourke made five passes up the field to put B.C. at Saskatchewan’s 19-yard line, then tossed a short ball to Hatcher, who avoided a tackle from Mike Rose en route to the end zone for his second major of the night.
asserted
who → make → night
Whyte’s convert gave the Lions a 17-13 lead with 16 seconds to go in the first half.
asserted
convert → give → half
Hatcher registered 66 receiving yards on the night and hit 1,015 for the season.
asserted
Hatcher → register → season
It’s the fifth season in his CFL career that the American receiver has surpassed the 1,000-yard mark.
asserted
receiver → ’ → mark
The Lions boosted their advantage midway through the third after Rourke came up big with a giant pass to Justin McInnis that gave the home side a first down in the midfield.
asserted
that → boost → midfield
Saskatchewan head coach Corey Mace challenged the play for offensive pass interference but after video review, officials determined the call on the field would stand.
asserted
call → challenge → field
Rourke continued to push his team up field and capped the drive with a pass to Cottoy just above the goal line for another TD.
asserted
Rourke → continue → TD
Another single-point conversion from Whyte gave B.C. a 24-13 lead.
asserted
conversion → give → lead
The final play of the third quarter saw the Lions’ defence stymie Harris and his side deep in B.C. territory.
asserted
defence → see → territory
The Riders’ short yardage team tried to extend the drive but instead turned the ball over on downs.
asserted
team → try → downs
Saskatchewan continued to push but struggled to break through the Lions’ back end.
asserted
Saskatchewan → continue → end
Another field goal from Hodge — this time a 32-yard kick — made it 24-16 for B.C. midway through the fourth quarter.
asserted
it → make → quarter
The crowd at BC Place jumped to their feet late in the final frame when Rourke scrambled out of the pocket under pressure, sprinted up field and delivered a long bomb into the hands of McInnis.
asserted
Rourke → jump → McInnis
The Canadian receiver was hauled down, but Rourke found Jermaine Jackson for yet another major on the next play to give the Lions a 31-16 lead.
asserted
Rourke → haul → lead
With just over two minutes left on the game clock, Saskatchewan finally made its way back into the end zone with a two-yard plunge from Ouellette.
asserted
Saskatchewan → leave → Ouellette
The Riders gave themselves hope when Tommy Stevens made it through the fray for a two-point conversion that left the score 31-24.
asserted
that → give → score
At least one provincial politician made room in his busy election campaign schedule to attend the game.
asserted
politician → make → game
Newly minted B.C. Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson was spotted at field level with former B.C. Premier Christy Clark before kickoff.
asserted
Doerkson → mint → kickoff
UP NEXT
Riders: Host the Calgary Stampeders on Oct. 2.
Lions: Visit the Toronto Argonauts on Oct. 3.
asserted
Riders → host → Oct.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 25, 2026.
asserted
report → publish → Press
The Aporia
