VANCOUVER – Even Nathan Rourke gets tongue-tied.
asserted
Rourke → tie → ?
The B.C. Lions quarterback met a childhood idol on Saturday when his team added 2006 Grey Cup MVP Travis Lulay to its wall of fame.
asserted
team → meet → fame
When the pair were introduced, Rourke started to call the Lions legend Travis but decided in the moment Mr. Lulay might be more appropriate.
uncertain
Lulay → introduce → moment
“Then I came out somewhere in the middle,” he said with a smile.
asserted
he → come → smile
“I told him I hope that we can chat sometime and just kind of pick his brain a little bit.”
asserted
we → tell → brain
Meeting Lulay has long been a dream for the Canadian quarterback.
asserted
Meeting → meet → quarterback
“When I was young, and I watched the Lions, he was the quarterback.
asserted
he → watch → Lions
And so he’s the quarterback for the Lions for me,” Rourke said.
asserted
Rourke → ’ → me
“Everyone has their era … who’s the identity of their team and who’s their quarterback of their era, and Travis was that for me growing up.
asserted
Travis → have → me
So it was pretty cool to see, and I hope to be in that position at some point down the road.”
asserted
I → see → road
Rourke put on yet another performance Saturday that could help cement his position in Lions’ lore.
uncertain
that → put → lore
The 28-year-old amassed a combined 394 yards, throwing for 317 with a touchdown and powering the Lions to a 48-29 victory over the Montreal Alouettes.
asserted
old → amass → Alouettes
He added 77 yards on the ground and a rushing major as B.C. (7-6) split a home-and-home series with the CFL powerhouse.
asserted
B.C. → add → powerhouse
B.C. jumped out to a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter, only to see the visitors rally and get the game to within four points late in the first half.
asserted
visitors → jump → half
The Lions showed resilience, Rourke said.
asserted
Rourke → show → resilience
“I’ve just been really impressed with that,” he said.
asserted
he → say → that
“This team, we’ve had a lot of adversity this year.
asserted
we → have → adversity
The way we’ve responded to it, I’ve been really proud of.”
asserted
I → respond → it
Davis Alexander threw for 242 yards for the Alouettes (10-3) with two TDs and an interception.
asserted
Alexander → throw → TDs
“He’s a heck of a player,” Lions head coach Buck Pierce said of Montreal’s starter.
asserted
Pierce → ’ → starter
“He plays with fire.
asserted
He → play → fire
He plays tough.
asserted
He → play → ?
We did a good job of being able to stop some of that momentum that he’s able to create.”
asserted
he → do → that
Get breaking National news
The Lions opened the scoring Saturday with a 35-yard field goal from Sean Whyte early in the opening frame, then boosted their lead following a successful challenge.
asserted
Lions → get → challenge
Tyrice Beverette swooped in to collect Rourke’s pass in the end zone, and it looked like the visitors had made good on the interception.
asserted
visitors → swoop → interception
Pierce challenged the play and, after review, officials ruled Lorenzo Burns had interfered with the pass, putting B.C. at the one-yard line.
asserted
Burns → challenge → line
Running back Zander Horvath capitalized, plunging in and Whyte’s convert gave the home side a 10-0 lead.
asserted
convert → capitalize → lead
Seconds into the second quarter, Alexander tried to get a pass off before he was pulled down from behind, but defensive tackle Casey Sayles nabbed the ball and sprinted in for another TD that put the Lions up 17-0.
asserted
that → try → Lions
The interception ended a streak in which the Als QB went 108 attempts without getting picked off.
asserted
QB → end → attempts
Montreal responded with a big drive, capped by Alexander’s 26-yard toss to Tyson Philpott in the end zone to put the visitors on the scoreboard.
asserted
Montreal → respond → scoreboard
It didn’t take the Alouettes long to further chip away at the deficit.
asserted
It → take → deficit
Beverette snuck around B.C.’s offensive line and hauled Rourke to the turf.
asserted
Beverette → sneak → turf
Mustafa Johnson collected the loose ball and ran it in for another TD.
asserted
Johnson → collect → TD
Maltos Diaz missed the convert, but the Lions’ lead dwindled to four points.
asserted
lead → miss → points
The two sides then traded seven-point scores, with Rourke finding Keon Hatcher Sr. in the end zone under pressure before Alexander sent Tyler Snead a deep ball to make it 24-20 for B.C.
Action continued on both ends of the field in the dying seconds of the first half.
asserted
Action → trade → half
With 35 seconds left in the quarter, Rourke kept the ball himself after a snap and darted down the field, getting the ball to the corner marker for a touchdown before being forced out of bounds.
asserted
Rourke → leave → bounds
Whyte’s convert put B.C. up 31-20.
asserted
convert → put → B.C.
“We responded when we needed to respond, I thought,” Pierce said.
asserted
Pierce → respond → ?
“Especially in the first half when you look at some of the field position we started with offensively and what they started with as well
asserted
they → look → what
We were able to keep pace, still get the ball in the red zone, and then finish drives in the end zone.”
asserted
We → keep → zone
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
