Edmonton Elks drop season opener 34-14 to B.C. Lions
VANCOUVER — Nathan Rourke reminded football fans why he's one of the CFL's top talents on Saturday.
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The 27-year-old Canadian quarterback threw for 324 yards with three touchdowns, and rushed for another 54 yards as his B.C. Lions opened the season with a 31-14 win over the Edmonton Elks.
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'I think at the end of the day, what was the coolest for me was that, despite not playing our best in the first half at times, we rallied,' said Rourke, who went 27 for 36 on his passing attempts.
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'We didn't point fingers, we didn't keep our heads down like it felt like we did a lot of time last year. We just rallied and we stuck together.'
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The game got off to a promising start for the Lions with Rourke and his teammates steadily working the ball up the field on their first possession to give B.C. a first down at Edmonton's two-yard line.
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Chase Brice came in for short-yardage duty and appeared to stretch the ball into the end zone on third down. A review by the command centre, though, determined the QB went down before getting the ball across the line.
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B.C. again came within inches of a touchdown early in the second frame when Rourke threaded a crisp pass to Jevon Cottoy directly under the uprights. The Canadian receiver fumbled the ball, then stared at his gloves in apparent disbelief.
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By halftime, the Lions were behind 7-3.
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Inside the B.C. locker room, head coach Buck Pierce had a simple message for his team.
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'Just be us. Continue to finish,' he said. 'We were doing some things that were kind of self-inflicted. And the guys understood that we needed to ramp up our details and just focus on finishing plays, finishing drives. But I was proud of the effort.'
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The Lions came alive early in the second half, stringing together a possession that ended with Rourke escaping the pocket, taking a few steps and sailing a 34-yard pass to Stanley Berryhill III in the end zone. Veteran Kicker Whyte made the convert and the Lions jumped out to a 10-7 advantage.
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Edmonton had an opportunity to level the score minutes later when Vincent Blanchard lined up for a 45-yard field goal, but his kick went wide.
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Rourke proved on the next possession that he's a dual threat, rushing for 13 yards on one play and 22 on another.
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Edmonton Elks drop season opener 34-14 to B.C. Lions
VANCOUVER — Nathan Rourke reminded football fans why he's one of the CFL's top talents on Saturday. Article content The 27-year-old Canadian quarterback threw for 324 yards with three touchdowns, and rushed for another 54 yards as his B.C. Lions opened the season with a 31-14 win over the Edmonton Elks. Article content Article content 'I think at the end of the day, what was the coolest for me was that, despite not playing our best in the first half at times, we rallied,' said Rourke, who went 27 for 36 on his passing attempts. Article content Article content 'We didn't point fingers, we didn't keep our heads down like it felt like we did a lot of time last year. We just rallied and we stuck together.' Article content Article content The game got off to a promising start for the Lions with Rourke and his teammates steadily working the ball up the field on their first possession to give B.C. a first down at Edmonton's two-yard line. Article content Chase Brice came in for short-yardage duty and appeared to stretch the ball into the end zone on third down. A review by the command centre, though, determined the QB went down before getting the ball across the line. Article content B.C. again came within inches of a touchdown early in the second frame when Rourke threaded a crisp pass to Jevon Cottoy directly under the uprights. The Canadian receiver fumbled the ball, then stared at his gloves in apparent disbelief. Article content By halftime, the Lions were behind 7-3. Article content Inside the B.C. locker room, head coach Buck Pierce had a simple message for his team. Article content Article content 'Just be us. Continue to finish,' he said. 'We were doing some things that were kind of self-inflicted. And the guys understood that we needed to ramp up our details and just focus on finishing plays, finishing drives. But I was proud of the effort.' Article content The Lions came alive early in the second half, stringing together a possession that ended with Rourke escaping the pocket, taking a few steps and sailing a 34-yard pass to Stanley Berryhill III in the end zone. Veteran Kicker Whyte made the convert and the Lions jumped out to a 10-7 advantage. Article content Edmonton had an opportunity to level the score minutes later when Vincent Blanchard lined up for a 45-yard field goal, but his kick went wide. Article content Rourke proved on the next possession that he's a dual threat, rushing for 13 yards on one play and 22 on another.
Edmonton Journal
3 hours ago
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Edmonton Elks drop season opener 34-14 to B.C. Lions
Article content 'We didn't point fingers, we didn't keep our heads down like it felt like we did a lot of time last year. We just rallied and we stuck together.' The game got off to a promising start for the Lions with Rourke and his teammates steadily working the ball up the field on their first possession to give B.C. a first down at Edmonton's two-yard line. Chase Brice came in for short-yardage duty and appeared to stretch the ball into the end zone on third down. A review by the command centre, though, determined the QB went down before getting the ball across the line. B.C. again came within inches of a touchdown early in the second frame when Rourke threaded a crisp pass to Jevon Cottoy directly under the uprights. The Canadian receiver fumbled the ball, then stared at his gloves in apparent disbelief. By halftime, the Lions were behind 7-3. Inside the B.C. locker room, head coach Buck Pierce had a simple message for his team.
