Ahead Of Clash Against His Old Pal, Rourke Continues To Climb Record Book
Photo credit: Paul Yates, BC Lions.
Football fans this century have been treated to a couple of juicy quarterback rivalries. Tom Brady against Peyton Manning and Patrick Mahomes battling Josh Allen in a few frigid outdoor battles immediately come to mind.
North of the border, it’s a bit more challenging to identify a direct comparable. Perhaps we can start this week. Nathan Rourke and Vernon Adams Jr., friends and former teammates, will suit up against one another for the very first time. For context, the only previous occurrence where they were in the same stadium as their opponents was on September 18, 2021, at Montreal’s Molson Stadium. Rourke dressed as backup to Michael Reilly, while Adams Jr. threw for 270 yards and a couple of key interceptions as the visiting Lions prevailed 27-18.
The events of the next three years would make for a good Hollywood script. With Rourke taking the CFL by storm in 2022 before a freak injury suffered in Saskatchewan put him on the shelf for the better part of two months, a trade for Adams Jr. was struck and the Lions had both a short-term option to stay above water and a long-term hedge in the event Rourke opted to try the NFL.
We all remember what happened. As fate would have it, Adams Jr.’s lingering injury and Rourke’s availability led to a reunion with the Lions last August. In his first year with the Stampeders following a trade last December, Adams Jr.’s impact speaks for itself as they continue to battle Saskatchewan for top spot in the West. We will take a closer look at Rourke’s 2025 season in just a moment.
Friday’s battle between these two gunslingers should come with plenty at stake. A win for the Lions on the road moves them to within two points of the Stamps for second place in the West. They will meet one more time this regular season on Saturday, October 4, in our third annual Gravy Bowl at Save-On-Foods Field at BC Place.
It should also be noted that inside the walls of the Lions facility, Adams Jr. will always be held in very high regard. Along with leading the team to a 4-2 record to help secure a home playoff game while Rourke was on the shelf in 2022, he led the CFL with 4,769 passing yards; the closest any Lion has gotten to 5,000 since Jonathon Jennings in 2016 (more on that below) in his only full season as the club’s starter. And who could forget his unforgettable Lion debut in September of that year, engineering an overtime victory in Calgary, off all places.
“I’ve been super happy for him; he’s having a great year,” said Rourke on Adams Jr.
“He seems very comfortable in that offence. We’ve been trying to stay in touch, been texting him after big wins and all that kind of stuff. I’m happy for him and I’m glad he’s found a home there in Calgary.”
Photo credit: Jeff Vinnick, BC Lions.
A Closer Look At Rourke’s Ascension Up The Record Books
When it comes to the Victoria-born Rourke, the number one burning question going into this year was ‘can he get back to his 2022 form?’ Before going down with the foot injury, he had an outside shot at breaking Doug Flutie’s single-season club record of 6,619 passing yards from 1991. One can argue that in 2025, he has matched, or even succeeded, those expectations.
With 3,604 passing yards through 10 games (having missed two starts due to an early-season oblique injury), Kid Canada sits third in the CFL and has increased his career passing total to 9,488 yards.
In the last two games, he has leapfrogged head coach Buck Pierce, Casey Printers and none other than Adams Jr. himself into ninth on the Lions’ all-time passing list. Sitting in eighth spot is Flutie with 9,579 yards as a Lion, just 91 ahead of Rourke heading into this week. Given his young age of 27 and the fact that he’s proven he can sustain this level of production, it’s going to be fascinating to watch number 12 rise in the BC Lions’ record books.
After he reaches Flutie’s totals from 1990-91, next on the list is Joe Paopao at 11,508 yards. Seventh spot isn’t unreachable this season, but Rourke would have to average 404 yards per game over the last five to catch the Throwin’ Samoan.
The top six, in reverse order, in franchise history in passing yards are as follows: Jennings (12,417 yards), Dave Dickenson (13,573 yards), Joe Kapp (16,536 yards), Travis Lulay (21,352 yards), Roy Dewalt (22,863 yards) and Damon Allen (27,621 yards).
With 23 regular season games between now and the end of 2026, an average of 306.4 yards per game would enable Rourke to leapfrog all the way past Kapp into fourth all-time for the franchise. A remarkable feat, given the fact that he would have had less than three full seasons of work under his belt. By comparison, Kapp started 91 games under centre to reach those numbers. And hey, just for fun: Using that 306.4 yards as a game-by-game calculation, it would take roughly 59 more outings to reach the pinnacle, currently held by Allen.
Looking at milestones not as far ahead down the road, Rourke enters this week 512 yards shy of 10,000 for his career and 1,396 away from his first 5,000-yard season, the latter of which is a feat not accomplished since Jennings in 2016. Winning games and competing for Grey Cups are the most important goals for Rourke and the franchise. But if you’re a true history nut who appreciates greatness, his pursuit of the record book is something major to watch in the coming years.
Photo credit: Nik Kowalski/Arrow Up Documentary.
No Stranger To QB Greatness
Despite coming up short in the Grey Cup chase these past few years, Lion fans can be thankful they’ve had a front row seat to elite quarterback play. Adams Jr. is included near the top of that list. One moment that will always stick in my memory on this job: Adams Jr. struggling to make the long walk to and from the locker room to the post-game media conference after another crushing Western Final defeat in Winnipeg.
And then sitting at the back of the room, fighting back tears while the victorious Blue Bombers were conducting their podium interviews with loud music thumping next door from their locker room. Adams Jr. had injured his knee early on that cold day, yet battled right to the end. It was the type of leadership any franchise would want from its starting quarterback and another solid trait Rourke possesses with the push to this year’s playoffs heating up every week.
In closing, professional football can be a hard business. These two quarterbacks we’ve talked about know all about that and have conducted themselves as best as you can hope for. It might not be quite like Mahomes vs. Allen or Brady vs. Manning as much as it’s Joe Montana against Steve Young, but it’s a friendly rivalry that can captivate the CFL for a few years to come.
“Hopefully, we’re seeing them a couple more times, right? They’re going to be a playoff team; we’ll hope to be one as well,” adds Rourke.
“Obviously, this West race is very tight and we have a chance to crossover as well. We’ll always be friendly. But we’ll have to see them at home again as well.”