OTTAWA- The Zander Horvath show was once again in full effect. And it will no doubt give the Lions a big lift as they enter the biggest stretch of their season. The bruising back scored four touchdowns- tying a single-game club record shared by James Butler, Willie Fleming, Geroy Simon and several others- as the BC Lions used a huge second half to take down the hometown Ottawa REDBLACKS 45-24. The fifth straight win for the squad improves them to 6-5 and keeps them tied with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for third in the ultra-competitive West Division. As for Ottawa, their woes continue, falling to 0-11 heading into a bye week. Now for some Game Takes.
The Lions Roar After Another Slow Start
Following a winning effort against Saskatchewan where he vowed he must be better, Nathan Rourke had to overcome another slow start; one in which he threw a pair of first-half interceptions to Alonzo Addae that each led to majors that staked the hometown REDBLACKS to a 14-3 lead. Rourke added to the miscues on the second giveaway, forcing a fumble on Addae’s return before being called for a horse collar tackle that put the ball on the one-yard line. Another slow start that will be talked about throughout the week.
Rourke and the offence kept punching, as Kid Canada hit James Butler for a touchdown and engineered another scoring drive that culminated with Horvath’s first touchdown of the night. They later had another miscue, getting flagged for too many players in the huddle that knocked them out of field goal range in the final minute of the half.
What should have been a 20-14 lead ultimately turned into a 17-17 tie at the break. Despite key penalties, a potentially backbreaking fourth-quarter fumble by Justin McInnis, and a couple of other execution lapses, they kept battling and it paid off. The Lions scored 28 second-half points, three more Horvath majors and one from Jevon Cottoy that put the game away. All in all, it was the perfect recipe in the end.
“I think it’s a good team win. It’s never an individual win and everyone out there executed their assignment and did their 1/12th,” said Horvath outside a boisterous visiting locker room at TD Place.
“It wasn’t how we wanted it in the first half, but no game’s going to be easy, too. Our coach says it always comes down to grit and who wants it more. At that game, we wanted it more.”
Horvath finished with 164 rushing yards on 24 carries. His backfield mate Butler added 45 yards on seven rushes.
Rourke also deserves his flowers for his efforts. Following the second interception, he completed all 17 of his remaining passes and finished with 355 passing yards. It’s also worth noting that he was removed late in the second quarter by the injury spotters before being cleared to resume.
“I’m so grateful for the other phases and other people on offence picking me up. I made some mistakes, made some bad decisions. You know what happened in the first half was on me and I think we just played cleaner football in the second half,” said the winning quarterback.
“We didn’t give them any opportunities. We had that one fumble. Calls aren’t going to go our way all the time, but I think we responded very well and I’m very proud of that.”
It may sound like a broken record that they need to sort out their issues in the first quarter. In four of the five games during this winning run, they’ve trailed after the first 15 minutes. That being said, they deserve credit for sticking to the process and taking back the momentum.
“I think it’s really just sticking to what we do best and even though stuff wasn’t going as we wanted at the beginning of the game, we just stuck to it and we weren’t doing anything crazy in the second half,” added Horvath.
“We got things kind of working up on the front. Offence started a little slow. If the offence is doing well, the defence is going to do well, and the special teams are going to do well. It’s just everyone going out there and doing their job and executing their assignment.”
They now have a chance to make a major statement Friday night against the CFL-leading Montreal Alouettes. A short week in Ottawa without too much time to savour this one could be just what the doctor ordered.
“We need to get over this one quickly, learn what we can and then we’ve got to switch our minds real quick and move on to, like you said, a very good team, playing very good ball right now, going to their place, which is a very fun environment always,” added Rourke.
“Short week; I think the last time we did a good job managing that, going into Calgary. We’ve just got to be dialled in on all three phases.”
Key Stats
576- net offence for the Lions in this victory.
194– Horvath’s scrimmage yards after he also hauled in 30 through the air.
16- the total number of touchdowns for Horvath on the season. He is six shy of Cory Philpot’s franchise record set back in 1995 and seven behind Milt Stegall’s league record in 2003.
128– a career and game-high receiving yards for Jermaine Jackson on only four receptions.
6/6- the Lions capitalized on every single red zone opportunity.
Minus- 3– total rushing yards for Ottawa on seven carries. The stout Lion defence also had sacks from T.J. Lee, Levi Bell and Diontai Williams.
Next Up
The Lions will lay over in Ottawa for the next four days, working in a couple of practices at TD Place and the regular meeting room preparation at their team hotel. They will travel by bus to Montreal on Thursday for a huge Friday night test against the Alouettes at Percival Molson Stadium. Kickoff is 4:30 pm PT. Montreal fell to 10-2 with a 44-28 loss at Winnipeg to begin Week 13.