How Nathan Rourke’s Magical Moment Could Spark BC Lions Grey Cup Run
The Lions quarterback has had plenty of marquee moments, but his decision-making late against the Roughriders could change the course of the postseason.
Fireworks on Halloween are nothing new in the Lower Mainland. Yet, very few of them create such an impression that they will be remembered weeks and, perhaps, years later.
The fuse quarterback Nathan Rourke lit late in the first half of Saturday afternoon’s 33-26 BC Lions win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders could ignite a Grey Cup run that BC Lions fans have been waiting for 15 years.
Nearly 25 minutes into their highly anticipated Western semifinal tilt at BC Place with the defending champion Saskatchewan Roughriders, the Lions looked lifeless offensively. The team that led the West Division with over 416 yards of offence per game during the regular season had mustered a mere 65 net yards while turning the ball over twice.
Trailing 17-3, a score that flattered the home side thanks to a feisty defence that forced the Roughriders to settle for field goals on all but one of their four scoring drives, the Lions looked likely to record a third straight 2-and-out and punt the ball back to the visitors. Facing 2nd & 10 from his own 41-yard line, Rourke dropped back to pass much to the delight of Riders’ rush end James Vaughters, who had a direct line to the Lions' pivot off the right edge.
“I saw some pressure. They were bringing one from the opposite side of where we were sliding, so probably the smarter play was just to throw hot. But at that moment, I decided to just play a little bit,” explained Rourke when questioned about the play that completely flipped the switch for a Lions attack that had been dormant to that point.
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View post ↗With Vaughters bearing down on him, Rourke planted hard off his left foot, dropping further behind the line of scrimmage while wheeling to his right to elude the arm of the now outstretched defender.
Now out of the pocket and on the run, Rourke was being hotly pursued by linebacker Josh Woods. Instead of simply throwing the ball away or trying to outrun Woods to the sideline, Rourke cut back hard inside, sprinted toward the line of scrimmage, and launched a rainbow 55 yards downfield to a lonely Stanley Berryhill, who caught the ball like a kickoff before jogging into the end zone.
“You just look at the effort, the will that he had to get something going for the offence and get something going for the team,” gushed head coach Buck Pierce to the media after the game. “It ignited the crowd. It ignited the sideline. We know it’s coming at some point with Nathan, right? He’s just a phenomenal player that makes plays like that that I haven’t seen in a long time.”
The converted touchdown counted for seven points, but it might as well have been 70 given the effect it had on the offence. BC scored on five of its next six drives, turning a 14-point deficit into a lead it would never relinquish before the third quarter expired.
Pierce and Rourke were quick to credit the defence after the game and rightly so.
While the Lions conceded plenty of yards and possession time to the Roughriders, they allowed just a single touchdown, forced Saskatchewan to settle for six field goals, and delivered a game-ending quarterback sack with Trevor Harris in position to throw a tying touchdown strike on the game’s final play.
Receiver Jevon Cottoy was also a major factor in the comeback win, accounting for 131 of Rourke’s 366 passing yards and the other two touchdowns thrown by the Lions pivot in the Lions' final home game of the season.
Next Steps Loom for Lions
But everyone on the field, in the stadium, or watching on television knows exactly which play altered the course of Saturday’s playoff contest and maybe the course of Grey Cup history.
To be clear, no one is crowning the Lions, who have a tall task ahead of them in Edmonton against the Elks this weekend, but elements of this year’s group bring back memories of both the turbulent 2000 and 2011 squads that ultimately hoisted the coveted Cup.
Right now, Rourke’s touchdown toss to Berryhill is simply another impressive highlight in the catalog of a quarterback who has created plenty of them in his young career. However, if this year’s Lions prove worthy of joining the six previous teams whose banners hang at BC Place, that moment of brilliance will be viewed as the spark that ignited a championship run, not just a spectacle that made for a happy Halloween at home.
