KELOWNA — James Butler served up his best game of the season going for 135 yards on 15 carries with two touchdowns as the BC Lions got their first win of the season 36-24 in Kelowna Saturday night on FanDuel Canada Day Weekend handing the Edmonton Elks their first loss.
Justin Rankin was the talk of the town before the Edmonton Elks took the field for the second edition of Touchdown Kelowna, but it was the Lions’ running back who stole the headlines Saturday night at the Apple Bowl. Butler came into the game averaging 39 yards on the ground per game with two touchdowns across the Leos’ first three games. The 31-year-old had 86 yards on the ground and doubled up his touchdown total, with two first half scores on seven carries in the first half.
It was not just Butler who was serving up touchdowns from the backfield for the Orange and Black. Zander Horvath, the Lions’ backup running back and short yardage specialist, tallied two scores while spelling Butler. Horvath finished with 27 yards on the ground and 18 yards receiving with a touchdown of each kind.
Nathan Rourke was not called upon to play hero tonight as the run game was firing on all cylinders. The Canadian signal caller went 27/36 throwing for 320 yards with one touchdown pass and two interceptions. The reigning Most Outstanding Player improved to 7-0 in his career against Edmonton.
Keon Hatcher Sr. and Jermaine Jackson were the two favourite targets for Rourke as they registered five catches for 94 yards and six catches for 50 yards respectively. Justin McInnis was targeted seven times but was only able to pull in four receptions for 32 yards after leading the Lions’ in receiving coming into this contest.
Cody Fajardo had three touchdown passes in the first half connecting for two with Kaion Julien-Grant and one with former Alouettes teammate Austin Mack. Star running back, Rankin came into Saturday night’s game averaging 129 rushing yards per game. Rankin was held to minus three yards on four carries in the first half as the Lions’ defence honed in on the CFL’s leading rusher, as the Elks trailed by eight at the half.
Fajardo aired it out going 34/51 for 395 yards with three touchdown passes and three interceptions. Rankin led the Elks in receptions with 10 for 100 yards after a down evening in the rushing column, finishing with 19 yards rushing on seven carries. Mack led the game in receiving yards as the wideout pulled in eight receptions for 141 yards.
BC’s defence came to play as they registered their first defensive takeaways of the season. Jackson Findlay registered the first takeaway of the season with a second quarter interception after Adam Konar broke up a pass intended for Julien-Grant. Ronald Kent Jr. would add another takeaway for the Lions’ defence as he picked off Fajardo early in the third quarter. Parker McKenna and Casey Sayles would get in on the takeaway action as McKenna forced a fumble from Rankin that was recovered by Sayles in the third quarter, just as the Elks tailback was getting going. Darnell Sankey capped off the Leos’ defensive rebirth picking off Fajardo late in the fourth slamming the door shut on an Elks comeback bid.
Sean Whyte saw his perfect kicking season come to an end as he missed a fourth quarter field, going 3/4 on the evening. The veteran kicker also had an extra point blocked in the second quarter. Vincent Blanchard converted the longest kick of the night with a 45-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, but also fell victim to a missed extra point earlier in the contest.
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SCORING PLAYS
- Zander Horvath one-yard touchdown run (07:50, Q1) | BC 7 EDM 0
- Cody Fajardo eight-yard touchdown pass to Kaion Julien-Grant, missed extra point (04:33, Q1) | BC 7 EDM 6
- Sean Whyte 16-yard field goal (01:17, Q1) | BC 10 EDM 6
- Cody Fajardo four-yard touchdown pass to Kaion Julien-Grant, two-point conversion catch by TJ Luther (13:13, Q2) | BC 10 EDM 14
- James Butler three-yard touchdown run, blocked extra point (07:52, Q2) | BC 16 EDM 14
- James Butler four-yard touchdown run (02:37, Q2) | BC 23 EDM 14
- Sean Whyte 33-yard field goal (01:39, Q2) | BC 26 EDM 14
- Cody Fajardo 24-yard touchdown pass to Austin Mack (00:41, Q2) | BC 26 EDM 21
- Sean Whyte 40-yard field goal (00:00, Q2) | BC 29 EDM 21
- Nathan Rourke nine-yard touchdown pass to Zander Horvath (14:32, Q4) | BC 36 EDM 21
- Vincent Blanchard 45-yard field goal (12:22, Q4) | BC 36 EDM 24
NEXT UP
The BC Lions head into a bye in Week 6 before a rematch against this Elks team in Edmonton for a Week 7 matchup. The Lions won their previous encounter with the Elks last season with a 37-24 victory at BC Place.
The Edmonton Elks head home in Week 6 to take on the winless REDBLACKS, who are coming off back-to-back one possession losses. In their previous meeting, the Green and Gold kicked off their season with a 29-21 victory in Week 1 in the nation’s capital.
