KAYLE NEIS /Regina Leader-Post
Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Tommy Nield (83) gets tackled by the BC Lions defence during CFL regular season action at Mosaic Stadium on Saturday, October 25, 2025 in Regina.
Taylor Shire
Regina Leader-Post
In front of an announced attendance of 25,416 at Mosaic Stadium in Week 21 of the CFL season, the Roughriders fell 27-21 against the B.C. Lions to give Saskatchewan a 12-6 record on the year while the Lions improved to 11-7.
With the win, the Lions clinched second place in the West Division while the Roughriders had previously clinched first place and the right to host the West final on Nov. 8. The Lions will now host the Calgary Stampeders (11-7) in the Western semifinal while the Roughriders await the winner.t
“I think the last two weeks, the way our team went out there and scrapped, I’m proud of that,” said Mace, whose team lost 17-16 to Winnipeg last week. “We want to win, man, so that sucks. But I know for sure, no matter what, this team will scrap.
“And that’s truthfully I think some of the DNA that you’re going to have to have going into these playoffs.
“I don’t like subscribing to (notion that) these games aren’t meaningful to teams. There was some really, really important football that we played these last two weeks for us, and I think it’s going to bode well for us moving forward.
The fourth-place Winnipeg Blue Bombers (10-8) will earn the East crossover spot and face the Montreal Alouettes (10-8) in the Eastern semifinal with the winner advancing to play the first-place Hamilton Tiger-Cats (11-7) in the East final.
As for how Saturday’s game played out, the Roughriders started many of the veteran players in the contest before deploying some backups midway through.
Quarterback Trevor Harris played the first 25 minutes of the game and completed 10 of 11 passes for 112 yards, engineering two touchdown drives and a field goal. Harris also had a 13-yard run before Jake Maier took over at quarterback for the rest of the game.
“I was really happy the way he played,” Mace said of Harris. “I thought he was super decisive with the ball.
“He made that run … and I was just screaming, ‘Get down.’ And he gave the T-Mobile (impression), and I said, ‘Well, you called; I answered.’ And I said ‘Pull ya.’ So, we got him out of there, but I was super happy with his performance.”
As for Maier, he finished the night 16 of 24 for 154 yards with an interception while only putting up three points in the second half after the Riders led 18-13 at the break.
“I thought that the group in the second half, starting with me, need to do a better job of putting one touchdown drive together to win us that game,” said Maier. “I think that’s something that I’m going to think about a lot tonight.”
B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke played the entirety of the game and finished 23 of 28 for 368 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
On the opening play of the game, the Lions wasted no time taking the lead as Rourke hit Ayden Eberhardt up the right sideline for a 63-yard touchdown pass to make it 6-0 after B.C.’s Sean Whyte missed the convert.
The Roughriders took a more methodical approach on their first possession as Harris put together a 12-play, 72-yard drive capped off with short-yardage quarterback Jack Coan plunging into the end zone from one yard out.
With the convert, kicked by rookie Michael Hughes who was starting over Brett Lauther, the Riders took a 7-6 lead.
On B.C.’s second drive, Whyte kicked a 49-yard field goal before Hughes responded with a 28-yard field goal for Saskatchewan. The Lions then scored a punt single on their next drive to tie the game 10-10 early in the second quarter.
Harris and company then engineered a nine-play, 70-yard drive, capped off by Coan’s second one-yard touchdown plunge. After making the convert, Hughes then booted the ensuing kickoff through the back of the end zone to give Saskatchewan another point as the Riders went up 18-10.
As B.C. looked to respond, Rourke was intercepted by safety Nelson Lokombo, who registered his first career regular season pick after notching one in the playoffs last year.
Jake Maier then came into the game at quarterback for the Roughriders and narrowly missed a deep pass to Ajou Ajou on the next play.
On the next throw, Maier gave it right back to the Lions as he was intercepted by Jackson Findlay. The Lions then proceeded to kick a 14-yard field goal to make it 18-13 with 2:32 left in the first half.
On Saskatchewan’s next drive, the Roughriders got into scoring range before Maier fumbled the ball, which was recovered by the Lions on their own 24-yard line. However, the Lions couldn’t turn it into points before the first half expired.
In the second half, after the Riders turned it over on downs after a failed third-and-one gamble near midfield, Rourke hit Stanley Berryhill III for a 43-yard gain before a strange scenario played out on the next play.
Rourke threw a pass to Keon Hatcher, who was stopped by Saskatchewan defenders before fumbling the ball on the goal line. The loose ball was scooped by Roughriders defensive back Tevaughn Campbell, who returned it 103 yards for what appeared to be a touchdown.
However, the CFL Replay Centre ruled that while it was a fumble, a whistle had blown meaning the touchdown would not stand and the Riders would instead get the ball at their own three-yard line.
“Certainly there’s going to be times when those calls will fall our way, and I’m gonna be happy,” said Mace. “Tonight, they just didn’t fall our way.
“And by the rule, the whistle was blown, and we were awarded the ball. Obviously we’d like the points, but at that point, there’s nothing I can do about it; there’s nothing we can do about it, except for we got the ball (and we) kept him out of the end zone. It’s our turn to go play offence. So it is what it is. I just hope the football Gods will bless us, and we’ll take it for sure.”
After a punt by Saskatchewan, the Lions scored a touchdown on their next drive as Rourke found Eberhardt for a 22-yard score to put B.C. up 19-18 after a failed two-point convert.
In the fourth quarter, Hughes added a 42-yard field goal for Saskatchewan to put the Riders up 21-19 before the Lions added a touchdown as Rourke hit Hatcher on a seven-yard touchdown pass.
With a successful two-point convert, the Lions took a 27-21 lead with 3:41 left.
As the Roughriders looked to respond, Maier and company put together an eight-play, 43-yard drive but couldn’t convert a third-and-five on B.C.’s 38-yard line as the Green and White turned the ball over on downs with 1:23 left.
From there, the Lions were able to run out the clock and secure the victory.
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