After a walk-off field goal lifted the BC Lions over the Calgary Stampeders in last week’s Western Semifinal, the playoffs continue with BC rolling into the prairies to take on the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Western Final.
For the first time ever, the Roughriders and Lions will meet in a single-game Western Final in Saskatchewan. It is, however, the fourth time the pair have met to crown a West champion (BC leads 3-1 all-time), with the last meeting coming in 2007, when the Riders pulled out a 26-17 victory en route to the franchise’s third Grey Cup.
It’s also the fourth time the Riders are appearing in the West Final since the team’s last Grey Cup win in 2013, and it’s the second straight appearance after the Riders handled business against these Lions in the semifinal last year.
Leading BC into this one to exact some revenge, however, is Canadian gunslinger Nathan Rourke.
The 27-year-old put together a phenomenal year, as his 330.6 passing yards per game led the CFL by far, and despite throwing 16 interceptions, he also led in efficiency rate (112.2). His 31 passing touchdowns were good enough for second best, his 564 rushing yards were a top 10 mark and led all quarterbacks, and his 9.2 yards per carry topped everyone.
Rourke also put together the most total yards by anyone (5,854) despite missing multiple games. All of this was good enough for the Ohio alum to be named a finalist for the Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian awards.
The Victoria, B.C. native also had one of the best seasons by a Canadian quarterback ever, smashing through Russ Jackson’s all-time mark of 3,641 passing yards by a Canadian pivot in a single season. Rourke now also owns the record for the most completions (352) and 300-plus yard games (12) by a Canadian in a single year. He also led a BC offence that put up the best yards per play (8.04) in CFL history.
Regular season accolades are nice, but surely Rourke would like to make his first Grey Cup appearance and improve his playoff numbers. This will only be the pivot’s fourth playoff start (2-1 record), posting four total touchdowns and two interceptions, while completing 65.2 per cent of his passes with averages of 281.3 passing yards per game and 10.3 yards per carry in the previous three.
Lions loaded on offence
It’s not shocking that BC’s offence was prolific in 2025, as Rourke has elite talent all around him.
The list includes West All-CFLers in wideouts Keon Hatcher Sr. and Justin McInnis, as well as left tackle Jarell Broxton. There’s also James Butler, who bounced back with a fantastic year along the ground to the tune of 1,213 yards (third), and 11 touchdowns (first).
Hatcher had a particularly strong season, as he led the league in receiving yards by a mile with 1,688. That also happens to be the best mark in nearly a decade, coming close to Adarius Bowman’s 1,761-yard mark for the then Edmonton Eskimos in 2016.
The offensive line has largely been an improvement from this time last year, allowing the fewest number of sacks all season (20). The unit did get caved in by a strong Stampeders front last week, allowing three sacks, though they were without 2023 Most Outstanding Lineman Dejon Allen. He may in return in this one and, given that Rourke has taken nine sacks in three career playoff games, they could use him against a very talented Riders front and overall defence.
The Saskatchewan unit finished top three in points allowed, net offensive yards allowed, rushing yards allowed, sacks, turnovers forced, and second down conversion rate. The defence features playmakers at all three levels, including five West All-CFLers in defensive tackle Micah Johnson, linebacker Jameer Thurman, and defensive backs C.J. Reavis, Tevaughn Campbell, and Rolan Milligan Jr. on the back end.
There’s also edge rusher Malik Carney, who led the league in pressure rate (14.9 per cent), was fifth in sacks (eight), and fourth amongst lineman in tackles (39). He and the others along the defensive line could cause havoc just like the Stamps’ front did to BC, especially if Allen doesn’t suit up at right tackle.
Harris appears ageless
Leading the Riders offensively into this year’s playoff matchup after leading the team to the best overall record in the CFL (fifth time in franchise history), is quarterback Trevor Harris.
The 39-year-old veteran put together one of the best seasons of his 13-year CFL career to the tune of 4,549 yards (third), 24 touchdowns (fourth), and only 11 interceptions. Harris was also one of the best deep-ball passers north of the border, sitting only behind his counterpart in this matchup, Rourke, in completion percentage on passes of 20 or more yards (53.8 per cent).
Harris will be looking to advance to his second Grey Cup as a starter after losing in 2018’s big dance with the Ottawa Redblacks (Harris has won two Grey Cups as a backup). In 10 playoff games, the 6-foot-3, 212-pound pure pocket passer has a 4-6 record.
Surrounding him offensively are five West All-CFLers in 1,000-yard wideouts KeeSean Johnson and Dohnte Meyers, as well as three offensive linemen in Logan Ferland, Jermarcus Hardrick, and Jacob Brammer.
Johnson and Meyers broke out this season after targets like Samuel Emilus, Kian Schaffer-Baker, Ajou Ajou, and Shawn Bane Jr. all missed time. Everyone should be available for this one, however, so the unit is loaded. The offensive line features Most Outstanding Lineman finalist and two-time All-CFL member Hardrick, while the unit as a whole graded out as the best in six separate weeks, per Pro Football Focus (PFF).
There’s also A.J. Ouellette at running back, who put up a career high in yards (1,222) and touchdowns (eight) while going for 287 yards from scrimmage and for two majors against BC this season.
They’ll be going up against a Lions defence that has turned its act around in the second half of the season and is a big reason why BC comes into this one riding a seven-game win streak.
Over their final six regular-season games, the unit only allowed 23.5 points per game, one of the lowest numbers over that period. It’s worth noting that the Lions did allow the most points (30) and net offensive yards (476) last week against Calgary since its last loss two months ago.
Regardless, it starts up front for BC, especially with the team’s only defensive divisional All-CFLer in Mathieu Betts. The Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year finalist led the CFL in sacks (15), was second in pressures (70), and second in tackles amongst linemen (42), numbers that nearly matched his output from his record-breaking 2023 campaign.
With other potential game wreckers like Jonah Tavai and Dewayne Hendrix up the middle and mid-season acquisitions Levi Bell and Bradlee Anae holding down the other edge, it’s a unit that can cause issues and did last weekend against the Stampeders.
Whatever gets through the guys up front gets cleaned up by the CFL’s tackle leader in Micah Awe, while rookie corner Robert Carter Jr. and safety Jackson Findlay, and veterans in halfback T.J. Lee, and corner Garry Peters have all had great moments on the back end.
Overall, it seemed like these two teams were on a crash course to face each other after rising above the crop. While the Eastern Final features veteran coaches who have been there and done that in the Montreal Alouettes’ Jason Maas and Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ Scott Milanovich, these teams feature fresh faces in first-year head coach Buck Pierce (1-0 playoff record) and second-year head coach Corey Mace (1-1 playoff record).
Will history repeat itself like it did in 2007 with a Riders win? Or will the Lions exact revenge and Rourke make his first Grey Cup appearance in what is already a fantastic career? Only time will tell.