VANCOUVER \u2014 Held in check early, the BC Lions erupted for 25 unanswered points to down the Edmonton Elks 37-24 \u2014 their fifth straight victory \u2014 at BC Place on Friday night.<\/p>\n
Nathan Rourke<\/a> ran in a 70-yard score and threw for another, closing with a 21\/32 line with 338 yards and an interception to remain a perfect 6-0 against Edmonton. Keon Hatcher Sr. added 97 receiving yards to his CFL-leading total and caught a touchdown, and James Butler<\/a> tallied 82 rushing yards and a major on 15 totes to help BC improve to 10-7.<\/p>\n The Lions\u2019 defence forced four turnovers, with T.J. Lee<\/a> leading the way. The veteran defensive back stuffed the stat sheet with a sack, an interception, a forced fumble and a team-high six tackles in his fourth game back with BC.<\/p>\n Cody Fajardo<\/a> went 19-for-34 for 230 yards, a touchdown and three interceptions, doubling his season total at six, while Kurleigh Gittens Jr.<\/a> hauled in six of 12 targets for 96 yards as Edmonton fell to 7-10. Justin Rankin picked up the 24 yards he needed to reach the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the first time in his career, but found little room after that, finishing with just 36 on 11 carries.<\/p>\n With the loss, the Elks were officially eliminated from playoff contention, while the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Calgary Stampeders both secured post-season berths. The Lions, meanwhile, are now in pole position to host the Western Semi-Final.<\/p>\n RELATED The Elks came out fast with two chain-moving plays to\u00a0set up a 44-yard field goal try, but Vincent Blanchard pushed it wide right.<\/p>\n After a punt apiece, the Lions found rhythm as Justin McInnis<\/a> snagged a 16-yard strike over the middle and absorbed a big hit. He followed with a 41-yard catch-and-run inside the 10, but JJ Ross made an excellent individual play to jar it loose, jump on the fumble, and flip possession.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Edmonton\u2019s momentum swing was short-lived. Trapped deep in his own end, Fajardo dropped back from the eight-yard line and was swallowed up by Ben Hladik<\/a> for a safety. Defence continued to be the story down the first-quarter stretch, as neither of the CFL\u2019s top two big-play offences could muster a point.<\/p>\n Edmonton cracked the defensive deadlock early in the second. Fajardo connected with Kurleigh Gittens Jr.<\/a> three times for 60 yards to reach the red zone, then sold a fake to Rankin and pitched to Javon Leake<\/a>, who cruised in untouched for his first touchdown of the year. Blanchard\u2019s point-after made it 7-2.<\/p>\n BC stuck with its big-play approach midway through the second, but Rourke \u2014 for a third time in the half \u2014 overthrew his target on second down. Edmonton answered by pounding the ball on the ground to set up another 44-yarder for Blanchard and, this time, he split the uprights.<\/p>\n Rourke caught fire in the three-minute drill, going five-for-five for 64 yards before Butler bulldozed in from the five to finish the drive. Butler added two more on the conversion to tie it 10-10 at half, salvaging a slow start for the CFL\u2019s top offence, which held the ball for just nine minutes to Edmonton\u2019s 20.<\/p>\n The Lions\u2019 defence opened the third with a statement, as Robert Carter Jr. jumped Fajardo\u2019s pass and raced it back 50 yards for six. The rookie\u2019s team-leading fifth interception was also his third in as many weeks.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Things didn\u2019t get easier for Fajardo after the kickoff. The veteran was swarmed on second down by a pass-rushing party led by Levi Bell. With Edmonton\u2019s season hanging in the balance, head coach Mark Kilam kept the offence on the field for third-and-long, but Mathieu Betts<\/a> applied the pressure to force an incompletion.<\/p>\n Off the turnover on downs, Zander Horvath broke free for a 40-yard gain up the sideline, setting up Sean Whyte<\/a>\u2019s 38-yard field goal to extend BC\u2019s lead to 20-10.<\/p>\n The Lions kept their foot on the gas with their next possession in the third. Rourke found a lane, got in gear, and left the Elks in the dust on a 70-yard touchdown sprint, the longest run of his career. Whyte added the point-after as BC\u2019s lead ballooned to 17 points.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Edmonton finally showed signs of life near the end of a busy third quarter. Fajardo led a balanced attack on an 11-play, 81-yard drive, polishing it off by threading a back-foot throw through the uprights and to Binjimen Victor for the score \u2014 his first in the CFL.<\/p>\n
\u00bb Edmonton, BC by the numbers<\/a>
\u00bb Depth Charts:\u00a0EDM<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0BC<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a0Game Notes: Elks at Lions<\/a>
\u00bb\u00a0Sign up and watch CFL games on CFL+ in the U.S. and Internationally<\/a><\/p>\n