BURSTZander Horvath rushed for 164 yards and four touchdowns, leading the streaking B.C. Lions to a 45-24 win over the host Ottawa Redblacks in CFL action Sunday at TD Place.
B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke was 22-for-25 for 355 yards and two touchdowns for the victors (6-5) who have won five games in a row. James Butler and Jevon Cottoy also had TDs for B.C., while Sean Whyte kicked a field goal and had six extra points.
Jake Maier threw for 291 yards and and two touchdowns for winless Ottawa (0-11). Former Lions Ayden Eberhardt had two TDs in a losing cause, while backup QB Bryson Barnes added another. Brett Lauther booted a field goal and three conversions and Alonzo Addae had two interceptions on defence.
Ottawa had a chance to open the scoring early in the game, as Lauther lined up for a 48-yard field goal. But the Redblacks had too many men on the field and the penalty took them out of field goal range.
Rourke led the Lions on an impressive 11-play drive but it stalled deep in Ottawa territory after a penalty. They settled for a 30-yard Whyte field goal midway throuh the quarter.
After an Ottawa punt, the Lions started deep in their own zone and Rourke was intercepted by Addae, giving Ottawa the ball at the B.C. 10-yard line.
They cashed in, as Maier found Eberhardt for a 10-yard touchdown. Lauther’s convert made it 7-3 Ottawa with just over four minutes left in the quarter.
As the quarter ended, Ottawa had the ball again, third-and-one on the B.C. one.
To open the second quarter, Ottawa went for a pass on third down but it fell incomplete, giving the Lions the ball back on downs.
Three minutes into the quarter, Addae picked off Rourke again, with the QB preventing a touchdown with a penalized horse collar tackle that again gave Ottawa the ball on the one-yard line.
This time, they choose a running play with Barnes carrying it on for the major to give Ottawa a 14-3 lead.
B.C. answered with seven minutes left in the half, when Rourke rolled right and found Butler, who waltzed in for a 10-yard touchdown to draw B.C. within four at 14-10.
TD FOR JB
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— BC LIONS (@BCLions) August 31, 2026
The Lions took their first lead with 3:23 left, when Horvath rumbled in from two yards out for his league-leading 13th TD of the season. Whyte’s convert made it 17-14 B.C. The key play in the scoring drive saw B.C.’s Jermaine Jackson tip a pass to himself, and then carry it 41 yards to the two-yard line to set up Horvath’s score.
With 49 seconds left, the Lions had a chance to extend their lead with Whyte setting up for a long field goal. But, like the Redblacks earlier, they were penalized for having too many men on the field and chose to punt instead.
As time ran out in the half, Lauther made a 43-yard field goal to tie things up at 17-17.
In their first drive after the break, the Lions drove right down the field, helped by a 25-yard roughing the passer penalty. A Horvath leap into the end zone capped the drive and Whyte’s extra point gave B.C. a 24-17 lead.
Ottawa pulled even again with 3:33 to play in the third. Eberhardt took a short pass, spun away from a defender and dashed in for a 49-yard touchdown. Lauther’s convert knotted the score at 24-24.
The Lions quickly moved back down the field, with Rourke and Keon Hatcher combining on a 42-yard pass-and-run play. Horvath powered in from nine yards out for his third TD with 38 seconds left and Whyte’s convert restored B.C.’s seven-point lead at 31-24.
On the final play of the quarter, Maier was intercepted by Jackson Findlay, who returned it to the Ottawa 23.
The Lions immediately gave the ball back, when Justin McInnis fumbled and Ottawa’s King Ambers recovered on his own 17, but the Redblacks quickly punted it back.
B.C. created some breathing room when Rourke connected with Cottoy for a 14-yard touchdown with 11 minutes to play. Whyte’s convert gave B.C. a 38-24 margin.
Horvath’s big night continued when he scored his fourth TD of the game (16th of the year) with another sneak from two yards out with 2:56 to play. Whyte added the extra point to make the final 45-24.
NOTES: B.C. visits the Montreal Alouettes on Friday (4:30 p.m.)… The Redblacks had an organizational shakeup this week, bringing in Jim Popp as senior football advisor after VP Shawn Burke was fired… B.C. holds a 54-25-2 all-time edge in the series… Rourke has totalled at least 300 passing yards in six straight starts. He completed 17 straight passes following his second interception… The B.C. defence has held teams to fewer than 30 points in seven straight games… Horvath tied Butler’s team record with his four rushing TD’s in the contest… Jackson finished with 128 yards on four catches… TJ Lee had eight tackles to lead the B.C. defenders, while Findlay finished with seven… The Lions outgained the Redblacks 231 to -3 on the ground.