Redblacks 34, Lions 27: B.C. shooting their feet off with a bazooka

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The best you can say about Saturday for the B.C. Lions: it was better.

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But better isn’t good, and especially not good enough, as the B.C. Lions dropped their fifth straight game with a 34-27 defeat at the hands of the Ottawa Redblacks at TD Place.

They scored more than 20 points for the first time in four games, putting up 381 net yards to boot, and the defence did force three turnovers.

“We’re underachieving in key moments,” said head coach Rick Campbell. “The game’s there for the taking in the fourth quarter, and we’re not getting it done right now. I’m still a big believer in this team … but we’re not quite where we need to be right now.

“I think we were better tonight. There’s just key moments in the game where … they made the plays we didn’t. There’s times where a play needs to be made, when the odds are in our favour, and we need to get that done, and we’re not doing that right now.”

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Quarterback Nathan Rourke was better than his first outing, throwing for 234 yards on 22-of-31 passing and had 63 yards rushing. He was also picked off once, and stripped twice when his offensive line couldn’t handle the heat off the edge.

“Just a bitter, bitter taste in our mouth right now,” Rourke said after the game.

“I thought we didn’t do enough. We put our defence in a lot of tough positions. We can’t expect to beat a team like this with three turnovers. … I definitely feel like I took a step, definitely feel more comfortable out there … but it’s not good enough.”

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It was the same self-inflicted wounds that caused B.C. to bleed out once again. Down by three points late in the fourth quarter, the Lions (5-6) looked to have stuffed the Redblacks at the 13-yard line courtesy of a Josh Banks second-down sack — their only one of the game — bringing up a field-goal attempt.

But linebacker Manny Rugamba was beaten badly off the line of scrimmage and grabbed a fistful of jersey, drawing a flag for illegal contact. The Redblacks scored three plays later to make it a two-score game, and the Lions couldn’t close the gap.

It was the same kind of gut-punch as the late-game roughing-the-kicker call that upset their apple cart in Edmonton two weeks ago. Same for the rash of missed tackles, like veteran TJ Lee whiffing on an open-field wrap-up of Nick Mardner that went for a 64-yard major 41 seconds into the second half.

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The defensive line rarely generated any pressure, even when supplemented by DB blitzes, and the middle of the field was left wide-open by a slapdash linebacking core pieced together from prospects and special teamers because of injury. Ben Hladik was scratched after tweaking an ankle during warm-up.

“We got to make more big plays,” said Lee. “We’ve got to make the play. If opportunity comes, we’ve got to be able to make the play. It’s as simple as that, man.”

A marginal uptick in performance wasn’t enough to halt B.C.’s slide down the standings continued, as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (5-6) jumped over them for second place in the West Division, just behind the Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-5-1).

Ottawa’s Dru Brown gashed the Lions for nearly 400 yards passing, picking apart the Leos soft coverage and toothless pass rush, finishing the game with 390 on 28-of-37 passing, three touchdowns and one interception.

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They put up 451 yards in net offence to stay undefeated at home this year, and solidly in second place in the East behind Montreal.

Bright spots for B.C. were few and far between.

William Stanback nearly hit triple digits in rushing with 99 yards on 15 carries, while Justin McInnis had 79 yards on five catches. But 74 of those came in the first quarter alone.

Second-year receiver Ayden Eberhardt also had 61 yards on five receptions, nearly equalling the production of Keon Hatcher (44 yards) and Alex Hollins (18) on his own.

The Lions return to the West Coast, but not home, as they host Ottawa next week in the Victoria-based Touchdown Pacific game. With the Roughriders also losing this weekend, they remained in the mix for top spot in the division despite not winning in over a month.

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“The West is wide open. And you know, we’re fortunate this year with the way that the standings are that there’s some … room for error,” said Campbell. “I’ve seen us play better. If we were playing our best football and we couldn’t win, then I’d be nervous.”

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There was a scary moment in the fourth quarter when Ottawa receiver Jaelon Acklin leaped in the end zone for a high throw from Brown just as Lee closed in to make the tackle, undercutting his legs. Acklin fell backward onto his neck and shoulders, folding nearly in half, and dropping the ball. He got to his knees, then collapsed forward and remained motionless for nearly 20 minutes before medical staff strapped him onto a spine board and rushed him to  hospital.

The team said post-game he was conscious and had movement in all his extremities, but no further update was available. Rourke, in his post-game presser, expressed his concern for his opponent.

“First off, you know, our prayers are with the Acklins. That’s always a scary hit to see and see it up close. It seems like there’s been a lot of those in the last couple of weeks. It’s tough,” he said. “I got to know him a little bit. We did a workout in Denver May of ’22. He’s a great person, obviously, playing really well. So our thoughts and prayers are with him and (his) family.”

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NEXT GAME

Saturday

Ottawa Redblacks vs. B.C. Lions

4 p.m., Royal Athletic Park, Victoria, TV: TSN, Radio: AM730

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