They provided the perfect blueprint of the team they could and should be in last week’s unforgettable experience in Victoria. Now the 6-6 BC Lions get a chance to back it up in their biggest test of the season as the squad visits the 10-1 Montreal Alouettes on Friday night.
The tale of the tape pretty much says it all when it comes to the defending Grey Cup champions. They’re rolling and winning games in every way possible while sitting in the top two or three in virtually every major CFL category. It will take a complete effort to get it done for Nathan Rourke and company who will certainly put the rest of the league on notice if they prevail.
“They’re really well-coached, they fly around, they do a lot of things and they’re very talented in a lot of different areas,” said Rourke in his Montreal scouting report this week.
“We’re going to just have to be able to take what they give us and put some drives together because that offence is explosive as well.”
Cody Fajardo and the Alouettes are indeed using complementary football to their advantage. Despite missing top receiver Tyson Philpot, they haven’t missed a beat since the return of Austin Mack from the NFL. The offence still boats the likes of Cole Spieker and newcomer Charleston Rambo with the backfield featuring the always dangerous Walter Fletcher.
“We’re coming off a great game that we haven’t had in awhile. Everyone on defence is trying to carry it over,” said defensive lineman Jonah Tavai.
“The keys are just to limit those big plays. They have a lot of playmakers, a good offensive line and a good quarterback with a good head on his shoulders. It’s about getting off the field on those second and longs and stop the big plays.”
With one point separating the top three teams in this Western Division, it feels like the playoffs are already here. No time at all to get complacent. Perhaps it was a good thing to have a shorter week of preparation for the CFL’s top team.
“I think we’re able to shift gears pretty quickly. I think this group is focused on what’s going to be a big challenge this week,” added Rourke.
“A short week is a challenge in itself but also travelling across time zones and playing the top team of the league, those are big challenges we’re looking forward to having the chance to conquer.”
We will indeed learn plenty about this rejuvenated Lion squad on Friday.
The Quarterbacks
# 12 Nathan Rourke- his 325 passing yards and four total touchdowns in Victoria had Lion fans looking back to the brilliant run of 2022 and once again dreaming about how high the ceiling can be for this team in 2024. Friday marks his first-ever start against Montreal. Vernon Adams Jr. is slated to dress for the first time since his knee injury suffered on August 1 in Winnipeg. “A 1 and 1A situation” as Rick Campbell put it this week.
# 7- Cody Fajardo– returned from his injury to help lead the sizzling Alouettes to a comeback win over Edmonton on August 25. In that contest, the Nevada product threw for 336 yards- his second-highest total of the season- and a pair of touchdowns.
3 Lions To Watch
#31 William Stanback- no doubt has a little extra juice against his old team, especially given the fact he has averaged nearly 100 yards on the ground over the past four games. Stanback scored Montreal’s first touchdown in last year’s Grey Cup upset of Winnipeg and suited up in 60 total games with the franchise over the previous four seasons while eclipsing the 1,000-yard rushing mark in 2019 and 2021.
# 4 Keon Hatcher Sr.- has slowly worked his way back into being a prime target in this offence. There is no shortage of options for Rourke to use at his disposal. One of these receivers will be counted on to flip field position.
# 41 Ayinde Eley- With Ben Hladik battling through injury, ‘Ace’ has demonstrated his ability to step in and play a starting role in the middle. The hard-hitting linebacker almost pulled in his first career interception early in the Touchdown Pacific beatdown of Ottawa.
Quotable
“It’s definitely bittersweet. Obviously, I know those guys very well. For us to get it done we just have to dominate from the start and have fun doing it. That’s the key.”-
Stanback on returning to Montreal.
Extra Yards
This week 14 opener can be viewed on TSN and RDS in Canada while fans south of the border can watch on CBS Sports Network with streaming on CFL+. Bob Marjanovich and Giulio Caravatta bring you the action on 980 CKNW and the Lions Audio Network with pre-game coverage at 3:30 pm. Harp Pandher and Taqdeer Thindal have the call on Sher-E Punjab Radio AM 600 with pre-game beginning at 4:00 pm.
With Jarell Broxton (knee) and Tyler Packer (head) both on the shelf, the left side of the offensive line gets a revamp. David Knevel slots in at left tackle after doing a solid job in relief for most of last week’s win. American Kory Woodruff makes his CFL debut at guard after spending the balance of this season working on the practice squad. The Pittsburg State product has been with the team since day one of rookie camp in Kamloops. Look for him to make an impression. Veteran Andrew Peirson comes back on the roster in Knevel’s old spare role. All changes can be seen in the above depth chart.
More on the Stanback train: he is on pace for 1,215 yards which would be the 12th-highest total in team history and best since Martell Mallet’s 1,240 in 2009. It’s also worth noting Mallet remains the most recent Lion to rush for over 200 yards in one game. Ironically, that came against the Alouettes in September of that season. With the Alouettes’ run defence in the bottom third of the league (105.5 yards per game), look for the Lions to try to exploit that and take advantage of the RPO possibilities. Stanback totalled 171 yards from scrimmage against the Redblacks.
CFL receiving yards leader Justin McInnis has made 63 receptions this season with 28 of those being second-down conversions. Not a bad game-breaker to have.
Down but never out: seven of the ten wins for Montreal have been of the comeback variety with three of those being when they trailed by double digits.
The Alouettes’ run of 18-1 is the best 19-game stretch in modern CFL history. The squad won five straight to close out the 2023 regular season before their memorable three-game run in November. The lone defeat in that stretch came at home to Toronto in week six.