Canadian general Nathan Rourke proved he was ready for first place, tying in 26 of 29 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns. The native Victoria, BC, added two more hurried TDs. Backup Michael O’Connor came in late for the Lions and added a hasty touchdown of his own. James Butler was a force for the Lions (1-0) with four TDs, including one on a 21-yard course. Keon Hatcher also played a great game for the hosts and Sean White added a goal to 13 yards. Edmonton QB Nick Arbuckle struggled, tying in 20 of 29 attempts for 254 yards and three interceptions. The former Toronto Argonaut has been sacked three times, all by the Lions’ first line of defense, Sione Teuhema. Tre Ford made his appearance under the center of the Elks (0-1) at the end of the second half and scored eight passes and one interception. Kai Locksley scored Edmonton’s solitary touchdown of the night and Sergio Castillo scored for three goals on the pitch, including a 37-yard touchdown. The Lions dominated from the start, opening the game with almost a perfect nine games, 68 yards scoring. Rourke – who takes No. 1 spot from retired QB Michael Riley – had plenty of time to find his targets and finished the series with a brief throw to Butler, who ran 10 yards into the final zone for his first big game series. Whyte added an extra point and the Lions took a 7-0 lead in less than five minutes. The Elks responded with a goal from 35 yards from Castillo. Lee created the next route of the night, choosing an Arbuckle pass intended for the Elks Jalin Marshall wide receiver in the 50-yard line of BC. Rourke and the Lions made the ball on the pitch and Butler escaped to spend 36 yards in the final zone for another TD. The extra point from Whyte gave BC a 14-3 cushion for the second half. Castillo reduced the lead to 14-6 with a goal from 37 yards to open the second frame, but the Lions kept their suffocation in the game. Rourke made a huge splash early in the quarter, sending a 31-yard bomb to Hatcher near the far side. The young QB followed the game by climbing out of his pocket for an 11-yard rush and then passing the ball to Butler in the next game. The Iowa product avoided the Elks defense and sprinted 21 yards in the final zone for the third TD of the night. Butler recorded his fourth big team before halftime, rushing six yards to put BC to 28-6. Rourke seemed to make a huge touch for a short time, but the game was called off limits. Instead, he contented himself with a two-yard slide in a third down that increased the Lions’ lead to 35-6. After seeing Arbuckle fired by Teuhema and without a touchdown on the board, the Elks chose to bring Canadian Tre Ford to fourth to close the second quarter. With less than a minute to go until the end of the half, Lee made a pass from Ford to the receiver Mike Jones. The veteran Lions defender back rolled, then sprinted 48 yards under the court and jumped into the final zone with a roll forward. His touchdown was quickly canceled, with officials deciding the ball was dead in Edmonton’s 42-yard line. But the game created another scoring move for BC, with Rourke finding Hatcher at the finish line with a six-yard pass. As he was dragged to the ground, Hatcher stretched and touched the ball in the final zone, marking the fourth consecutive TD move for the hosts. The Lions took a 42-6 lead in the locker room, equaling a franchise record set in 1981 for the most points scored in a half. Arbuckle returned to the fourth for the Elks to start the third, a move that gave Edmonton some early momentum. Just over four minutes into the quarter, Loxley completed a slingshot of a Yard general to give the Elk their only touchdown in the game. Edmonton went for the conversion of the two points, but Arbakl’s pass to Jones was not completed. The Elks tried to rely on scoring, pushing hard on the pitch with their next possession before Teuhema fired Arbuckle again, this time for a nine-yard loss. Edmonton was content with a goal of 30 yards and reduced its deficit to 42-15. Rourke increased the home side’s lead with a rushing 17-yard TD and Teuchema closed the fourth with his third bag. Whyte gave the Lions a 52-15 advantage with a 13-yard goal at the end of the fourth quarter, before the Lions took another bite from the Elks’ attack. With just over three minutes left in the game, BC’s Loucheiz Purifoy jumped and took the Arbuckle pass and then ran 40 yards deep into Edmonton to create another Lions score. O’Connor collected the ball for a TD, sealing the score at 59-15. Edmonton will host the Saskatchewan Roughriders next Saturday. The Lions have a good week and will be back on June 25 when they entertain the Toronto Argonauts. NOTES: Elks fan Wesly Appolon suffered an obvious leg injury after the first game of the collision and was removed from the pitch in a wheelchair. ? O’Connor served as Rourke’s backup, marking the first time in modern CFL season that a team has played a Canadian duo of generals. … An enthusiastic crowd of 34,082 took part in the game and a pre-game concert by rockers One Republic.
