ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ LIONS 38 OTTAWA 12
Of the 14,727 fans watching ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Lions quarter-back Nathan Rourke win player of the game honours at Royal Athletic Park on Saturday was a very special one.
“This is unbelievably wonderful. I am over the moon and back again. I am so proud of him,” said Rourke’s 99-year-old great-grandmother, Evelyn Pharoah-Barker, of Central Saanich.
Rourke, the Victoria native and 2022 Canadian Football League MVP, went 21-for-30 in passing with three touchdowns tosses and an interception as the Lions snapped a five-game losing streak to move to 6-6 with a 38-12 win over the Ottawa Redblacks.
Rourke, finding his footing in his third game back following his excursion in the NFL, also ran for a touchdown on the Leos’ harbinger first possession of the game, leaving some fans to quip that the team should play all its games on the Island.
The Redblacks, off to the second-best start in Ottawa CFL history, went to 7-3-1.
Rourke spent a lot of time on the field after the game with his great-grandmother and other members of his family.
“She definitely had some things to say about the third quarter, but she enjoyed it overall,” said Rourke, of his spry and football-savvy great-grandmother.
“It was a great experience for us as a team. We felt welcomed. It was a great trip. It’s always great to show the American players the beautiful parts of our country and this is definitely one of them.”
The atmosphere and uniqueness of the Touchdown Pacific game — the first in the 70 years of Lions history outside of ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Place, Empire Stadium or Empire Field — pretty much overshadowed any blow-by-blow statistical analysis of the game.
“The whole environment was great,” said Lions head coach Rick Campbell.
“The fans had such great energy today and were rooting for us the whole game right to the end. We really feel lucky to have been a part of this.
“And we were sick and tired of losing. The West [conference] is up for grabs. We are going to do our part to stay in the hunt.”
The game marked the return of lineman Mathieu Betts, the 2023 CFL outstanding defensive player, a late cut of the Detroit Lions of the NFL.
“It was a fun event to be part of here in Victoria,” said Betts.
“When the schedule came out, that’s the game I had circled on my calendar [before trying out for Detroit]. So it felt great to be here and to enjoy that win.
“It was really, really fun. You don’t usually really notice the crowd. But with us being so close to the bleachers here, I feel fortunate to be a part of that.
“The fans around ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ all see how special this is. You saw that in Victoria. It’s a team of the province.”
Lions receiver Kieran Poissant, a graduate of the junior Westshore Rebels, was mobbed by his former Rebels teammates on the field following the game in which he was named the top special-teams player.
“It feels great to have all my Westshore guys out here today,” said Poissant.
“It was an amazing game. The [Lions] played amazing and we’re back on track, which is great. We looked great.”
Langford-raised Ottawa Redblacks offensive lineman Dontae Bull, the Belmont Secondary Bulldogs graduate, and first overall selection in the 2023 CFL draft, was not dressed Saturday.
But that didn’t stop his cheering section from showing up, including several of his proud former Belmont teammates wearing his No. 50 Redblacks jersey.
After the game, two-time CFL all-star Lions defensive-back T.J. Lee III gleefully ran off the field waving at the Island fans and shouting: “Thank you guys.”
That pretty much encapsulated a memorable day of sport on Caledonia.
