August 6, 2021

Rourke starts for Lions; Reilly takes over in second half

Matt Smith/CFL.ca

REGINA — All signs pointed to Michael Reilly starting for the BC Lions on Friday night but when the team hit the field for their first series, it was rookie Canadian QB Nathan Rourke with the controls.

According to a report from TSN’s Farhan Lalji early on in the evening, Reilly was questionable to play on Friday night after being listed first on the team’s depth chart ahead of the contest.

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Reilly was limited throughout most of training camp and practice this week dealing with an elbow issue. He was seen warming up with the Lions ahead of the game but did not end up hitting the field when the game got underway.

Rourke played the first half but when the teams returned to the field from the break, it was Reilly under centre to start off the third quarter. Eventually Rourke would get back in the saddle to finish things off in the fourth.

“We came out for the coin toss and the anthem and I tried to throw some balls, I obviously just wanted to test it to see if it was going to get to where I needed it to be,” Reilly told the media following the loss.

“It became pretty clear to me at that point that it just wasn’t going to be there. Me and Rick (Campbell) and the training staff, of course, but me and Rick have talked at length over the last month, not just about me, but just in general of all of our decisions are going to be based on what’s the best thing for the team because that’s all we care about, really. Personal egos and desires and stats and all of that doesn’t matter to him or me or our team. What matters is what’s the best thing for the BC Lions.”

“I had to be honest with Rick,” he continued. “It was honestly, probably the hardest thing that I’ve done for a long time in football was to tell him that I was not going to give us the best chance to win because I’ve been waiting for this moment to play in this game. It was pretty clear to me after the coin toss when I was throwing, the person that gave us the best chance to be successful at the start of the game was Nathan and not me.”

Reilly said he was working on getting his arm to a place where he could step in and play throughout the first two quarters and that after halftime he felt like he could take the field.

“The end of the third, and most of the fourth quarter, was going on though, I could feel each drive that I was losing more and more control of my accuracy,” said the Lions pivot. “I felt like I was seeing things really good, I was reading the defence, I knew where the ball needed to go, it was just a matter of getting it there as accurately as I needed to.

“Each drive it was kind of getting worse and worse. I knew once it got to the point that it was going to be an issue and I wasn’t, again, going to be the best option for us, I needed to let them know, which is when Nathan went back in.”

Reilly went 17-24 for 203 yards and a touchdown. Rourke fought through a tough start to finish 10-18 for 194 yards with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions in his CFL debut.

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