Rourke makes history in win over Argos

CFL.ca Staff

VANCOUVER — Quarterback Nathan Rourke made CFL history as the BC Lions defeated the Toronto Argonauts 44-3 on Saturday night.

The 24-year-old second-year pivot broke a CFL single-game record for passing yards by a Canadian quarterback when he threw for 436 yards against Toronto in the Week 3 win.

As momentous as the milestone is, Rourke was more impressed with the win and the efforts of his teammates than he was with his own performance.

“Yeah I didn’t know the number, I think it’s pretty cool,” Rourke said in a TSN post-game interview. “But I think the biggest thing is that we got a win today and I’m so proud of these guys.”

Rourke completed 39 of his 45 passing attempts and distributed the ball to seven different receivers in the game’s first two series.

Dominique Rhymes and Bryan Burnham each averaged 17 yards per catch, while Jevon Cottoy, Lucky Whitehead and Keon Hatcher all averaged near 10 yards per catch.

The Lions quarterback said that the ability to distribute the ball around the field and use multiple receivers is something they have been working on this off-season.

“It’s going to make it difficult for defensive coordinators to key on one guy,” said Rourke. “I think that’s been an emphasis of ours going into the off-season and we really want to make it known that we’ve got some dudes out there.

“Really proud of those guys, they really did some dirty work today. It wasn’t big chunks. It was little chunks there and they earned every single yard.”

After a pair of wins at home to open the season, Rourke and the Lions take their show on the road for the first time this season when they travel to Ottawa to face the REDBLACKS on Thursday, June 30.

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