Hamilton Tiger-Cats tangle with Nathan Rourke and the B.C. Lions

Fresh off their first win of the season in Week 6 the Hamilton Tiger-Cats will try to kick off a winning streak when they visit Nathan Rourke and the B.C. Lions in Vancouver Thursday night.

Hamilton (1-4) survived a late game scare against the Ottawa Redblacks last Saturday when they scratched out a 25-23 victory at Tim Hortons Field.

The Lions (3-1) are coming off their bye week, having last played July 9 at B.C. Place Stadium, which ended in a 43-22 loss against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The pregame show on 900 CHML begins at 9 p.m. Kickoff is at 10 p.m. and you can listen to the action on 900 CHML radio. A half-hour after the final whistle, catch The 5th Quarter postgame show on CHML, 900chml.com and on CHML’s Facebook page.

Dane Evans earned CFL top performer of the week honours after he quarterbacked the Cats to a last-minute win against Ottawa, throwing for 342 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning score to Tim White with 19 seconds left in regulation time.

It was the second time this season that Evans has thrown for more than 300 yards in a game after he piled up 425 in an overtime loss against the Calgary Stampeders in Week 2.

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The four-year CFL veteran enters Week 7 with 1,423 passing yards on the year behind only Winnipeg’s Zach Collaros (1,536) and Saskatchewan Roughriders QB Cody Fajardo (1,488).

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B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke is fourth on the passing yards list with 1,355, but he is No. 1 in the Canadian Football League with 12 touchdown passes through four games.

Rourke’s mercurial rise to stardom in just his second year in the league, and first as a full-time starter, has football fans on the west coast excited about the Lions.

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The Victoria, B.C., native is collecting heaps of praise from around the league for being the first Canadian quarterback to make a major impact on the field and is drawing comparisons to Canadian Football Hall of Fame QB Russ Jackson.

A Hamilton victory would propel the team into a first place tie in the East Division with the Toronto Argonauts while the Lions can tie Saskatchewan and the Calgary Stampeders for second place in the West.

3 quick stats:

• The Tiger-Cats have won their last four meetings against the Lions dating back to the 2018 season including a 13-10 win in B.C. in 2019. Dane Evans was Hamilton’s starting QB in two of those victories, collecting 635 passing and rushing yards while throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions.
• Lions QB Nathan Rourke is on pace to record 6,098 yards, which would rank as the third-highest tally in a single season in CFL history. The sophomore pivot is also on pace to toss 54 touchdowns. That would smash Doug Flutie’s single-season mark of 48 set in 1994.
• Thursday’s game marks the 99th match between the Tiger-Cats and Lions. B.C. has the edge with a record of 55 wins, 40 losses and three ties. This is the only time the two clubs will meet in the regular season in 2022, meaning their 100th game will be waged next year.