William Stanback steps up in Montreal return as Lions beat Alouettes

B.C. Lions wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt (bottom) is upended in front of Montreal Alouettes defensive back Kabion Ento (48) during first half CFL football action in Montreal, Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. (Christinne Muschi, The Canadian Press)

William Stanback had his Montreal return marked on his calendar -- and it showed.

Stanback led the way on a strange night for quarterback Nathan Rourke as the B.C. Lions defeated the league-leading Montreal Alouettes 37-23 on Friday.

The former Alouettes running back rushed for 128 yards -- including a pivotal 38-yard gain where he bulldozed through Montreal's defence -- in his first game back at Molson Stadium.

"I told you when I left, man -- it was a redemption season for me," Stanback said. "That's what I'm doing.

"I really felt like the organization is building a lot more trust with me every day and every week and every game. So let's continue to be the best person I could be, best player on and off the field, and just do what I do."

The Alouettes, under a tight salary cap, let Stanback walk after five seasons in Montreal that culminated in last year's Grey Cup title.

The motivated 30-year-old tailback has 938 rushing yards to go with 330 through the air in 13 games this season.

"He's been a man on a mission lately," Lions co-general manager and head coach Rick Campbell said. "He's been playing really well for us, especially over these last four or five games.

"I'm sure it's always fun to come back and have a good game against your old team."

Rourke had 304 passing yards on 22-for-28 completions, throwing for one TD and running for another. But the 2022 CFL outstanding Canadian also threw three interceptions.

The Lions (7-6) won their second in a row to take sole possession of first place in the West Division. They also ended a five-game Montreal (10-2) win streak despite committing four turnovers.

"It's a hard one," Alouettes head coach Jason Maas said. "I felt like we had opportunities throughout the game, and we just didn't make the most of them.

"We got the four turnovers by our defence, and we were put in some really good positions offensively, and we just didn't capitalize."

Quarterback Cody Fajardo was 27-for-37 for 240 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception for Montreal, which clinched a playoff spot while on a bye last week.

The Alouettes played without star wideout Austin Mack, who was placed on the six-game injured list after sustaining an ankle injury in practice this week.

Montreal kicker Jose Maltos went 3-for-3 on field goals, including a 41-yarder. B.C.'s Sean Whyte was also 3-for-3.

Stanback made it 27-16 with 6:06 left in the third quarter with his rush into the end zone, silencing the sellout crowd of 23,035 and redeeming himself after a fumble in the second quarter.

"I wasn't trying to get denied," he said. "What happened in the second quarter … that's not something that I do.

"Coming back in a second half and busting that out, that's what the plan was."

The Alouettes cut into the lead as Dominique Davis squeezed into the end zone with 9:48 remaining in the game.

But Rourke rushed 18 yards on third down to restore B.C.'s 11-point lead with 5:03 remaining, and an interception by B.C.'s T. J. Lee with 3:32 left all but sealed the deal.

The Lions opened the scoring on the game's first drive. Fullback David Mackie ran 23 yards for his sixth rushing touchdown of the season 3:03 into the game.

Rourke was picked off with 5:07 left in the first quarter when Montreal's Bryce Cosby collected a pass that deflected off the hands of B.C. receiver Justin McInnis.

Up 10-3, Rourke threw another interception that deflected off a teammate. His pass bounced off Stanback and into the hands of Montreal safety Marc-Antoine Dequoy.

"Two of them were just straight in guys hands, so you hope that they catch them," Campbell said. "It's part of football and we'll keep working to improve."

Rourke bounced back with a nine-play, 70-yard touchdown drive when he found Ayden Eberhardt on a 15-yard TD pass with 3:41 left.

But the turnovers didn't stop there. On the next B.C. possession, Kabion Ento recovered Stanback's fumble at Montreal's 16-yard line.

Fajardo then led the Alouettes downfield on an 11-play, 91-yard drive, culminating in a six-yard TD pass to Cole Spieker deep in the end zone with less than a second left on the clock.

Dionte Ruffin forced another Rourke turnover, picking off his pass at the B.C. 29 and returning it 10 yards, but the Alouettes were held to a field goal.

"We didn't capitalize on some really good opportunities that we had," Fajardo said. "Defence got us one turnover in the red zone and we went two-and-out, kicked too many field goals versus a very good team."

Up next

Alouettes: Visit the Calgary Stampeders on Sept. 14 for the first of three straight games on the road.

Lions: Host the Toronto Argonauts next Friday to open three consecutive games at home.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.