Trevor Harris threw for 417 yards and three touchdowns – all to Samuel Emilus – lifting the host Saskatchewan Roughriders to a thrilling 31-27 win over the B.C. Lions in the 2026 CFL season opener for both teams Saturday at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.
Kian Schaffer-Baker had 11 receptions for 165 yards for the winners (1-0), with KeeSean Johnson catching nine balls for 131 yards. Kicker Alex Hale booted three field goals and three converts.
Quarterback Nathan Rourke was 24-for-37 for 33o yards for B.C. (0-1), and also rushed five times for 59 yards and a touchdown. Running back James Butler had nine carries for 35 yards and two majors, while Justin McInnis caught nine balls for 129 yards. Sean Whyte had two field goals and three conversions.
The Riders, defending Grey Cup champions, struck first, capping a nine-play, 64-yard drive when Harris found Emilus with an 11-yard touchdown pass 5:32 into the opening quarter. Hale added the conversion to make it 7-0.
Saskatchewan moved up by two touchdowns early in the second quarter, when Harris and Emilus hooked up again for a four-yard connection to complete a 12-play, 109-yard drive. Hale booted the convert to up the lead to 14-0.
B.C. responded midway through the quarter, driving deep into Saskatchewan territory before settling for a 25-year Whyte field goal to cut the lead to 14-3.
The Riders scored on a third-straight possession, with Hale connecting on a field goal from 35 yards out with 5:25 to go in the half to up the margin to 17-3.
NO ONE CAN BRING DOWN ROURKE
pic.twitter.com/0lmPEUk3gW
— BC LIONS (@BCLions) June 14, 2026
With 2:21 left in the half, Rourke scored the Lions first TD of the contest, finishing off a nine-play, 70 yard drive with a gritty 15-yard scramble up the middle. Whyte’s convert brought the Lions within 17-10.
With 1:05 to play, a brilliant Rourke scramble and pass to Stanley Berryhill for a 51-yard gain was negated by a penalty. The Lions were then forced to punt and the half ended with Riders retaining their 17-10 lead.
The 40-year-old Harris finished the first 30 minutes 14-for-16 for 196 yards, while Rourke tossed for 172 yards.
In the third quarter, Harris drove the Riders deep into B.C. territory again, but the drive stalled inside the 10-yard line and Hale added a 16-yard field goal at 6:06 and Saskatchewan took a 20-10 lead.
The Lions responded again, with Butler rumbling in untouched from three yards out at 7:33. Whyte booted the conversion to make it a three-point ballgame at 20-17.
As the quarter expired, Hale’s 43-yard field goal attempt was wide right, with B.C. conceding a single (had the ball simply been left to go out of bounds, no point would have been awarded) and the Riders holding a 21-17 lead heading into the fourth.
In the fourth, Whyte booted a 23-yard field goal at 4:02, pulling B.C. within 21-20.
Schaffer-Baker’s 51-yard catch just over six minutes in gave the Riders excellent field position and Hale’s three-point boot from 22 yards out gave Saskatchewan a 24-20 lead.
VIEWS FROM THE ENDZONE pic.twitter.com/TAVbOFXie3
— BC LIONS (@BCLions) June 14, 2026
The Lions took their first lead of the game with 3:42 to play when Butler’s one-yard leap found paydirt. Whyte’s conversion made it 27-24 B.C.
Harris, aided by a pass interference call off a replay challenge, promptly marched the Riders back down the field and found Emilus again for a six-yard TD, and Hale’s convert upped the Saskatchewan lead to 31-27.
Rourke and the Lions got the ball back at their own 30 with 44 seconds to play but they were shut down to end the game.
NOTES: Hale, a 28-year-old Australian-born kicker, was making his pro football regular-season debut… Before the game, the Roughriders celebrated their Grey Cup win by unveiling their championship banner… C.J. Coldon and T.J. Lee had eight tackles apiece to lead the B.C. defence, with Mathieu Betts adding the only sack for the Lions… B.C. returns to action on Friday, June 19 (4:30 p.m.),when they visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.