OTTAWA — Zander Horvath doesn't like talking about himself a whole lot, even when his performance gives him good reason to articulate.
Horvath was unstoppable Sunday night, rushing for 164 yards and four touchdowns to help lead the surging B.C. Lions to a 45-24 victory over the winless Ottawa Redblacks.
The Lions have won five in a row and improved to 6-5.
“It’s never a one-man show, it’s about everyone doing their job out there,” said Horvath, who also had four catches for 30 yards. “I think we executed on offence, defence, special teams and just locked in toward the end of the game.”
Horvath leads the league with 13 TDs and his 625 rushing yards ranks fifth.
Lions head coach Buck Pierce says he’s seen steady improvement from the 27-year-old Horvath since the season kicked off.
“I think him and (running back) James Butler make each other better,” said Pierce. “We’re able to mix it up a little bit to keep those guys fresh and you’ve got to credit the O-line too, and the receivers for doing a great job on some of those runs.”
Butler had 45 yards on seven carries.
Having their run game going was in complete contrast to the struggling Redblacks who finished with minus-three net rushing yards. The run-game has been a challenge all year for Ottawa which sits last with 548 rushing yards.
Redblacks head coach Ryan Dinwiddie knows it’s been an issue and would love nothing more than to find a way to get it going but circumstances often make it difficult.
“I mean, if we can just get to second and six, if we just get four yards and then we can still have a run game available on second down," said Dinwiddie. “It’s been a problem all year.”
The numbers in general aren’t good for Ottawa right now.
The Redblacks are 0-11 on the season and will go more than a calendar year without a victory. Ottawa last won Sept. 5, 2025 and with a bye next week won’t play again until Sept. 12. Ottawa’s 17-game losing streak is now the longest of the CFL’s modern era.
The loss also put Jake Maier in a unique position as he became the first quarterback in league history to start a season with 11 straight losses.
“This is obviously challenging, you know, to the spirit of a man,” said Maier. “I think everybody is in that boat right now in terms of like this is our reality.
"But we’re not gonna lay down and we’re not gonna quit and we’re not gonna be a bunch of quitters and we’re not gonna go down that route. We’re just gonna continue to show up every day because that’s what a man is supposed to do and we believe in that.”
Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke had a rough start getting picked off twice, but settled in and finished 22-for-25 for 355 yards and two touchdowns.
“I’m so grateful for the other phases and other people on offence picking me up because I made some mistakes, made some bad decisions,” said Rourke. “What happened in the first half is on me and I think we just played cleaner football in the second half.”
The Redblacks capitalized on Alonzo Addae’s two interceptions in the first half.
After picking off Rourke, Ottawa took advantage with Maier connecting on a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ayden Eberhardt for a 7-3 lead.
Addae then picked off Rourke at the Lions' 35 and returned it to the nine. A horse-collar penalty moved Ottawa to the goal line, where Bryson Barnes ran it in for a 14-3 lead.
But the Lions rallied with a pair of touchdowns, Rourke connected with Butler from 10 yards out before Horvath's two-yard run gave B.C. a 17-14 lead.
A 43-yard Brett Lauther field goal tied the game 17-17 at the half.
B.C. started the second half strong when a major Grade 2 unnecessary roughness penalty for 25 yards put them on Ottawa’s 18-yard line. Three plays later Horvath scored his second touchdown.
Maier found Eberhardt, who spun out of a tackle and raced 49 yards for a touchdown to tie the game 24-24.
Horvath would go on to add two more touchdowns and receiver Jevon Cottoy had a 14-yard catch for a major.
UP NEXT
Lions: Visit the Montreal Alouettes on Friday.
Redblacks: Visit the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday, Sept. 12.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 30, 2026.
Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press
