VANCOUVER — Zander Horvath knows people are talking about him.
The attention comes as little surprise given the numbers the B.C. Lions running back has put up in recent weeks.
The Lions are on a three-game win streak and over that stretch, Horvath has amassed 355 running yards (7.4 yards per carry) and six touchdowns (five rushing, one receiving).
He’ll look to add to the total on Sunday when the Lions (4-5) host the Saskatchewan Roughriders (6-3).
“It’s been a lot better than what it has been,” the 27-year-old American said of his recent performance. ”But, I mean, it’s not just a one-man show. It’s everyone doing their job up front, receivers carrying out the fakes, quarterbacks carrying out the fakes. It’s everyone doing their 1/12 on the field, not just me.”
Now in his second CFL season, Horvath has already eclipsed the 231 rushing yards and two touchdowns he logged for B.C. last year.
A big part of the growth has been simply getting more chances, he said.
“I think it’s more just the play count going up and more touches. Because at the beginning of the season, I was only getting maybe a few here and there, but now it’s 10 to 15 some games,” Horvath said. ”It all just depends. But I’m just trying to capitalize whenever I get the opportunity.”
Lions head coach Buck Pierce has watched Horvath’s confidence grow as he gained a better understanding of the team’s systems.
“Just like anything, the more reps you get, the more comfort you’re going to have,” he said. ”I think when you look at Zander, he works extremely hard.”
Selected by Los Angeles in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL draft, Horvath played 15 regular-season games for the Chargers, scoring touchdowns in each of his first two appearances.
He was waived by the Chargers at the end of the 2023 training camp and signed on to the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad. Another stint with L.A. followed that season before he joined training camps in New Orleans and Miami the following year.
The six-foot-three 230-pound Purdue product then signed with the Lions as a free agent in January 2025.
In B.C., he’s been a quiet, unselfish and hard-working player, and the Lions have increased his workload as the season has progressed, Pierce said, making use of his big body and athleticism.
“He’s extremely aware of his body and what he has to do each week physically to prepare,” the head coach said. ”But when you talk about his attributes, he’s able to get the tough yards, but he’s also able to break one.
“That’s a credit to him and the way that he prepares. He’s a good football player that has a great combination of strength and speed.”
Those attributes haven’t gone unnoticed around the CFL.
Asked this week about how the Roughriders can contain Horvath, Saskatchewan’s head coach Corey Mace was complimentary.
“He’s a behemoth of a human being,” he said. “You’ve got to be sound in your tackling and you can’t sleep on his athleticism. Everyone wants to talk about how big he is but that joker still, he’s agile, he’s athletic and still fast.”
Horvath takes the attention as a compliment but said he’ll be careful not to get caught up in it.
“Every week’s different and every opponent’s different, so take it with a grain of salt and focus on the bigger picture,” he said.
This week, Horvath and the Lions will aim to extend their win streak to four against a Riders side that fell 26-19 to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last week.
B.C. leads the league in rushing offence (116.9 yards per a game) while Saskatchewan comes in having allowed the second-fewest rushing yards per game (64.6).
Saskatchewan took the first matchup between the two sides on June 13, beating B.C. 31-27.
“I think (the Lions are) a better version of who they are as opposed to when we played them early in the season,” Mace said. ”Obviously they’re rolling right now. They discovered a run game, they still have the same pieces that they had, their defence is playing really good right now and they’ve got some really good, aggressive players on special teams … good team, man. Again, another test for us.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2026.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
