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OTTAWA – Zander Horvath doesn’t like to talk much about himself, although his appearance gives him a good reason to speak his mind.
Horvath was unstoppable on Sunday night, rushing for 164 yards and four touchdowns to help lead the BC Lions to a 45-24 victory over the winless Ottawa Redblacks.
The Lions have won five straight and improved to 6-5.
“It’s not a one-man show, it’s about everybody doing their job out there,” said Horvath, who also had four catches for 30 yards. “I thought we executed on offense, defense, special teams and locked in towards the end of the game.”
Horvath leads the league with 13 TDs and his 625 rushing yards ranks fifth.
Lions head coach Buck Pierce said he’s seen steady improvement from the 27-year-old Horvath since the season started.
“I think he and (running back) James Butler make each other better,” Pierce said. “We were able to mix it up a little bit to keep them fresh and you also have to credit the O-line, and the receivers did a good job on some of those runs.”
Butler had 45 yards on seven carries.
Their running game was a stark contrast to a struggling Redblack team that finished with minus-three net rushing yards. The running game has been a challenge all year for Ottawa which is dead last with 548 rushing yards.
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Redblacks head coach Ryan Dinwiddie knows this is a problem and is eager to find a way to make it happen, but circumstances often make it difficult.
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“I mean, if we can get to second-and-6, if we only gain four yards and we can still have a running game on second,” Dinwiddie said. “It’s been a problem all year.”
The numbers generally aren’t great for Ottawa right now.
The Redblacks are 0-11 on the season and will go more than a calendar year without a win. Ottawa last won on 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 in 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 definitely challenging, you know, for a man’s spirit,” said Maier. “I think everyone is in the same situation right now in that this is the reality that we are experiencing.
“But we’re not going to give up and we’re not going to quit and we’re not going to be a bunch of quitters and we’re not going to do that. We’re just going to keep showing up every day because that’s what a man’s supposed to do and we believe in that.”
Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke had a rough start due to being picked off twice, but settled in and finished 22-of-25 for 355 yards and two touchdowns.
“I’m very grateful for the other phases and the guys on offense picking on me because I made some mistakes, made some bad decisions,” Rourke said. “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 two Alonzo Addae 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 put it back for nine. A horse-collar penalty moved Ottawa to the goal line, where Bryson Barnes ran in for a 14-3 lead.
But the Lions rallied with a pair of touchdowns, Rourke connecting with Butler from 10 yards out before Horvath’s two-yard run gave BC a 17-14 lead.
A Brett Lauther 43-yard field goal tied the game at 17-17 at halftime.
BC started the second half strong when a Class 2 unnecessary roughing penalty for 25 yards put them at Ottawa’s 18 yard line. Three plays later Horvath scored his second goal.
Maier found Eberhardt, who broke free from the tackle and ran 49 yards for a touchdown to tie the game 24-24.
Horvath then added two more touchdowns and receiver Jevon Cottoy had a 14-yard catch for the majors.
NEXT
Lions: Visit the Montreal Alouettes on Friday.
Redblacks: Visit the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday, September 12.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 30, 2026.
© 2026 Canadian Press
