B.C. Lions look to end playoff hopes for hungry Edmonton Elks

VANCOUVER — With the leaves starting to turn colours, the B.C. Lions know just how important it is to be playing at the top of their game.

The club has two games left on the regular-season schedule and is still jockeying for position in the CFL’s hotly contested West Division.

“This time of the year, obviously, you want to be playing more consistent,” said Lions head coach Buck Pierce. “And that’s something that we really stressed early on in the year, being able to keep our emotions in check and fight through adversity and learn through adversity. I think that’s just what good teams do.”

B.C. (9-7) has been a consistent winner recently, taking victories in four straight matchups before getting some much-needed rest with a bye last week.

“I feel like momentum’s definitely been on our side,” said running back James Butler. “I feel like we’re believing a lot more, we’ve even got closer in these last couple of weeks. And I feel like right now, we’re playing our best ball, which is important.”

Butler has 1,103 rushing yards on the season and is on the cusp of eclipsing the career-best mark of 1,116 he hit while playing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2023.

He’ll have a chance to add to the total Friday when the Lions host the hungry Edmonton Elks (7-9).

Edmonton downed the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 25-20 last week and heads to Vancouver needing a win in order to preserve their playoff hopes.

Running back Justin Rankin has been a standout for the Elks this season, and heads into Friday’s contest with touchdowns in five straight games.

“I think they’re playing really well. They’re certainly hitting their stride,” said Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke. “They’re playing really fast, they’re communicating really well, very physical. You can tell that they’re playing with a lot of confidence.

“So when you have a team like that, you’ve got to meet them. You’ve got to rise to their level.”

The Elks have been playing and practising with a high sense of urgency and Friday’s game will be “a battle,” said head coach Mark Killam.

“It’s kind of how we’ve been practising for weeks now,” he said.

While the Saskatchewan Roughriders (12-4) have clinched the West title, there’s still uncertainty as to how the rest of the division will shake out.

Heading into the second last week of the regular season, B.C. sits in second place, but is just four points ahead of Edmonton, which occupies the final spot.

The jumble is of little surprise to Buck Pierce, who spent a decade on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers coaching staff before taking over the head coaching post in B.C. last December.

“I think if you look at the coaches, the talent, just the overall execution and, I guess, the structure of each team, it’s always competitive,” he said. “I think the CFL has always been that way. It’s exciting.

“I think if you look at each team and their journey of where they’ve got to at this point in the season has been fairly similar, right? It’s a league where if you don’t bring your best, you’re going to get beat. And that’s the reality of it.”

EDMONTON ELKS (7-9) AT B.C. LIONS (9-7)

Friday, B.C. Place

PLAYOFF PICTURE: B.C. has already secured a playoff spot, but will need some help this week in order to secure the right to host divisional semifinal. In addition to a win, the Lions need the Riders to beat the Blue Bombers and the Stamps to lose to the Toronto Argonauts.

HISTORY BOOKS: The Lions have already won the season series between the two clubs. B.C. kicked off the season with a 31-14 home win over the Elks on June 7 and earned a 32-14 road victory in Edmonton on July 13.

BIG OFFENCE: B.C. leads the league in net offence with 42.8 yards per game this season, the highest mark of any CFL club since 2010 when the Calgary Stampeders had 431.6 yards per game.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2025.