Brice starts as Lions host Argos at B.C. Place

The B.C. Lions will have Chase Brice under center when they host the Toronto Argonauts at B.C. Place on Saturday, as starting quarterback Nathan Rourke is sidelined with a shoulder injury. Rourke, the CFL's reigning outstanding player, sustained the injury early in last week's 19-17 loss to the Edmonton Elks.

Brice, who stepped in for Rourke last week, completed 20 of 32 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown, but also threw four interceptions in the defeat. The 28-year-old American acknowledged the learning experience and the challenges of stepping into a starting role. "Interceptions are going to happen, sacks are going to happen, there's going to be adversity in every ball game, and so just knowing that that comes with it (and it's) all about how I respond to it," Brice told reporters.

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Interceptions are going to happen, sacks are going to happen, there’s going to be adversity in every ball game, and so just knowing that that comes with it (and it’s) all about how I respond to it.

Head coach Buck Pierce expressed confidence in Brice and the offense, noting improvements in tempo and communication during practice. The Lions return to B.C. Place for the first time this season after playing their initial home games in Kelowna due to the FIFA World Cup. They will face a Toronto Argonauts team (2-4) looking to end a three-game losing streak.

The Argonauts are coming off a narrow 24-23 road loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, where kicker Lirim Hajrullahu missed a potential game-winning field goal as time expired. Despite the tough loss, coach Mike Miller emphasized that the outcome was a team effort. Canadian rookie Brady Lidster will handle kicking duties for Toronto, with Hajrullahu moving to the reserve roster.

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It’s always tough losing a game, but it never comes down to one play. It never does. That’s sometimes an easy thing to look at … but the reality is it’s a team game and there’s things that I’m sure offensively we could have done better in the first half, same with the defence and same with other factions of our special teams.