The Saskatchewan Roughriders have recently been a thorn in the side of the BC Lions, ending their Grey Cup hopes in back-to-back post-seasons. Now the stage is set on Halloween, for the third installment of this playoff rivalry.

This time around, the Lions will have home field advantage, as they enter this matchup as one of the hottest teams in Canadian Football. After a brutal 1-5 start to the season, B.C. has won nine of their last 12 games with a lot of their success coming from their commander in chief, Nathan Rourke.

“My goal every single year is to feel like I’ve grown, I feel like I’ve done that, but ultimately great players separate themselves this time of year,” said Rourke.

Rourke was elite during the latter half of the regular season campaign – notching 4500 yards with 24 touchdowns through the air this season. The Victoria native says there’s a special kind of intensity when playing against the Roughriders.

“I’ve felt that the last 3 times we’ve played them this year, and certainly with the amount of respect that we have for them and their club I don’t think it’s going anywhere anytime soon.”

The passing game has been the driving force for the Lions success all year, with three of Rouke’s wideouts eclipsing 1000 receiving yards this season. But head coach Buck Pierce says it’s up to his defence to set the tone.

“They’ve done a great job of continuing to improve each week and just playing hard,” says Pierce.

The Lions defence were among the top in the CFL and were the best in the league at shutting down the run this year. Building on that success, Pierce, a former Lions quarterback, was named a finalist for CFL head coach of the year.

“They gave me an opportunity, and I’m thankful for that. I just want to work and I’m excited to see our guys play.”

The Lions hope to break the Roughriders curse on Halloween with kickoff set for 1:30 p.m. at BC Place.