There was a time when Bo Levi Mitchell was the 24-year-old quarterback to conquer the CFL, but the now-greying veteran doesn’t envy the league’s latest wunderkind. Canadian pivot Nathan Rourke was a dominant force in his first season as a starter, throwing for 2,418 yards, 21 touchdowns and just six interceptions in seven games while posting a ridiculous 81.3 completion percentage. Mitchell’s Calgary Stampeders are the next opponent on the young star’s 6-1 BC Lions trail, but the two-time MVP won’t downplay his counterpart’s accomplishments ahead of the pivotal West Division clash. While some want to take a cautious approach before anointing a player with so little experience, he is firmly in Rourke’s fold. “When amazing things happen to people, stop trying to find a reason to hate it,” Mitchell told Postmedia’s Danny Austin before Saturday’s clash with the Lions. “I mean, everybody’s like, ‘Oh, they played Edmonton and they cut 10 guys.’ It’s okay, I played in Edmonton, too, and it’s nothing against Edmonton, that kid went out and hit the ball every game he played.” Rourke is coming off a game with the Elks in which he broke his own single-game passing record by a Canadian, completing 34 of 37 passes for 477 yards and five touchdowns while adding another score on the ground. Mitchell had a pair of successful outings of his own against Edmonton, going 21-of-28 for 321 yards and a score in Week 3 before completing 17-of-22 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns in Week 5. Neither two doesn’t compare to Rourke’s dominance, and the 32-year-old sits well behind the youngster with just 1,655 yards and seven touchdowns on the season. “The worst game he had, I think, was Winnipeg, and he still threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns. He probably threw for more yards against Winnipeg than any other quarterback this season,” Mitchell said. “Stop finding a reason to hate the kid. Love him and enjoy him while he’s here.” While Rourke still has a year left on his rookie contract with the Lions, insiders expect him to draw significant NFL interest in the offseason. Despite his tremendous success in the CFL, Mitchell never made the jump down south, reportedly turning down an offer from the Minnesota Vikings at age 28 when he was told he wouldn’t have a chance to compete for a starting spot. Rourke may well get that chance, as he is currently on pace to reach heights Mitchell never came close to. The Canadian is expected to become the first passer to surpass the 6,000-yard mark since 2004 and could break the CFL records for both touchdown passes and completion percentage in a season. Those accolades remain a long way off, however, and Rourke will have to prove he can continue to put up flashy numbers against an elite CFL defense like the Stampeders. Calgary will need to win in all phases to pull off the upset and return to second place in the West, but Mitchell doesn’t think he’ll need to personally duel Rourke to accomplish the feat. “I’m not worried about outdoing him,” Mitchell said Friday. “I’m worried about putting up more points than them, whether it’s offense, defense or special teams. I’m going to do my best to put as many points as possible on offense because they’re a team you have to keep up with. We want to get them up early and keep it that way.” Still, the first meeting between the two properly hyped gunslingers is one for CFL fans to watch when they square off at 5:00 p.m. local time on Saturday.
