VANCOUVER - Just when it looked like the Saskatchewan Roughriders had run out of ammuniton the team managed to reload and hit the B.C. Lions with a fatal shot.

Wes Cates scored on a 15-yard run in the fourth quarter and third-string quarterback Darian Durant came off the bench to lead the Riders to a 26-16 win over the Lions in CFL play Friday night. “We don’t have any quit in us,” said Cates, who had 16 carries for 83 yards. “We played all four quarters.

“We started off rough. We just reload, regroup and keep coming at you. If you ain’t ready to play four quarters, you probably aren’t ready to play with us.”

The Riders scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to improve their record to 2-0 but it was a costly victory. The defending Grey Cup champions lost starting quarterback Marcus Crandell with a hamstring injury in the second quarter.

Slotback D. J. Flick was rushed to hospital with a gruesome looking leg injury while defensive back Leron Mitchell was taken off the field in a cart.

While the Riders basked in their gutsy, come-from-behind victory the Lions wallowed in their own frustration after dropping to 0-2.

“We can’t play any worse than we’ve played the last two weeks,” snorted wide receiver Paris Jackson, who had four catches for 49 yards. “We’re a veteran core but we’re just not playing well.

“We’re not making plays. We expect so much out of each other. We’re not playing the way we’re supposed to be playing and we’ve got to get it fixed.”

Rider coach Ken Miller said it wasn’t a pretty win but it still counted.

“We kept hammering on the rock until it finally broke,” said Miller. “It wasn’t a thing of beauty until the end.”

Crandell was replaced by backup quarterback Steven Jyles. Jyles managed a 10-yard touchdown pass to slotback Andy Fantuz, but also threw two interceptions in one quarter.

Jyles was replaced by Durant to start the third quarter.

“We weren’t moving the ball very well,” said Miller. “We had turned it over a couple of times. I just wanted to get a fresh start.”

Durant, who hadn’t thrown a pass in two years with the Riders, was surprised when he got the call.

“I had no idea but at the same time I prepared myself like a starter all week,” said Durant, who completed five of 11 passes for 56 yards.

“I’m just glad we fought harder. It looked like we had a bit more left in the tank than they did. That’s what got us the victory.”

Kicker Luca Congi booted field goals of 27, 11, 32 and 41 yards for Saskatchewan.

Running back Joe Smith scored a pair of touchdowns for the Lions but was held to only 27 yards on 13 carries.

Jarious Jackson competed 16 of 33 pases for 154 yards but also coughed up two fumbles and threw an interception. His turnovers resulted in 13 Saskatchewan points.

The Riders also kicked a field goal when a drive was kept alive by a too-many-men penalty against B.C.

“I started to settle down at the end of the first quarter,” sighed Jackson. “But after that it was dropped ball, mistakes or too many men. It was just something every time.”

A furious Lions defence kept the Riders in check early. Defensive end Cameron Wake collected four of B.C.’s six sacks, but it wasn’t enough.

“We’ll have to go back, look at the flim, and try to correct the things that we missed,” said Wake.

Flick was hurt late in the first half. There were gasps in the crowd of 33,815 when the big-screen instant replay showed Flick’s leg twisted at an obscene angle when he landed after leaping into the air to battle for a pass with B.C.’s Korey Banks.

Medical personnel from both teams rushed onto the field. Flick was placed on a cart, taken off the field, then whisked by ambulance to a local hospital.

The Lions offence sputtered early. The game was over 12 minutes old before B.C. picked up its first first down. After that Jackson settled down and mounted a 12-play, 84-yard drive, resulting in the Lions first lead of the game.

The Riders scored their first touchdown on a strange sequence of plays in the second quarter.

Jyles showed he has a strong arm, but poor aim, by overthrowing Fantuz. Reggie Myles picked off the ball on the B.C. eight, but then turned toward his own endzone before being tackled on the two.

On the Lions first play Jackson fumbled and the Riders got the ball back on the B.C. 10. Jyles hit Fantuz with the touchdown pass on the next play.

Notes: B.C. played without offensive tackle Rob Murphy, who joined his wife in Florida after she gave birth to triplets this week, and guard Sherko Haji-Rasouli, who has a strained hamstring. Taking their places was import Walter Stith and Canadian Dean Valli. …B.C. slotback Jason Clermont played in his 100th CFL game. … B.C. has nine players beginning their fifth season together.