On Saturday night at McMahan Stadium, the Calgary Stampeders took on the BC Lions with a chance to tie the Lions for second place in the West Division.
In the first quarter, Lions’ quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. threw a 22-yard pass to Bryan Burnham to the Stampeders’ ten-yard line. Then, running back James Butler made a couple of defenders miss him, and he scored a touchdown, giving the Lions a 7-0 lead with 11 minutes left.
On the fifth play for Calgary, quarterback Jake Maier threw a 22-yard pass to Luther Hakunavanhu to the Lions’ 28-yard line. Kicker Rene Paredes made a 38-yard field goal, cutting BC’s lead 7-3 with 6:51 left.
Just before the first quarter ended, BC kicker Sean Whyte made a 38-yard field goal for a 10-3 lead with 1:03 left. Calgary had the ball and faced third down to begin the second quarter.
The Lions moved the ball a bit before punting it back to Calgary. On the first play, quarterback Jake Maier faked a handoff and threw a 77-yard touchdown to Malik Henry. Henry beat his man by a mile, and Calgary tied the game 10-10 with 11:54 left.
Both offenses moved the ball a bit for the rest of the second quarter but could not add points until Calgary kicker Rene Paredes made a 37-yard field goal for a 13-10 lead at halftime. BC quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. was 12/16 for 123 yards, and BC’s offense had 171 yards. Calgary quarterback Jake Maier was 8/13 for 152 yards and one touchdown as the offense had 190 yards.
In the third quarter, BC kicker Sean Whyte tied the game 13-13 on a 30-yard field goal with 11:09 left. Then, late in the third quarter, Lions’ quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. led BC down to Calgary’s one-yard line. Backup quarterback Antonio Pipkin scored a touchdown with a quarterback sneak to put them ahead 20-13 with 1:06 left. Calgary had the ball and faced second down to begin the fourth quarter.
Calgary could not convert second down and punted the ball back to the Lions. After the Lions went two-and-out, Calgary quarterback Jake Maier threw four passes for 42 yards, plus Ka’Deem Carey’s 11-yard run got them to the Lions’ six-yard line. Kicker Rene Paredes made a 13-yard field goal, cutting the Lions’ lead 20-16 with 8:41 left.
On the Lions’ second play, quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. threw a 29-yard pass to Dominique Rhymes. They reached the Stampeders’ seven-yard line before kicker Sean Whyte made a 14-yard field goal for a 23-16 lead with 5:15 left.
Then, Calgary quarterback Jake Maier led the offense down to the Lions’ eight-yard line when Maier threw a touchdown pass to Luther Hakunavanhu, tying the game 23-23 with 2:01 left. The Stampeders had a chance to win the game, but kicker Rene Paredes missed a 48-yard field goal, and Terry Williams returned it out of the endzone to prevent a single point. The game went to overtime.
The Lions got the ball to start overtime. Running back James Butler rushed for an 18-yard touchdown. In overtime, teams have to go for a two-point conversion, and the Lions got it for a 31-23 lead.
When Calgary got the ball, quarterback Jake Maier threw a four-yard touchdown to Jalen Philpot. On the two-point play, Maier’s pass intended to Reggie Begelton was incomplete, and Calgary challenged for pass interference. The call stood, and the BC Lions won the game 31-29. The Lions moved to 9-3, and the Stampeders are now 8-5.
This was an entertaining game. Both teams knew what was at stake. When the Lions traded their 2023 first-round pick to Montreal for Vernon Adams Jr., they knew what they were getting. He did a good job leading them to victory.
Meanwhile, Calgary quarterback Jake Maier continues to be impressive on the field. Their offense is better with him at quarterback, and with the trade deadline getting closer, they should consider parting ways with Bo Levi Mitchell to surround Maier with more weapons on offense.
BC quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. went 25/32 for 294 yards and three carries for 32 yards. Running back James Butler had 13 carries for 82 yards, and two touchdowns, while wide receiver Bryan Burnham had seven catches for 100 yards. BC’s defense allowed 388 yards, 43 tackles, and two pass breakups.
Calgary quarterback Jake Maier was 26/38 for 301 yards, three touchdowns, and one carry for eight yards. Running back Ka’Deem Carey had ten carries for 61 yards, while wide receiver Malik Henry had four catches for 107 yards and one touchdown. Calgary’s defense allowed 417 yards, 55 tackles, four sacks, one forced fumble, two pass breakups, and one fumble recovery. Both teams go at it again next Saturday at 10 pm on ESPN+.
