On Saturday night at BC Place, the Calgary Stampeders took on the BC Lions for the final time of the season, looking for their first against them this year. After an aggressive game last week that resulted in Stampeders’ linebacker Cameron Judge being suspended for punching Lions’ wide receiver Lucky Whitehead, many wondered how this game would unfold.
On the kickoff, the Stampeders tricked the Lions with an onside kick that Calgary recovered. It was a gutsy move to start the game for the Stampeders. However, they were unable to turn it into points when kicker Rene Paredes missed a 41-yard field goal, and Terry Williams returned it out of the endzone to prevent a single point.
The Lions moved the ball down to their own 47-yard line before punting it back to Calgary. Calgary quarterback Jake Maier threw five passes for 51 yards plus a Paul Logan two-yard run got them to the Lions’ 32-yard line before kicker Rene Paredes made a 39-yard field goal to put Calgary up 3-0 with 3:56 left.
The Lions’ offense moved the ball towards their own 51-yard line before punting it back to Calgary. Calgary had the ball for the rest of the first quarter and faced second down to begin the second quarter. However, they punted it back to the Lions.
Late in the second quarter, Calgary extended their lead 6-0 on a 33-yard field goal by Rene Paredes with 4:30 left. After the Lions went three-and-out, Calgary quarterback Jake Maier completed a 54-yard pass to Jalen Philpot before being tackled at the Lions’ three-yard line.
Then, Calgary running back Ka’Deem Carey waited for the offense to open a hole, and he ran in for the touchdown. Calgary tried a two-point conversion but didn’t get it, and it was 12-0 with 2:39 left. The Lions had a couple of opportunities to add points but couldn’t do it, and Calgary led 12-0 at halftime.
Calgary quarterback Jake Maier was 16/20 for 210 yards, running back Ka’Deem Carey had six carries for 22 yards and one touchdown, and the offense had 267 yards. Meanwhile, BC quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. was 6/14 for 73 yards, and the Lions had 125 yards on offense.
In the third quarter, Calgary running back Ka’Deem Carey continued to cause problems for the Lions with a 29-yard run. The offense reached the Lions’24-yard line before kicker Rene Paredes made another field goal for 31 yards, extending their lead to 15-0 with 12:25 left.
Late in the third quarter, the Lions finally got on the board with 37-seconds left on a 34-yard field goal by Sean Whyte. Calgary quarterback Jake Maier completed an 11-yard pass to Malik Henry to give them a first down to start the fourth quarter.
The Stampeders got to the Lions’ 26-yard line, and Rene Paredes made his fourth field goal that went 33 yards for an 18-3 lead with 12 minutes left. Late in the fourth quarter, Calgary running back Paul Logan broke several tackles and muscled his way into the endzone for a 32-yard touchdown. Calgary’s lead grew to 25-3 with 1:45 left.
With the game out of reach, the Lions replaced Adams with Antonio Pipkin. Pipkin led the offense down to the Stampeders’ 19-yard line, where he threw a touchdown pass to Dominique Rhymes. Rhymes had a defender on him and extended his arms to catch the ball before going out of bounds. BC went for a two-point conversion and got it, cutting Calgary’s lead 25-11 with 44-seconds left.
They tried an onside kick, but Calgary recovered and went into victory formation to take a 25-11 win. Calgary moves within a half-game behind the Lions for second place at 9-5, while the Lions drop to 9-4. In addition, Calgary and BC clinched playoff spots. BC clinched after the Redblacks lost in Toronto will prevent an East team from crossing over for the playoffs.
Calgary quarterback Jake Maier went 27/33 for 294 yards and two carries for 14 yards. Running back Ka’Deem Carey had 12 carries for 84 yards and one touchdown, while wide receiver Malik Henry had nine catches for 88 yards. Calgary’s defense allowed 295 yards, 47 tackles, five sacks, and five pass breakups. Calgary hosts Toronto next Saturday at 7 pm on ESPN+.
BC quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. went 12/24 for 151 yards and two carries for 11 yards, while backup Antonio Pipkin was 4/6 for 66 yards and one touchdown. Running back James Butler had 11 carries for 61 yards, and wide receiver Dominique Rhymes had three catches for 46 yards and one touchdown. BC’s defense allowed 438 yards and 53 tackles. The Lions host the Ottawa Redblacks next Friday at 10:30 pm on ESPN2.
