The B.C. Lions (1-0) and Calgary Stampeders (0-1) kicked off the 2023 CFL season from McMahon Stadium on Thursday night. For the first time in a decade, Calgary had a new starting quarterback in Jake Maier after Bo Levi Mitchell was traded to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the offseason.
On the other side, Vernon Adams Jr. is in charge of the Lions’ offense after Nathan Rourke left for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. This was the team’s first meeting since the 2022 Western Semi-Final when the Lions beat the Stampeders 30-16 at B.C. Place.
In the first quarter, Calgary got great field position after Peyton Logan returned a kickoff for 43 yards at their own 44-yard line. Quarterback Jake Maier threw a short eight-yard pass to Malik Henry, followed by two carries from Ka’Deem Carey for 26 yards to the Lions’ 32-yard line. The offense went two-and-out. They came away with no points after Rene Paredes missed a 39-yard field goal, turning the ball over the Lions.
Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. threw eight straight completions for 95 yards, including a nine-yard touchdown pass to Dominique Rhymes for a 7-0 lead with 5:51 left. Late in the first quarter, the Lions’ offense went back out on their third series. They had the ball on Calgary’s 53-yard line to begin the second quarter up 7-0.
In the second quarter, the Lions’ offense struck again. Vernon Adams Jr. threw a 23-yard pass to Alexander Hollins at Calgary’s 30-yard line. On the next play, Adams connected to Dominique Rhymes for the second time, this time with a 30-yard touchdown. However, kicker Sean Whyte missed the extra point and the Lions led 13-0 with 14:01 left.
On Calgary’s next drive, Jake Maier threw a 21-yard pass to DeVontres Dukes at the Lions’ 44-yard line. Maier threw two more passes that got them toward the Lions’ 38-yard line before Rene Paredes missed his second field goal for 45 yards. Calgary’s offense struggles continued.
However, the Stampeders caught a break on the Lions’ next series when Cameron Judge intercepted Vernon Adams Jr.’s pass for a 35-yard return at the Lions’ 14-yard line. While the Stampeders could not score a touchdown, Rene Paredes made a chip shot 22-yard field goal, cutting the Lions’ lead to 13-3 with 9:02 left. For the rest of the second quarter, it was all punts and the Lions led 13-3 at halftime.
B.C. Lions quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 18 of 24 passes (75%) for 182 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and five carries for 21 yards. Running back Taquan Mizzell had six carries for 51 yards, and three catches for 12 yards, while wide receiver Dominique Rhymes had five receptions for 61 yards and two touchdowns. The Lions had 255 yards on offense (6 YPP).
Meanwhile, Calgary’s offense managed 80 yards (4YPP). Quarterback Jake Maier completed 7 of 15 passes (47%) for 56 yards, Ka’Deem Carey had five carries for 31 yards, and DeVontres Dukes had four catches for 46 yards.
In the third quarter, not much happened. Late in the third quarter, Lions punter Stefan Flintoft punted the ball for 63 yards into Calgary’s endzone where Peyton Logan took a knee, awarding a single point for a 14-3 lead with 7:09 left.
Then, a bizarre play happened. On the second play for Calgary, Jake Maier tried to throw a long pass but it was intercepted by T.J. Lee. Next, Lee handed the ball off to Garry Peters but he fumbled it and Calgary recovered. It would lead to a 39-yard field goal by Rene Paredes making it 14-6 Lions with 2:32 left. The Lions had the ball on Calgary’s 37-yard line to begin the fourth quarter up 14-6.
In the fourth quarter, quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. threw two passes for 24 yards to Dominique Rhymes and Lucky Whitehead before Taquan Mizzell made a two-yard gain on Calgary’s five-yard line. On the next play, Vernon Adams Jr. used his legs to score a touchdown for a 21-6 lead with 11:32 left in the game. On the kickoff, B.C. picked up another single point for a 22-6 lead with 11:29 left.
Calgary’s only positive drive of the game happened on this next play. However, they had to do it without Ka’Deem Carey, who sustained a knee injury. Quarterback Jake Maier threw five passes for 40 yards and one carry for one yard, while Peyton Logan had one carry for four yards to reach the Lions’ five-yard.
On the next play, Maier threw a touchdown pass to DeVontres Dukes. They attempted a two-point conversion but Maier’s pass was too low and incomplete. It was now 22-12 with 6:21 left.
After Calgary’s defense forced a two-and-out, the offense had a chance to inch closer to the Lions but failed on second down. Kicker Rene Paredes made a 52-yard field goal to make it 22-15 with 2:45 left.
All the Lions needed on their next drive was a field goal to end the game. They got it with 24 seconds left on a Sean Whyte 44-yard field goal for a 25-15 lead. The Lions defeated the Stampeders by the final score of 25-15.
B.C. Lions quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. had a good game. He finished the night completing 27 of 35 passes (77%) for 270 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, ten carries for 35 yards, and one touchdown. Running back Taquan Mizzell had 12 carries for 81 yards. Wide receivers Dominique Rhymes and Alexander Hollins combined with 14 catches for 185 yards and two touchdowns.
Kicker Sean Whyte converted one field goal and made three of four extra points. The defense allowed 403 yards, with 45 tackles, two sacks, one interception, and three pass breakups. The Lions’ defense, led by Bo Lokombo with 11 tackles, did a nice job. However, they can’t get cute on plays like intercepting the ball and losing it on the same play. That turnover could’ve turned into more points for the Lions.
For Calgary, it was not a good performance. The offense had 243 yards, while quarterback Jake Maier completed 20 of 36 passes (55.6%) for 154 yards, one interception, and two carries for 11 yards. Maier is going to need to have a better performance next week against Ottawa.
Running back Ka’Deem Carey had seven carries for 39 yards. We’ll see what his status is for next week. Otherwise, Peyton Logan and William Langlais will have to fill in for Carey. Wide receiver DeVontres Dukes had seven catches for 75 yards and one touchdown.
Dukes made some good catches and is effective in short-yard gains. Maier needs to find more targets because other teams will try to take Dukes away from the game.
Kicker Rene Paredes converted three-of-five field goals. Calgary’s defense allowed 403 yards, with 59 tackles, one interception, and one pass breakup. The defense was missing four defensive back players and they had trouble covering the wide receivers and putting pressure on Adams. Linebacker Micah Awe led the defense with 13 tackles. Calgary’s defense needs to be better next week. Ottawa does have weapons and it could be a repeat next week.
Next Thursday, the Calgary Stampeders take on the Ottawa Redblacks from TD Place at 7:30 pm on CFL+ and the B.C. Lions host the Edmonton Elks next Saturday at 7 pm on CBS Sports Network. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
