Week 7 of the CFL season concluded on Sunday night with the Calgary Stampeders (3-3) hosting the B.C. Lions (5-2) from McMahon Stadium. The Stampeders inducted head coach Wally Buono into the Wall of Fame. The fans in Calgary endured the hot conditions but were treated to a nail-biter of a game.
First Quarter:
In the first quarter, Calgary punt returner Erik Brooks returned the ball for 13 yards before Cristophe Beaulieu made the tackle. During the tackle, Brooks’s left arm snapped like a twig and he was down for several minutes. His arm was placed in a cast as he was taken off the field by a cart. Peyton Logan was the new returner for Calgary for the rest of the game.
On the third series for the B.C. Lions, they went on a seven-play drive for 83 yards that ended with quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. throwing a 14-yard touchdown pass to Stanley Berryhill III. The Lions led the Stampeders 7-0 with 4:24 left of the first quarter.
Calgary’s defense was able to penetrate the Lions’ offensive line hitting quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. three times. Adams Jr. was favoring his ribs. On the final play of the first quarter, Adams Jr.’s pass intended for Alexander Hollins was incomplete. The Lions led the Stampeders 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.
B.C. had 80 yards on offense (36 yards passing, 44 yards rushing). Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 4 of 9 passes for 36 yards, and one touchdown. Calgary had 34 yards on offense (32 yards passing, 2 yards rushing). Quarterback Jake Maier completed 6 of 7 passes for 32 yards.
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Calgary quarterback Jake Maier led the Stampeders on a three-play drive for 30 yards ending when he threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Begelton. The game was tied 7-7 with 12:46 left.
For the majority of the second quarter, both defenses were able to put pressure on the quarterbacks forcing them to make early throws. In addition, both teams committed a lot of penalties. The two teams combined getting penalized 14 times for 138 yards.
Calgary’s defense forced B.C. to punt the ball with 3:50 left of the second quarter. Calgary returner Peyton Logan returned the ball 31 yards before getting tackled on the Lions’ 34-yard line. Calgary backup quarterback Tommy Stevens and running Dedrick Mills combined with two carries for 11 yards. Then Calgary quarterback Jake Maier threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Philpot, who caught it with one foot in bounds.
The refs initially ruled it an incomplete pass but after further review ruled it a touchdown. Calgary led 14-7 with 2:29 left before halftime. The drive went three plays for 34 yards.
On B.C.’s next possession, quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. threw two passes for 63 yards before the drive stalled. Kicker Sean Whyte made an 18-yard field goal and the Lions trailed the Stampeders 14-10 with 1:24 left before halftime.
B.C. tried to get closer to Calgary on their next possession but quarterback Vernon Adams Jr.’s pass was intercepted by Tyler Richardson. The Lions challenged for defensive pass interference but lost the challenge. The Stampeders led the Lions 17-10 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Calgary had 121 yards on offense (90 yards passing, 32 yards rushing, one yard lost). Quarterback Jake Maier completed 10 of 14 passes (71.4%) for 90 yards, and two touchdowns. Running back Dedrick Mills had six carries for 44 yards and two catches for 20 yards.
Wide receiver Jalen Philpot made three catches for 44 yards, and one touchdown, while Reggie Begelton made four catches for 15 yards and one touchdown. Calgary’s defense made one tackle for loss. The Stampeders were penalized six times for 78 yards.
B.C. had 170 yards on offense (136 yards passing, 41 yards rushing, 7 yards lost). Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 11 of 21 passes (52.3%) for 136 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Running back William Stanback had six carries for 38 yards and made three catches for 16 yards.
Wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt made three catches for 45 yards, while Justin McInnis made one catch for 31 yards. B.C.’s defense made one tackle for loss. B.C. were penalized 8 times for 60 yards.
Third Quarter:
In the third quarter, Calgary went on a five-play drive for 33 yards that ended with kicker Rene Paredes making a 43-yard field goal extending the Stampeders lead to 17-10 with 11:58 left.
On B.C.’s first possession of the second half, quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. led the team to an 8-play drive for 70 yards in less than five minutes when he threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Justin McInnis to tie the game 17-17 with 6:54 left of the third quarter.
Calgary’s offense went to work with 6:33 left of the third quarter. Quarterback Jake Maier led the team down the Lions’ 1-yard line. On the final play of the third quarter, Calgary faced third and two when Maier threw a one-yard pass to Marken Michel but he did not get into the endzone.
The refs reviewed the play during the commercial break and determined that Michel did not score a touchdown and the Lions took over from their 1-yard line to start the fourth quarter tied 17-17.
Fourth Quarter:
On the first play of the fourth quarter, B.C. center Tyler Packer held Josiah Coatney inside the endzone and was called for holding. As a result, Calgary was awarded a safety to take a 19-17 lead with 14:47 left.
B.C.’s defense stood their ground to force Calgary to punt the ball. When the Lions’ offense went back to work, they went on a three-play drive for 45 yards resulting in kicker Sean Whyte making a 23-yard field goal putting the Lions back on top 20-19 with 10:43 left of the game.
Calgary’s offense began their next series on the 53-yard line. Quarterback Jake Maier led the Stampeders completing two passes for 65 yards before throwing a five-yard touchdown pass to Clint Barnes, who caught two of the three passes for 45 yards. The Stampeders attempted a two-point conversion but missed it. It was now 25-20 with 8:34 left in the game.
B.C. responded by going on a one-play drive for five yards plus a defensive pass interference penalty on Calgary that allowed kicker Sean Whyte to make a 52-yard field goal. The Lions trailed the Stampeders 25-23 with 6:32 left in the game. With that field goal, Whyte is 23 of 23 in field goals this season.
When B.C. got the ball back, quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. attempted to throw a pass to Justin McInnis but Kobe Williams made the interception. Calgary’s offense could not put points on the board and B.C. got the ball back with 2:32 left of the fourth quarter.
The Lions moved the ball for three yards before punter Stefan Flintoft punted the ball 84 yards into the endzone and out of bounds for a single point. The score was now 25-24 Calgary with 1:45 left of the game.
B.C.’s defense came close to recovering a Jalen Philpot fumble but Philpot recovered it on their 32-yard line. The Stampeders were able to run out the final minute and forty-five seconds to secure a 25-24 win over the B.C. Lions. With the loss, the Lions now sit in second place in the West Division while the Stampeders snap a two-game losing streak. Calgary also remains unbeaten at home this year.
Final Stats:
Calgary had 345 yards on offense (307 yards passing, 65 yards rushing, 27 yards lost). Quarterback Jake Maier completed 25 of 32 passes (78.1%) for 307 yards, three touchdowns, and one carry for two yards. Running back Dedrick Mills had 14 carries for 48 yards and three catches for 33 yards.
Wide receiver Jalen Philpot made six catches for 79 yards, and one touchdown, while Reggie Begelton made seven catches for 52 yards and one touchdown, and Clark Barnes made three catches for 63 yards and one touchdown.
Kicker Rene Paredes made one field goal for 43 yards. Calgary’s defense made 30 tackles, one tackle for loss, eight tackles on special teams, and two interceptions. Calgary was penalized 12 times for 180 yards.
B.C. had 274 yards on offense (192 yards passing, 89 yards rushing, 7 yards lost). Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 17 of 31 passes (55%) for 192 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and three carries for 14 yards. Running back William Stanback had 9 carries for 64 yards and four catches for 20 yards.
Wide receiver Justin McInnis made three catches for 55 yards, and one touchdown, while Ayden Eberhardt made three catches for 45 yards, and Stanley Berryhill III made three catches for 39 yards and one touchdown.
Kicker Sean Whyte made three field goals with a long of 52 yards. B.C.’s defense made 46 tackles, three tackles for loss, nine tackles on special teams, two sacks, and one fumble recovery. The Lions were penalized 11 times for 70 yards.
Final Thoughts:
During halftime, the Calgary Stampeders inducted legendary head coach Wally Buono into the Wall of Fame. Buono is considered the Vince Lombardi of head coaches in the CFL.
He is the winningest coach in CFL history with 282 wins, of which 153 of them were in Calgary, along with winning seven Grey Cups. Of the seven Grey Cups that were won, Buono won three of them with Calgary. Congrats to Coach Buono on getting inducted into the Calgary Stampeders Wall of Fame.
Both teams need to clean up the penalties. They combined for 23 penalties for 250 yards. Both teams had their momentums killed after getting those penalties. They need to practice this week to avoid getting penalized. However, some of those flags could’ve stayed in the official’s pocket. We don’t need them to take over a game with every flag thrown on every play.
Lastly, B.C. needs to do a better job protecting Vernon Adams Jr. He took some heavy hits in the first quarter and managed to finish the game. You could tell he was favoring his ribs which affected his performance. Luckily, B.C. is off next week so everyone can heal from their injuries.
Next Friday, the Calgary Stampeders visit the Ottawa Redblacks at 7:30 pm on TSN and CFL+, while the B.C. Lions are on a bye week. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
