The B.C. Lions (8-8) hosted the Calgary Stampeders (4-10-1) on Friday night from B.C. Place Stadium in their third and final meeting of the regular season. Both teams have been going in the wrong direction with the Lions on a two-game losing streak, and the Stampeders 1-4-1 in their last six games. Calgary needed to win to keep their playoff hopes alive. B.C. needed a win to inch them closer to clinching a playoff spot.
First Quarter:
B.C. got the ball to start the game on their 36-yard line. Running back William Stanback started the drive with two carries for 16 yards, while Nathan Rourke completed two passes for 12 yards to reach the Stampeders’ 46-yard line. On the next play, Calgary defensive lineman Julian Howsare sacked Rourke for a four-yard loss forcing third down.
Calgary started their first drive of the game from their 11-yard line. They went on an 11-play drive for 62 yards eating seven minutes off the clock. They were knocking on the door when Calgary quarterback Jake Maier threw a pass to Ishmael Hyman. B.C. defensive back Jalon Edwards-Cooper punched the ball out of Hyman’s arm and Ayinde Eley recovered it running for 54 yards to reach the Stampeders’ 22-yard line.
B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke threw an 8-yard pass to Justin McInnis. Then running back William Stanback lost a yard to set up third down. Kicker Sean Whyte made a 22-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 1:47 left of the first quarter.
After Calgary went two-and-out, B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke threw an 8-yard pass to Riley Pickett to reach their 25-yard line and the Lions led the Stampeders 3-0 to end the first quarter.
B.C. had 39 yards on offense (28 yards passing, 15 yards rushing, 4 yards lost), two first downs, 0 for 1 in the red zone, and the team had no penalties. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 4 of 4 passes for 28 yards. Calgary had 72 yards on offense (38 yards passing, 34 yards rushing), six first downs, no red zone opportunities, and the team did not get any penalties. Quarterback Jake Maier completed 7 of 8 passes for 38 yards.
Second Quarter:
On the second play of the second quarter, Calgary defensive lineman Julian Howsare sacked Rourke for the second time for a six-yard loss and B.C. punted the ball to Calgary with 13:02 left.
Calgary quarterback Jake Maier threw two passes for 37 yards, in which one of them went for 25 yards to Cam Echols. Running backs Peyton Logan and Dedrick Mills each had one carry logging 28 yards to reach the Lions’ 10-yard line.
On the next play, B.C.’s defense blitzed Jake Maier but he got the ball out in time to complete a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ishmael Hyman giving Calgary a 7-3 lead with 8:57 left before halftime to cap off a seven-play drive for 75 yards in over four minutes.
Both teams went two-and-out on their next possessions with B.C. getting the ball back with 3:47 left before halftime. Quarterback Nathan Rourke started the drive by completing two passes for 15 yards. Next, Rourke carried the ball three times for 23 yards to reach the Stampeders’ 54-yard line. Then, Rourke threw two more passes for 24 yards, and running back William Stanback rushed for one yard to reach the Stampeders’ 29-yard line.
Calgary’s defense stepped up when Micah Awe sacked Rourke for a 12-yard loss backing them up to the Stampeders’ 41-yard line. Rouke would get some of the yards back when he threw an 8-yard pass to Ayden Eberhardt to reach the Stampeders’ 33-yard line with 33 seconds left. Kicker Sean Whyte made a 40-yard field goal and the Lions trailed the Stampeders 7-6 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Calgary had 155 yards on offense (90 yards passing, 67 yards rushing, 2 yards lost), 11 first downs, 1 for 1 in the red zone, and the team was penalized one time for 10 yards. Quarterback Jake Maier completed 12 of 15 passes (80%) for 90 yards, and one touchdown. Running back Peyton Logan had six carries for 44 yards.
Wide receiver Cam Echols made one catch for 25 yards, while Jaleon Philpot made three catches for 22 yards, and Ishmael Hyman made two catches for 13 yards, and one touchdown. Calgary’s defense made three sacks and two tackles for loss.
B.C. had 102 yards on offense (75 yards passing, 49 yards rushing, 22 yards lost), 8 first downs, 0 for 1 in the red zone, and the team was penalized one time for 10 yards. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 10 of 11 passes (91%) for 75 yards, and three carries for 23 yards. Running back William Stanback had six carries for 26 yards.
Wide receiver Justin McInnis made four catches for 32 yards, and Ayden Eberhardt made three catches for 20 yards. B.C.’s defense made one tackle for loss.
Third Quarter:
Calgary got the ball to start the third quarter from their 35-yard line. Running back Peyton Logan started the drive with three carries for 12 yards, and quarterback Jake Maier threw a 9-yard pass to Cam Echols to reach the Lions’ 54-yard line. B.C. defensive back T.J. Lee sacked Maier for a 12-yard loss backing them up to the Stampeders’ 47-yard line.
Calgary would get some of the yards back when Maier completed a 10-yard pass to Jalen Philpot to reach the Lions’ 53-yard line. Calgary punter Cody Grace punted the ball 56 yards into the end zone and out of bounds for a single point. The Stampeders led the Lions 8-6 with 9:45 left of the third quarter.
B.C. quarterback Nathan Rourke started the third quarter by throwing three consecutive passes for 30 yards to reach the Stampeders’ 40-yard line. B.C. kicker Sean Whyte made a 47-yard line to give the Lions its first lead of the game 9-8 with 6:48 left of the third quarter.
For the remainder of the third quarter, both teams went two-and-out. B.C. had the ball with 55 seconds left. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed two passes for 58 yards, including a 50-yard pass to Keon Hatcher to reach the Stampeders’ 32-yard line.
B.C. running back William Stanback rushed for a gain of 11 yards but it was called back due to a procedure penalty by B.C. and the ball was moved to the Stampeders’ 37-yard line as the third quarter ended with the Lions up 9-8.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, quarterback Nathan Rourke threw three straight passes for 31 yards, and running back William Stanback rushed for a gain of three yards to reach the Stampeders’ three-yard line. B.C.’s offense stalled and kicker Sean Whyte made a 15-yard field goal for a 12-8 lead with 11:49 left of the game.
Calgary quarterback Jake Maier completed two passes for 32 yards to reach the Lions’ 38-yard line. On the next play, the Stampeders were running a screenplay as Jake Maier went to throw the ball in the direction of Ishmael Hyman. However, Maier did not see B.C. defensive lineman Mathieu Betts, who jumped up in the air to make the interception for a pick-six 70-yard touchdown extending B.C.’s lead to 19-8 with 9:41 left of the game.
Then Calgary quarterback Jake Maier threw an 11-yard pass to Ishmael Hyman to reach their 46-yard line. On the next play, Maier threw a backward pass which B.C. defensive back T.J. Lee got a piece of the ball before scooping it up to score a 27-yard touchdown. The command center reviewed the play and it was confirmed a touchdown. B.C.’s lead grew to 26-8 with 8:21 left of the game.
Calgary suffered a scare on the kickoff when returner Cam Echols took a hard hit out of bounds by Terrence Ganyi and Echols was down for several minutes. He was slow to get up and the trainers loaded him onto a cart to take him to the locker room for further evaluation.
Calgary quarterback Jake Maier threw a four-yard pass to Cole Tucker, followed by Peyton Logan carrying the ball twice for eight yards to reach their 51-yard line. Two plays later, Maier’s pass was intercepted by Adrian Greene, and he returned it for 50 yards to reach the Stampeders’ 18-yard line with 5:51 left of the game.
B.C. went two-and-out before kicker Sean Whyte made a 23-yard field goal for a 29-8 lead with 5:04 left of the game. Matthew Shiltz came in as the new quarterback for Calgary. He started the next drive with a ten-yard run, followed by a Peyton Logan 7-yard run to reach the Lions’ 53-yard line.
On the next play, quarterback Matthew Shiltz got some good protection from the offensive line allowing him to escape the pocket. He threw a deep pass to Reggie Begelton for a 53-yard touchdown and the Stampeders trailed the Lions 29-15 with 3:41 left of the game.
B.C.’s offense took their time taking clock off while gaining 35 yards to reach the Stampeders’ 7-yard line before kicker Sean Whyte made a 14-yard field goal for a 32-15 lead with 54 seconds left of the game.
Calgary got the ball with 54 seconds left. Quarterback Matthew Shiltz completed three passes for 46 yards and rushed for a gain of 16 yards to end the game. The B.C. Lions defeated the Calgary Stampeders 32-15 to end a two-game losing streak. B.C. can clinch a playoff tomorrow if the Saskatchewan Roughriders beat the Edmonton Elks on Saturday night.
Final Stats:
B.C. had 269 yards on offense (218 yards passing, 73 yards rushing, 22 yards lost), 15 first downs, 0 for 4 in the red zone, and the team was penalized three times for 20 yards. Quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 20 of 24 passes (83%) for 218 yards, and three carries for 23 yards. Running back William Stanback had 15 carries for 50 yards and made two catches for 19 yards.
Wide receiver Keon Hatcher made four catches for 97 yards, and Justin McInnis made five catches for 37 yards. B.C.’s defense made 43 tackles, one tackle for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, two touchdowns, and seven tackles on special teams.
Calgary had 371 yards on offense (263 yards passing, 138 yards rushing, 30 yards lost), 23 first downs, 1 for 2 in the red zone, and the team was penalized one time for 10 yards. Quarterback Jake Maier completed 19 of 27 passes (70.3%) for 164 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Backup quarterback Matthew Shiltz completed 4 of 5 passes (80%) for 99 yards, one touchdown, and two carries for 26 yards.
Running back Peyton Logan had 15 carries for 89 yards and made three catches for 29 yards. Wide receiver Reggie Begelton made four catches for 73 yards, and one touchdown, and Jalen Philpot made five catches for 51 yards. Calgary’s defense made 43 tackles, three tackles for loss, three sacks, and six tackles on special teams.
Next week, the Calgary Stampeders host the Edmonton Elks on Saturday at 3 pm on CTV and CFL+, while the B.C. Lions visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday at 7 pm on TSN and CFL+. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2024 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub.
