High five: how the Calgary Stampeders defeated the B.C. Lions in Kelowna

Photo courtesy: CFL.ca

The Calgary Stampeders faced off against the B.C. Lions in a game featuring two surprising winless teams heading into Week 4 action in the CFL.

The Stamps and Lions had lost their games in different ways. The Lions struggled with offensive injuries and had little success getting anyone off the field when playing defence. By contrast, the Stampeders fell once in overtime to Saskatchewan and lost on the last regulation play to Winnipeg in their first game of the season. Stretching back, it was the third straight meaningful game that featured a winning walk-off score from their opponent, as their season ended the same way against these very Lions in 2025.

In what may be the most stunning locale to feature CFL football this season, the Stampeders excised some personal demons and won a game that featured explosive plays in all three phases.

These are the five that mattered most in Kelowna:

B.C. Jumps — 12:22 left in Q1

After nearly collecting a cheeky onside kick attempt to start the game, the Stampeders forced a two-and-out from the B.C. offence.

A few plays later, looking down the barrel of their own failed first possession, the Stampeders were handed a free five yards due to an offside penalty to Lions fullback Riley Pickett, who jumped on the punt return unit. That got the Stampeders into a third-and-short scenario, which was converted with ease.

This drive would eventually end in the Lions’ endzone, putting Calgary up 7-0 as Dedrick Mills scampered 20 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. It was part of a day where he was limited to 58 yards rushing on 14 attempts, but had 46 yards through the air.

That set the tone for the Stampeders’ offence early and was a quick punch in the mouth for the hosts, who continued to struggle defensively during long stretches of this game.

Alexander makes a good first impression — 4:36 left in Q1 

Nathan Rourke was the consensus best player in the league last season when he won Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian. He was then named the number one player in the TSN Top 50 entering this year. You knew with a returning Keon Hatcher and a functioning Justin McInnis that he would be hurling the ball.

Rourke would finish the day with 462 passing yards, including three touchdowns. One of his few mistakes ended up in the hands of Zy Alexander, who now has an interception in every career CFL game he has played so far.

The six-foot-two product of Louisiana State made his CFL debut in Kelowna, and didn’t waste much time cementing his spot on the field as one that quarterbacks would do well to avoid. Rourke tested the rookie late in the first quarter and turned the ball over, keeping the Lions off the board for the time being.

While an early interception is something elite QBs often recover from, it still kept the Lions from scoring in what ended up being a one-touchdown game.

Alexander would catch another Rourke pass in the fourth quarter, but after officials conferred, they determined he was out of bounds at the time, taking away a second interception.

It took an injury to get Alexander on the field, but Stampeders’ head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson loves a ball hawk. I imagine Alexander will get more time to prove he belongs.

Stamps double-dip — 1:02 left in Q2

Having just scored a touchdown to retake the lead with just over a minute to go before halftime, the Stampeders kicked off to Lions returner Silas Bolden.

At that point, it was a pair of Canadian defensive backs who made themselves known to everyone watching. Jackson Sombach laid the lumber on Bolden with a huge hit that knocked the ball loose, only to see Ben Labrosse jump on it to secure possession for Calgary.

The Stamps would work the clock and chew up yards over the next six plays, before scoring again and extending their lead to 10 points right before the half.

Snatching all the momentum away from the Lions and silencing half of the bipartisan crowd, it was a vital moment that reinvigorated a Stampeder offence that had once again gone dormant for the better part of 15 minutes following the opening TD drive.

It’s hard to look at a team that scored 24 points in the first half as having a lot of plays that got away from them, but it seemed like the football gods might have helped that ball hit the turf to make up for passes that fell short or a pair of swarming sacks from the B.C. defence in the half.

Tevin Jones takes a dive — 1:14 left in Q3

Tevin Jones found himself all alone on a 56-yard trot to the end zone, garnering some discussion in the 3DownNation group chat about whether it was as a result of the worst defensive play of the week so far. He had so much time that he stopped short of the goal line and fell back into the end zone a moment later, before any B.C. player could get close.

Jones did have to make a difficult catch in double coverage, as he tipped the ball to himself behind the now fallen defenders before taking his jog to paydirt. It looked like the defensive back misjudged the ball, and then the safety effectively tackled him, taking both of them out of the play.

The play was the longest by either offence on the day and made up nearly a quarter of Vernon Adams’ 229-yard total. Jones would have a Calgary game high of 71 yards, catching all three of his targets.

McAllister makes another house call — 11:07 left in Q4

Last week, against Saskatchewan, a missed field goal return for a touchdown from Tyreik McAllister sparked a Stampeders comeback that ultimately fell short in overtime.

This week, McAllister waited until time was nearly out before taking a punt 90 yards for the game’s winning points.

McAllister has been away from the CFL for two seasons, spending time with both the Las Vegas Raiders of the NFL and the Columbus Aviators of the UFL. After making everyone around him look like a superstar, he has to be an early candidate for Most Outstanding Special Teams Player.

It doesn’t get any easier

The Stampeders will head home with another challenge in front of them, as they host the Toronto Argonauts in the Stampede Bowl on July 2.

Calgary are hoping to keep a firm grip on the Stampede Bowl trophy, introduced last year when the team defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Ryan Ballantine is a lifelong Stamps fan and host of the Go Stamps Go Show Podcast. He has been covering the team since 2008.