‘One of the better games I’ve ever seen’: Vernon Adams Jr. etches himself into Calgary Stampeders’ record book

Photo courtesy: Leah Hennel/CFL.ca

Vernon Adams Jr. took his place in the Calgary Stampeders’ all-time passing record book on Thursday night.

The 33-year-old signal-caller completed 20 of 25 passes for 405 yards and six touchdowns, tying a franchise record that hasn’t been touched in a quarter-century. He also scrambled for a 22-yard rushing score, giving him seven total majors amidst a 58-36 rout of the Toronto Argonauts.

“One of the better games I’ve probably ever seen,” head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson said of his quarterback’s performance.

“It was one of those where I was talking to (offensive coordinator Pat DelMonaco) and just said, ‘Hey, we’re gonna have to keep scoring. I don’t know if we’re gonna be able to hold them down on the other side.’ That kept the aggressiveness going, but Vernon made a lot of those plays on his own; a couple of those passes where he’s getting dragged down, and that run was excellent too. What he’s doing is playing winning football, and you can see our receivers really started stepping up. I thought we looked fast, and we broke a lot of tackles for him too, but a great game for Vernon.”

The native of Pasadena, California, joined elite company in a five-way tie for the most passing touchdowns in a single game in Stampeders history. The mark was first reached by Peter Liske in 1967, while Doug Flutie achieved it in 1994 and Jeff Garcia followed him in 1995. All three quarterbacks went on to have successful NFL careers after those performances.

Adams was seen gesturing to the sky in exaltation after throwing his final touchdown, a scrambling shovel pass delivered with his non-dominant left hand. However, he told the media that he was unaware there was a record at play.

“No, I didn’t (know). I wasn’t thinking about that,” he said. “I was just trying to score more points, because I know I’ve got a great quarterback over there (with the Argonauts), Chad Kelly. Man, he’s going to throw it deep, and he’s going to give his guys some opportunities as well. I just kept telling the offence, ‘Hey guys, we gotta go score, we just gotta go score every time.’”

The last quarterback to throw for six touchdowns in a Stampeders uniform did so back in 2000. Adams knows him particularly well, given that he serves as his head coach. However, Dickenson didn’t realize one of his own records was on the line when he let his QB1 finish the game.

“Good thing that I’ve forgotten most of my stats,” he joked. “I didn’t even think about it, because I really wanted to win.”

“That’s awesome to stand right there next to Coach Dave, a Hall of Famer,” Adams added.

Adams led Calgary to the end zone on eight of the team’s 13 drives, punting only four times. His touchdown total exceeded the number of incompletions thrown, as he connected with six different receivers, four of whom found paydirt. Most importantly, he finished without a turnover and was only sacked once.

According to receiver Tevin Jones, who made four catches for a team-leading 139 yards and a touchdown, that’s simply what viewers should anticipate when watching the Stampeders.

“It’s in his name — Big Play VA. What do you expect?” he told reporters. “You want to see it every day, all the time, just keep coming to the game.”

The victory allowed Calgary to maintain possession of the nascent Stampede Bowl trophy for the second year in a row, with Adams earning MVP honours in both iterations of the game. Despite his incredible numbers, the veteran QB remained humble by crediting his receivers and playcallers for the performance.

“Just all glory to God, man,” Adams said. “It felt good out there, even though it was a short week. I thought the coaches put together a great game plan. I thought we played as a team tonight. We played together as one fist, as Dave would say.”

The Stampeders (2-2) will return to action on Saturday, July 11, when they visit the Montreal Alouettes (3-1). Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. EDT at Percival Molson Stadium.

J.C. Abbott is a University of British Columbia graduate and high school football coach. He covers the CFL, B.C. Lions, CFL Draft and the three-down league’s Global initiative.