Lions 26, Stampeders 17: 50 Cent starts show, B.C. finishes it

There were more people in the stands for the B.C. Lions home than at any point in the team’s 70-year history: 53,788.

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The atmosphere was electric, with seats packed to the nosebleeds all the way up to the rafters. Too bad they didn’t all stick around for the finish.

The B.C. Lions showed character and composure, battling back from an early deficit to win 26-17 Saturday night at B.C. Place. That crowd that packed the house before the game had dwindled dramatically by the time the final whistle blew.

Flying into Vancouver earlier in the day, hip hop icon 50 Cent put on a 45-minute pre-game concert, then hopped directly into his Escalade from the stage and drove straight to the airport, since he had another concert to give at Drai’s nightclub in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

50 Cent performs before the B.C. Lions and Calgary Stampeders play a CFL football game, in Vancouver, on Saturday, June 15, 2024. Photo by DARRYL DYCK /THE CANADIAN PRESS

But the night can’t be considered anything but a success. A win, a big crowd, and more momentum for a franchise quickly rising back to relevance in a fickle sports market.

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“It was awesome,” head coach Rick Campbell said post-game.

“One, it’s huge for the B.C. Lions, this day. It’s not easy to get 53,000 into a stadium. And so I’m super proud of the whole business side, the ticket guys and marketing and all that stuff who really busted their butts to try to get people out here. It’s cool to see that happened and I think it’s good for the CFL too. Anyone across this league is going to be happy that we had that crowd today.”

Added Calgary’s Dave Dickenson: “I liked it. I thought (the atmosphere) was good. I didn’t check out the concert, but I love that there were people here who maybe aren’t checking out a CFL game consistently. I’m in the business of selling our game and I thought you saw a lot of good football … I thought it was a very entertaining game, we just came out on the short end.”

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Calgary Stampeders’ Dedrick Mills, front left, is stopped by B.C. Lions’ Sione Teuhema, back left, and Garry Peters, front centre, during the first half of a CFL football game, in Vancouver, on Saturday, June 15, 2024. Photo by DARRYL DYCK /THE CANADIAN PRESSHere’s what we learned … By the Numbers

3: Touchdowns for Lions QB Vernon Adams Jr., who had two passing and one rushing. He was 17-of-29 passing for 277 yards, and his one-yard sneak halfway through the fourth quarter stood up as the winning points.

10: A game high in tackles for linebacker Ben Hladik, who also had a second-quarter interception. “Ben is one of the most underrated dudes in this league. He’s one of the smartest linebackers,” said teammate Josh Woods.

100: No B.C. receiver cracked triple digits, but two would have if the command centre hadn’t overturned calls made on the field. Alex Hollins had eight catches on a team-high 11 targets for 97 total yards, including a 21-yard touchdown catch just before halftime. He had a toe-dragging sideline catch overturned in the second quarter on a challenge.

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Justin McInnis, who had 103 and a major last week, had 91 yards and another TD grab this game. He had a 45-yard gain wiped off the board with two minutes left by the command centre.

1: Catch for Lions WR Ayden Eberhardt, a 59-yarder in the fourth quarter that set up Adams’ winning score. He had one other catch in 2024 — one for 27 yards last week against Toronto.

2: Blocked PATs by the Stamps. Sean Whyte also had field goals of 30 and 47 yards, the latter sealing the game with 36 seconds left.

“That’s a big thing,” Campbell said of the blocked PATs.

“I’ll give credit to them for making a good play. We’re gonna have to look at that. We always spend time looking at the team we’re playing, their field goal team, and you look for the weak spots and where you can attack. And obviously they found something (with us) and we’re gonna have to make sure we correct it.”

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2: Where the Lions (1-1) and Stamps (1-1) now sit in the West Division standings. The 1-0 Saskatchewan Roughriders in action Sunday with a road game in Hamilton.

COACHED UP WIN

Down six late in the game, the Stampeders were driving hard, moving the ball from their own 23 into Lions territory, benefiting from two avoidable B.C. penalties — too many men and pass interference. Jake Maier lofted the ball to Dedrick Mills over DB Ronald Kent Jr., but Jordan Perryman stepped up to force the fumble. Woods spotted the loose ball spilling near the sidelines, dove and knocked it out of bounds to make it B.C.’s ball.

“It’s coach Rick, ever since camp, talking about … IQ plays,” said Woods. “He does a good job of coaching up when Americans come in for the first time. Every team meeting, it’s a CFL rule coaching moment, and that’s one of the ones that I’ve always remembered. All you got to do is hit the ball out. I didn’t want to make it a scramble for the ball, a dogpile for it. Just hit it out, and it’s our ball.”

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B.C. Lions’ Alexander Hollins bobbles the ball and fails to make the catch during the first half of a CFL football game against the Calgary Stampeders, in Vancouver, on Saturday, June 15, 2024. Photo by DARRYL DYCK /THE CANADIAN PRESSBACK TO REALITY

The hype of the week is done, and the Lions were happy it was.

All the talk of the record crowds and 50 Cent concerts is over, and now they can focus on football.

“Definitely,” Adams said, when asked if he was happy the week is behind them.

“We had a short week, a lot of things going on. The 50 Cent thing — we had to come in here for an hour and wait … that’s how injuries happen. But just excited about this win and ready to watch it tonight and get ready for Winnipeg next week.”

MONKEY, DISMOUNTED

The loss to Toronto stuck in the Lions craws all week. They gave credit to the Argos, but felt they made too many self-inflicted wounds to win.

“I feel like we got the monkey off our back. Last week, it didn’t feel like it was us,” said Woods. “It was good to get a win and give guys confidence, the new guys confidence. We made all these (off-season roster) moves and it’s like ‘Who are we?’ I feel like we’re feeling like us again.”

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Campbell’s post-game talk to his team was all about validation.

“I just thanked them for proving me right when I said last week that we’ve got the right people and the right attitude. We just got a lot of work to do. And I think that holds true,” he said. “The one thing I like about this team is I think there’s a lot of room for upside. (We have) people that can get better and we can put them in better spots. We got room to grow.

“It’s obviously a lot more fun to grow when you’re winning, so, really proud of them.”

B.C. Lions’ Justin McInnis, bottom, holds the ball as Calgary Stampeders’ Kobe Williams defends during the second half of a CFL football game, in Vancouver, on Saturday, June 15, 2024. After a review it was ruled no catch due to McInnis losing control of the ball when he fell to the ground. Photo by DARRYL DYCK /THE CANADIAN PRESSFITS AND STARTS

Calgary came out with full-bore pressure off the start, with cover zero blitzes confusing the Lions offensive line and forcing Adams into early throws. They harassed him early and often, as he ended the first quarter 3-of-6 for 12 yards, as B.C. went two-and-out on five of their first 10 drives. One other went for four plays and 14 yards.

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“Yeah, it starts with me,” said Adams. “They came out hot in the first few drives, bringing covers zero (blitz). As a quarterback, you got to make those covers zero throws — get it out of your hand now.

“We had to adjust and we did. Still want to be more consistent; it was a real roller-coaster type of game, but a hard-fought win, man. Can’t take anything from these guys. I love the way we battled and finished that game.”

The much-maligned Lions offensive line was under pressure again, but Adams managed to end the night without being sacked after giving up four last week. Campbell said some sideline communication allowed them to make the right adjustments; they started running the ball with William Stanback (15 rushes, 69 yards) and taking deep shots to keep the defence honest.

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TABLET TIME

Last week, the Lions couldn’t get their iPads to work on the sidelines. (By CFL rule, the Argos should have stopped using theirs, but continued to regardless). But they had their tablets this week, and it helped the defence make their own adjustments — particularly against the run-happy Stamps. Calgary only had 61 total rushing yards.

“We’re just getting better. Communication is big thing,” said Woods. “We’re on one of the worst schedules as far as our opponent having more rest than us every game; we’re on short weeks every week. That’s kind of tough. We only have two practices a week. So communication is big and I think they’re just going to improve throughout the year.

“Everybody’s approaching it with a professional mindset. Real mature; there are no arguments. It’s how can we fix this if something happened? Last week, we didn’t have iPads. We couldn’t see what’s going on this week and assess if there was a mistake.”

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B.C. Lions’ Ben Hladik, front right, hits Calgary Stampeders’ Jalen Philpot during the first half of a CFL football game, in Vancouver, on Saturday, June 15, 2024. Photo by DARRYL DYCK /THE CANADIAN PRESS

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