Once again, football is a game of inches.
The saying was especially true when the Calgary Stampeders and BC Lions met at Save-on-Foods Field at BC Place for the Western Semi-Final.
Two of the most dynamic teams in the CFL entered the arena, but only one could be left standing. This time it was the Lions, who captured a walk-off 33-30 win to advance to the Western Final to face Saskatchewan.
How did they do it, you ask? By turning inches into yards, a lot of yards.
Here are three plays that tilted the scales in favour of the Lions in the Western Semi-Final.
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NATHAN ROURKE’S 44-YARD RUN
Nathan Rourke has specialized in making something out of nothing time and time again. The pivot dealt with heavy pressure all night against a formidable Stampeders defensive line, but was able to make just enough plays to get his team over the top.
One of the biggest (but maybe not THE biggest, more on that later) plays of the night was a 44-yard run that kickstarted a scoring drive early in the third quarter. Faced with second-and-eight from his own 48-yard line, the Canadian signal-caller found a lane to the left and burst through towards the sideline, where he juked a would-be Red and White tackler to move the ball into the red zone. Two plays later the pivot called his own number and scored on a seven-yard touchdown.
Don’t call it luck, says Lions’ defensive back Robert Carter Jr.
“Nathan Rourke, he has two long runs and he’s easily leaving DBs,” said the rookie. “You’re a quarterback and you’re leaving DBs, not once, but twice.
“They can’t say it’s luck.”
ROBERT CARTER JR.’S KICKOFF RETURN TOUCHDOWN
One would also be wrong to call Robert Carter Jr.’s own game-changing play lucky.
Right after the Stampeders drove down the field to cut the lead to 20-14 in the third quarter, Carter Jr. caught the kickoff and ran 95 yards for the touchdown to douse Calgary’s momentum.
In a year full of big plays for No. 26, nothing seems to faze the first-year playmaker.
“There is no stage too big for him,” said head coach Buck Pierce. “I think that’s the biggest thing. He plays with the confidence and persona that you need to have as a DB. In his first year up here in the CFL, he’s done a fantastic job.”
JUSTIN MCINNIS’ FOURTH-QUARTER CATCH
We’re looking to avoid starting and ending the article with two football clichés but, you know, big-time players make big-time plays in big-time moments.
Rourke and the Lions had 29 seconds to avoid going to overtime against a feisty Stampeders team that had just put together a game-tying drive late in the game. Anyone would be excused for playing conservatively to avoid a mistake that could cost them the game and instead play for overtime. Not Pierce’s Lions.
After a run by running back James Butler gained only five yards, Rourke moved the ball through the air on a 15-yard connection with Stanley Berryhill III. Then, with the clock showing 16 seconds left, the quarterback threw a deep pass over the middle to Justin McInnis, and the Canadian receiver came down with the ball at the 37-yard line.
From there you know what happened next. Unshakable kicker Sean Whyte made a season-defining kick look like a routine practice attempt, splitting the uprights and sending Orange and Black fans into celebration in Vancouver and beyond.
“In games like this, you certainly look to your guys and I think he’s a guy that, over the middle, I have more confidence in than anybody,” said Rourke about McInnis. “Just with that frame and that reach, you can kind of put it up there and know that even if he’s going to take some contact, he’s going to come down with the ball. That was a huge play.
“I’m just really proud of the guys, proud of all of our guys, but certainly proud of Justin, who’s battling through and grinding through and made some really big plays for us tonight.”