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Calgary Stampeders quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. (3) drops back and passes against the B.C. Lions during first half CFL football action in Kelowna, B.C., on Saturday, June 27, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Steve Dunsmoor<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/p>\n
By Canadian Press on June 27, 2026.<\/p>\n
\t\t\tCalgary Stampeders quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. (3) drops back and passes against the B.C. Lions during first half CFL football action in Kelowna, B.C., on Saturday, June 27, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Steve Dunsmoor<\/p>\n
KELOWNA \u2014 There wasn\u2019t a shortage of touchdowns \u2014 nine in total \u2014 but when the dust settled, Vernon Adams Jr. and the Calgary Stampeders played spoiler by prevailing 41-33 over the B.C. Lions on Saturday evening for their first win of the young CFL season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just glad to come out on top this time,\u201d Stampeders receiver Tevin Jones said after suffering two close losses, including one in overtime, to start the 2026 campaign.<\/p>\n
He hauled in the only touchdown of the third quarter, a 56-yarder with 1:06 remaining, to keep Calgary ahead by two scores at 31-17.<\/p>\n
More than 19,000 fans attended the opener of Touchdown Kelowna at the Apple Bowl, with the Lions punted from B.C. Place in Vancouver for the FIFA World Cup, but Adams Jr. delivered three touchdown passes to defeat his former team.<\/p>\n
\u201cV.A. is a strong leader. Everybody gets behind him, and he just slings the ball around,\u201d said Jones. \u201cSo as long as we keep doing that, we\u2019ll be all right.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nathan Rourke, who replaced Adams Jr. as B.C.\u2019s starter, resulting in his trade to Calgary, had a strong first half \u2014 matching Adams Jr.\u2019s effort to that point, with two passing touchdowns \u2014 but couldn\u2019t rally the Lions in the fourth quarter as they slipped to 0-3.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s usually a sticking point that the media likes to go to. It\u2019s all respect and admiration for me, to V.A.,\u201d Rourke said of their rivalry. \u201cHe made some big plays. He did a really good job protecting the ball. Hats off to V.A., he played very well, and we had to do a better job just finishing drives. I thought we left some things out there.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just got to continue to control what we can control. It\u2019s very easy at this point, you\u2019re 0-3, to point fingers everywhere else. But I think it\u2019s more important to look at yourself in the mirror and try to figure out how you can improve. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
His coach agreed on that front, with special teams, turnovers and penalties preventing the Lions from getting into the win column and giving the fans more reason to celebrate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe crowd showed up for us,\u201d said bench boss Buck Pierce, who also serves as the Lions\u2019 offensive coordinator. \u201cMomentum and excitement \u2026 you need to make sure, as a football team, you\u2019re able to sustain that. It can\u2019t be peaks and valleys, and we had too many of those tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Stampeders improved to 1-2 after getting touchdowns from five different players and a record-tying field goal for this stadium.<\/p>\n
Adams Jr. connected with Dedrick Mills, Jalen Philpot and Jones through the air, with Calgary also getting a rushing touchdown from Quincy Vaughn and a 90-yard punt return from Tyreik McAllister as their exclamation point in the final frame.<\/p>\n
Jude McAtamney rounded out Calgary\u2019s scoring with two field goals, including a 57-yarder \u2014 equalling the longest here, a mark previously established by Steven Shott of the Okanagan Sun junior program before going on to play for the Lions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fans were great. I don\u2019t know where they came from, but they came. There\u2019s a lot of people out here giving good energy, and I felt it. We all felt it,\u201d said Jones. \u201cAnd we\u2019re always gonna put points on the board when we feel the energy like that, so shout out to Kelowna.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rourke put on a good show too, with TD tosses to Zander Horvath, Jermaine Jackson and Hergy Mayala. Horvath added a late score on the ground, and Sean Whyte kicked a 36-yard field goal to account for B.C.\u2019s offence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis felt like a home game for us. It was awesome,\u201d Rourke said of the atmosphere. \u201cI know it\u2019s been a long time cooking, a lot of planning, a lot of people involved. From our perspective, it was fantastic. And we just wish that we would have played a little bit better for the crowd because they deserve that. And hopefully we can get it done next week.\u201d<\/p>\n
KEY MOMENT<\/p>\n
B.C.\u2019s Silas Bolden fumbled on a kickoff return late in the second quarter, allowing Calgary to score two touchdowns just over a minute apart for a 10-point lead at halftime.<\/p>\n
That was a huge momentum swing after Rourke had the crowd roaring en route to the Lions\u2019 first lead. Adams Jr. responded with a six-yard TD pass to Philpot with 1:09 remaining in the second quarter, then quickly marched the Stampeders back into scoring territory and Vaughn plunged in from two yards out with three seconds left to capitalize on that special teams turnover.<\/p>\n
KEY STAT<\/p>\n
The quarterback battle lived up to its billing, with Rourke throwing for 462 yards \u2014 running that total up with the Lions chasing in the second half. He finished 32-of-42 with three touchdowns and one interception \u2014 picked off deep in Stampeders\u2019 territory on the Lions\u2019 third possession of the first quarter, when Zy Alexander stepped in front of his intended receiver at the three-yard line.<\/p>\n
Adams Jr. completed 19-of-27 for 229 yards with three TDs and no interceptions.<\/p>\n
At halftime, their stats were almost identical: Rourke 12-17 for 176 yards and Adams Jr. 12-18 for 124 yards.<\/p>\n
UP NEXT<\/p>\n
Stampeders: Host the Toronto Argonauts (2-1) on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Lions: Host the Edmonton Eskimos (3-0) on Saturday, July 4, in Kelowna.<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2026.<\/p>\n
Larry Fisher, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n
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