CALGARY — The B.C. Lions continued to dig themselves out of an early-season hole with a third straight win Thursday.
The Lions, who lost three straight to start the season, held off the Calgary Stampeders 30-26 to get to a record of 4-5 in the CFL's West Division.
"We're trending upwards, for sure," Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke said. "We've got lots of things to clean up, which is a good thing. We haven't peaked quite yet."
The Stampeders (4-6) lost a fourth game this season by four points or less.
Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. and league-leading rusher Dedrick Mills both left the game in the fourth quarter with injuries and didn't return.
"Both are going to be like head injuries," Stampeders head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson said. "Those can last a long time. You don't know when they're going to be healthy, but for all of us, we just want to rally and find a way to win a game, a close game."
Calgary threatened from B.C.'s 10-yard line with half a minute to play, but a T.J. Lee interception on a Josh Love throw sealed the victory for the visitors.
Rourke, who suited up for second game since missing almost three because of an injury in his non-throwing arm, rushed for a touchdown and threw two more to Keon Hatcher Sr.
The league's Most Outstanding Player in 2025 amassed 301 passing yards on the night and was intercepted once.
Rourke reached 100 career touchdown passes to become the second Canadian quarterback to do so in the CFL after Russ Jackson (239).
The Lions were minus-1 in rushing after the first quarter, but finished with 152 yards on the ground, including Zander Horvath's rushing touchdown for his team-leading eighth.
"The defence keeps us in that game in that first half," Lions head coach Buck Pierce said. "We were able to stick to our game plan, mix some things up in the second half and still be able to run the football.
"To be able to run the football effectively you've got to do it multiple times. We popped some big ones in the second half and we were able to generate some momentum."
Sean Whyte kicked a field goal from 45 yards and three convert points for the Lions, whose next opponent is the Saskatchewan Roughriders (6-2) on Aug. 23.
Erik Brooks caught a touchdown pass and Quincy Vaughn rushed for his eighth major for the Stampeders, who headed into a bye week.
Damien Alford caught a two-point convert in front of an announced 17,076 at McMahon Stadium.
Jude McAtamney kicked field goals from 55, 13, 29 and 44 yards, but missed a late try from 39 yards out.
The Lions led 23-18 early in the fourth quarter when Adams, who spent parts of three seasons with the Lions from 2022 to 2024, had his head slammed into the turf when he was tackled on a six-yard carry. He walked to the medical tent on the sidelines, but didn't return to the game.
"You never like to see anyone hurt, whether it's a quarterback or any other position," said Rourke. "You want to be able to play against the best. To me, he's playing at the highest level right now.
"You hate to see someone go down, especially someone that you know. I wish him nothing but the best in his recovery and hopefully, it's nothing serious."
Calgary led 18-13 at halftime, but poor red-zone play hurt them early as they settled for field goals from inside of 20 yards twice in the first quarter.
With Love drawing in for Adams, the Stampeders pushed back with Vaughn's go-ahead, short-yardage touchdown and Alford's two-point conversion for a 26-23 lead with just over three minutes to play.
But Calgary wasted a recovered fumble on B.C.'s 30-yard line on the subsequent kickoff. The Stampeders didn't convert it into a touchdown and McAtamney missed from 39 yards out.
Rourke's second TD throw to Hatcher and Lee's defensive heroics kept the Lions in the win column.
"We're just trusting in each other and trusting in our process," Rourke said. "There's only so much you can control so you have to trust that the other unit is going to be able to do their job.
"Offensively we knew that the only thing that was stopping us from moving the ball was us. We knew if we had the right opportunity, we had enough time we could go down and score."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 13, 2026.
Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press
