The B.C. Lions are still looking for their first win of the 2026 CFL season.
The Lions dropped to 0-3 on the year, after dropping a 41-33 decision to the Calgary Stampeders Saturday at the Apple Bowl in Kelowna.
With the Lions usual home of BC Place currently being used for soccer’s World Cup, the Lions were forced to take their home game on the road.
Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. tossed for 229 yards and three touchdowns for Calgary (1-2). He threw TDs to Tevin Jones, Dedrick Mills and Jalen Philpott. Backup QB Quincy Vaughn added a rushing touchdown, and Tyreik McAllister added another major on a punt return. Kicker Jude McAtamney kicked a field goal and five converts.
Running back Zander Horvath had a pair of touchdowns for B.C., with Jermaine Jackson and Hergy Mayala adding one apiece. Kicker Sean Whyte added a field goal and two extra points, while Nick Cenacle had a two-point conversion. QB Nathan Rourke threw for 462 yards and three touchdowns in a losing cause.
The Stamps took a 7-0 lead just over six minutes into the first quarter, when Adams connected on a short pass to Mills, who took it in for a 20-yard touchdown. B.C. had forced a punt situation earlier in the series, but a costly offside penalty to Riley Pickett extended the drive. McAtamney booted the convert after the TD and Calgary maintained the 7-0 lead through the end of the quarter.
Early in the second quarter, the Lions pulled even when Rourke completed a short toss to Horvath, who rumbled in for a 14-yard major. Whyte’s convert made it 7-7.
Calgary reclaimed the lead two minutes later when McAtamney boomed through a 57-yard field goal to make it 10-7 Stamps.
Bet ya didn’t see that one coming
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— BC LIONS (@BCLions) June 28, 2026
With just over four minutes left in the half, Rourke found Jackson, who scrambled in for a six-yard touchdown. Whyte’s convert gave the Lions a 14-10 lead.
Calgary answered right back, moving on top 17-14 after Adams found Philpot for a six-yard major with 69 seconds left in the quarter, finishing off a nine-play, 82-yard drive. McAtamney added the convert.
On the ensuing kickoff, B.C.’s Silas Bolden fumbled and Calgary recovered inside the B.C. 40.
With eight seconds left, Vaughn plunged in from one yard out and McAtamney’s convert made it 24-14 at the break.
Six minutes into the second quarter, Whyte pulled B.C. within seven, connecting on a 36-yard field goal, reducing the Calgary lead to 24-17.
With 1:07 left in the quarter, the Stamps scored again on a big play, as Jones plucked a pass from Adams in-between two defenders and strolled in for a 29-yard TD. McAtamney’s convert gave Calgary a 31-17 lead heading into the fourth.
Four minutes into the final quarter, the Stamps put things out of reach when McAllister took a punt back 90 yards to paydirt, the second straight week he had returned a kick for a TD. McAtamney’s fifth convert made it 38-17.
With 2:44 to play, Horvath scored on a one-yard run, then added a two-point convert to pull B.C. within 13.
McAtamney’s 30-yard field goal with 1:38 left made it 41-25, and Rourke connected with Mayala from 18 yards out with 22 seconds left to make it 41-31. He then found Cenacle for a two-point conversion to make it a one-score game at 41-33 but Calgary recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock.
NOTES: B.C. will play again in Kelowna on July 4, when they host the Edmonton Elks (4 p.m.)… James Butler led the Lions in rushing, but had just six carries for 20 yards… Keon Hatcher finished with nine catches for 162 yards, while Jackson caught six balls for 149 yards… Mathieu Betts and Levi Bell each had sacks for B.C. on defence… Adams has yet to throw an interception this season.