Stampeders spoil winless Lions' party at Apple Bowl with 41-33 win

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

KELOWNA — There wasn’t a shortage of touchdowns — nine in total — 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.

“I’m just glad to come out on top this time,” Stampeders receiver Tevin Jones said after suffering two close losses, including one in overtime, to start the 2026 campaign.

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.

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.

“V.A. is a strong leader. Everybody gets behind him, and he just slings the ball around,” said Jones. “So as long as we keep doing that, we’ll be all right.”

Nathan Rourke, who replaced Adams Jr. as B.C.’s starter, resulting in his trade to Calgary, had a strong first half — matching Adams Jr.’s effort to that point, with two passing touchdowns — but couldn’t rally the Lions in the fourth quarter as they slipped to 0-3.

“That’s usually a sticking point that the media likes to go to. It’s all respect and admiration for me, to V.A.,” Rourke said of their rivalry. “He 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.

“We just got to continue to control what we can control. It’s very easy at this point, you’re 0-3, to point fingers everywhere else. But I think it’s more important to look at yourself in the mirror and try to figure out how you can improve. And that’s what I’m going to do.”

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.

“The crowd showed up for us,” said bench boss Buck Pierce, who also serves as the Lions’ offensive coordinator. “Momentum and excitement … you need to make sure, as a football team, you’re able to sustain that. It can’t be peaks and valleys, and we had too many of those tonight.”

The Stampeders improved to 1-2 after getting touchdowns from five different players and a record-tying field goal for this stadium.

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.

Jude McAtamney rounded out Calgary’s scoring with two field goals, including a 57-yarder — 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.

“The fans were great. I don’t know where they came from, but they came. There’s a lot of people out here giving good energy, and I felt it. We all felt it,” said Jones. “And we’re always gonna put points on the board when we feel the energy like that, so shout out to Kelowna.”

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.’s offence.

“This felt like a home game for us. It was awesome,” Rourke said of the atmosphere. “I know it’s 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.”

Key moment

B.C.’s 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.

That was a huge momentum swing after Rourke had the crowd roaring en route to the Lions’ 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.

Key stat

The quarterback battle lived up to its billing, with Rourke throwing for 462 yards — running that total up with the Lions chasing in the second half. He finished 32-of-42 with three touchdowns and one interception — picked off deep in Stampeders’ territory on the Lions’ third possession of the first quarter, when Zy Alexander stepped in front of his intended receiver at the three-yard line.

Adams Jr. completed 19-of-27 for 229 yards with three TDs and no interceptions.

At halftime, their stats were almost identical: Rourke 12-17 for 176 yards and Adams Jr. 12-18 for 124 yards.

Up next

Stampeders: Host the Toronto Argonauts (2-1) on Thursday.

Lions: Host the Edmonton Eskimos (3-0) on Saturday, July 4, in Kelowna.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2026.

Larry Fisher, The Canadian Press