VANCOUVER — Calgary Stampeders rookie Jalen Philpot seized the moment on his CFL debut at his hometown stadium.
“The funny thing is that it’s amateur night today (Homage to Amateur Football), because it’s my memory,” said the 22-year-old from Delta, B.C. , whose father Cory Philpot played eight seasons in the CFL for the BC Lions and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
“I remember playing here at half time, running around and having fun and just looking at all the scenery,” Philpot said. “It’s really come full circle for me, because I was here 15 years ago and I was doing the same thing these guys were doing, so it’s so great.”
On a short-handed Saturday night, Philpot had a 54-yard reception shortly before halftime in Calgary’s 25-11 win over the Lions at BC Place.
That set up a three-yard run for a touchdown conversion by Ka’Deem Carey — the only major in the game’s first 57 minutes.
The Stampeders (9-5) failed in their two-point conversion attempt. Peyton Logan added a 19-yard touchdown pass with 1:57 left in the fourth quarter, and Dominique Rhymes caught the lone touchdown pass for the Lions (9-4), from Antonio Pipkin with 29 seconds left. Pipkin carried the ball across the one-yard line for a successful two-point convert.
Calgary field goal kicker Rene Paredes was good on four of five attempts for 39, 33, 31 and 33 yards. He added a convert for 13 points overall.
Sean Whyte extended his field goal streak to 13 with a 34-yard kick with 24 seconds left in the third quarter _ BC’s first points of the game.
“Offensively, we’ve never had a flow,” Lions head coach Rick Campbell said. ”We made a few plays here and there but never got into the mainstream offensively. So it’s not a fun game for the local fans.”
Paredes kicked wide to the right on his first field goal attempt of the game. It happened just 2:08 from the start of the game – the Stampeders had marched to the BC 41-yard line after opening the first quarter by recovering the 11-yard onside kick from Paredes.
“We were aggressive,” said Dave Dickenson, who improved his record as Calgary head coach to 70-28-2 in his 100th career game as Stampeders head coach. ‘We started with the kick in play. We basically ran all the plays we could, all the aggressive type plays. Some worked, some didn’t. But I liked what I saw.”
A week after claiming a 31-29 overtime win over the Stampeders at McMahon Stadium, the Lions couldn’t find a spark to ignite their offense.
In his first home start at BC Place after being acquired in a trade from the Montreal Alouettes on August 19, quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. was 12 for 24 through the air for 151 yards. He added 11 rushing yards. Anthony Pipkin stepped in under center late in the fourth quarter, going 4-for-6 for 66 yards and a touchdown.
Kicker Stefan Flintoft had a busy night for the Lions, kicking for 417 yards.
“I thought we were playing well enough to win a CFL game defensively,” Campbell said. ”We gave up a few big plays that we didn’t want to give up and tackles, especially late on, are frustrating for any defensive player.”
The Lions also came out on the wrong side of the penalty tally. After last week’s thriller at McMahon Stadium included 215 total yards in penalties, BC took six penalties for 65 yards on Saturday. This included a critical major foul on Jordan Williams that gave Calgary a good position near center field before Philpot’s monstrous catch shortly before halftime.
A major foul for roughing up the setter also nullified a TJ Lee interception with just over three minutes left in the fourth quarter.
“There are a few I think that hurt both teams,” Campbell said. “I don’t see penalties as the reason we won or lost.”
While Calgary’s defense kept the Lions stuck in their own half for most of the game, quarterback Jake Maier delivered a solid outing. He completed 27 of 33 pass attempts for 294 yards and added 14 rushing yards. The Stampeders finished with five penalties for 36 yards.
With the win, combined with losses this week to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Ottawa Redblacks, Calgary clinched its 17th straight CFL playoff spot on the night. Despite the loss, BC also clinched its first playoff spot since 2018.
After the Lions won both matchups at McMahon Stadium for the first time since 2010, the Stampeders extended a winning record at BC Place that dates back to 2016.
FOOT NOTES: Stampeders veteran offensive lineman Derek Dennis was taken off the field on a golf cart late in the first quarter after suffering a leg injury. The BC Football Hall of Fame inducted its Class of 2022 ahead of Saturday’s game… The Lions also held their Amateur Football Tribute… Next week, the Lions will host the Redblacks of Ottawa on Friday, while the Stampeders return to McMahon Stadium to face the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday.