VANCOUVER — The loss that extinguished the Calgary Stampeders playoff dreams Friday provided some déjà vu for head coach Dave Dickenson.
The Stamps held the B.C. Lions in check through the first half, but stuttered out of the locker room, committing a series of mistakes that ultimately resulted in a 32-15 loss.
“It's been a rough year anyway, but kind of the same thing happened in this game has happened a lot," Dickenson said. "Yeah, we're fighting, we're making some good plays, we might have a lead, and then, back to back, we gave up two defensive scores and kind of just iced the game.”
Heading into the matchup, Calgary (4-10-1) needed to win its final four games of the regular season to have any hope of securing a playoff berth.
Instead, the Stamps stretched their winless skid to seven games — the longest such stretch the franchise has seen since 1977.
This fall will mark the first time in 19 campaigns that Calgary will not play post-season football.
B.C.’s chances of securing a playoff spot improved Friday, but the Lions (8-8) still need the Saskatchewan Roughriders to beat the Edmonton Elks on Saturday to earn a playoff berth.
Asked after the win whether B.C.'s team performance would be enough come the post-season, quarterback Nathan Rourke was blunt.
“I think in the other phases, it absolutely is. But I think offensively, we can’t play like that," he said. "We came out flat in the first half. We didn't score points in the red zone, and we're going to have to do that.
"We did some good things elsewhere. I think we did improve in a lot of areas from last week. But I just don't think that that's going to win against playoff teams.”
Calgary didn't allow a single offensive touchdown on Friday. Instead, B.C.'s defence provided an offensive jolt with Mathieu Betts and T.J. Lee each running in majors off of turnovers.
Five minutes into the fourth quarter, Betts picked off Calgary quarterback Jake Maier's pass at the B.C. 40-yard line and sprinted all the way down field into the Calgary end zone. Kicker Sean Whyte added a single and the Lions took a 19-8 lead.
The Lions struck again minutes later when Lee knocked down Maier's toss, recovered the ball and dashed over the goal line.
Officials on the field ruled the play a fumble-recovery touchdown, but it went to an automatic review. An announcement that the ruling on the field would stand was greeted with fans leaping to their feet and Lee being mobbed by his teammates on the sideline as the scoreboard ticked to 26-8 for B.C.
"We were thinking about game changing plays. And then when it got down the stretch, we started making plays," Lee said. "And all it takes is one little play for everybody to start believing, even the offence. So we have to play that type of ball from here on out."
Rourke connected on 20 of his 24 attempts and put up 218 passing yards for the Lions, while Whyte added six field goals, including a 47-yard strike.
B.C. strung together a solid series of passes through the end of the third quarter and into the fourth.
Rourke sailed a long bomb to an unmanned Keon Hatcher, who sprinted up the field for a 50-yard gain. The pair connected again minutes later on a 14-yard pass that put B.C. deep in Calgary territory once again.
A series of errors wasted the team's end-zone opportunity. Under pressure, Rourke sent a pass into the stands. B.C. took a time-count violation penalty on the next play and the Lions once again turned to Whyte, who made a 15-yard field goal to give his side a 12-8 lead.
"Don't feel good about that," Campbell said of his team's inability to finish. "We talked about a killer instinct in the red zone of, 'Let's go after 'em and go get 'em.' And that didn't materialize tonight."
Maier threw for 164 yards with a touchdown pass and two interceptions before Calgary turned to Matthew Shiltz late in the fourth quarter. The backup QB amassed 99 passing yards, including a TD.
There were some scary moments midway through the fourth when Calgary receiver Cam Echols and B.C. linebacker Terrence Ganyi smashed helmets on a hit. Echols fell to the turf at the B.C. sideline and was examined for several minutes by trainers as players from both sides took a knee.
The American was eventually helped to his feet and appeared to speak with his teammates and coaches as he was helped to a cart and left the field. He was taken to hospital for X-rays on his neck.
The injury lingered with Dickenson post-game.
“Yes, we did lose, but the thing that's really on the front of my brain is I hope Cam's doing all right, and that he knows he's got the team with him," the coach said. "And certainly, yeah, (the game) was tough overall. But it's really tough when you see Cam leave like he did.”
UP NEXT:
The Lions face the Roughriders in their final road game of the season on Oct. 12. The Stampeders host the Elks in Calgary the same night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 4, 2024.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press