CALGARY — BC Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke threw for 488 yards and led a 41-40 comeback win over the Calgary Stampeders on Saturday.
The 24-year-old from Victoria recovered from two early interceptions, which the Stampeders turned into touchdowns, running for a pair of short-yardage touchdowns and throwing a pair of touchdown passes in the thrilling CFL contest.
Completing 39 of 52 pass attempts, Rourke broke his own single-game passing record by a Canadian after the 477 yards he recorded in last week’s win over Edmonton.
“There will come a time in my life when I look back and realize how lucky I was to be able to play with him,” Lions wide receiver Bryan Burnham said. “I’m excited to be a part of it.”
Sean Whyte’s 25-yard field goal with two seconds left in the game capped the Lions’ comeback.
The Stampeders led by nine points midway through the fourth quarter when Peyton Logan scored on an electric 99-yard field goal, but the Lions overcame that deficit.
“It wasn’t pretty by any means, but we found a way to win, but I’m proud of the guys for sticking together and finding a way,” Rourke said. “Right now, I’m just trying to help this team win in any way possible.”
Rourke threw touchdown passes to Burnham and Dominique Rhymes. Whyte also kicked field goals from 19, 38 and 23 yards.
University of Calgary alumnus Jalen Philpot scored his first CFL touchdown, as did defensive end Folarin Orimolade on an interception return for Calgary.
Shawn Bane had a touchdown catch and Rene Paredes kicked field goals of 28, 53, 32 and 51 yards in front of an announced crowd of 22,229 at McMahon Stadium.
The Lions (7-1) and Stampeders (5-3) sit second and third respectively in the CFL West Division behind the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (9-1).
Calgary and BC conclude their season series with a home-and-home on Sept. 17 in Calgary and Sept. 24 in Vancouver.
Bo Levi Mitchell became the Stampeders’ all-time leader in passing yards with an eight-yarder on Calgary’s opening kickoff.
He needed just six yards to pass Henry Burris (32,191) and reach that milestone in his 10th season and 116th game with Calgary. Burris played 118 games with the Stampeders.
After two straight games without a touchdown pass, Mitchell threw two Saturday. The Stampeders quarterback completed 18 of 32 passes for 206 yards and was interception-free, but he wasn’t happy with Calgary’s inability to finish off the Lions.
“Bad penalties, bad decisions. Everyone from the fullbacks to the guys on the field, everyone was terrible,” Mitchell said. “It was a bad second half. You score 40 points, you can’t lose a game.”
Calgary led 40-31 with just over six minutes to play after Logan’s kickoff return for a major.
The Lions would not go easy, however, with Burnham’s 33-yard catch under double coverage bringing BC to the Calgary 10-yard line with just under three minutes to play.
Rourke scored his seventh rushing touchdown of the season on a one-yard carry to keep BC within just two points.
Calgary elected to punt instead and inbound Paredes for a 55-yard field goal attempt with a minute and a half to play.
“Anything over 50 makes me nervous, especially with their returner there,” Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson explained. “We had 51 in mind, 52 at the max. He hit one because the wind changed.
“I felt like we had a good plan. We just didn’t stop them.”
The Lions still faced a long field for a game-winning field goal starting at their own six-yard line, but Cameron Judge’s penalty cut it short for the visitors.
Rourke engineered a nine-play, 86-yard drive to put Whyte in field goal range.
The Lions trailed by 12 points when BC linebacker Ben Hladik recovered Dedrick Mills’ fumble at the Calgary 34-yard line in the final minute of the third quarter.
Rourke overthrew Lucky Whitehead in the end zone leaving Whyte with a 23-yard field goal to go.
But Rourke’s 54-yard touchdown pass to Burnham behind coverage with seven minutes left in the game brought the Lions within two points.
Calgary capitalized on a pair of Rourke interceptions into a 20-3 lead in the opening minute of the second quarter, when Orimolade returned his first career pick 28 yards for a score.
Rourke rallied with a pair of scoring drives, sandwiched around a 32-yard field goal by Paredes, but the Stampeders would score again before halftime.
BC’s David Menard’s penalty moved Calgary to the Lions’ 24-yard line, where Mitchell quickly threw to Bane who dove into the end zone for a 30-18 halftime lead.
Paredes missed from 51 yards in the final minute of the half, but split the uprights from the same distance early in the third quarter to give Calgary a 33-18 lead. Whyte was good from 38 yards midway through the quarter to cut the deficit.
Rourke scored his first rushing touchdown of the night on a one-yard plunge in the second quarter.
After Orimolade’s pick-six, Rourke quickly marched the Lions downfield and threw a 30-yard pass to Rhymes in the end zone for the score.
Paredes’ 53-yard field goal, which matched his longest of the season, gave the hosts a 13-3 lead with four minutes left in the first quarter.
After Nick Statz picked off Rourke on BC’s second drive of the game, Mitchell’s second pass was a 19-yarder to Philpot in the end zone for the score.
The clubs traded field goals on the first plays of the first quarter.