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 exciting CFL contest. Completing 39 of 52 pass attempts, Rourke broke his own single-game passing record by a Canadian with 477 yards in last week’s win over Edmonton. “There’s going to 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 just excited to be a part of it.” Sean Whyte’s 25-yard field goal with two seconds left in the game completed the Lions’ comeback. The Stampeders led by nine points midway through the fourth quarter when Peyton Logan scored on an electric 99-yard punt, but the Lions chewed away at 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. “At this point, I’m just trying to help this team win any way I can.” Rourke threw touchdown passes to Burnham and Dominique Rhymes. White also made field goals of 19, 38 and 23 yards. University of Calgary graduate Jalen Philpot scored his first CFL touchdown, as did linebacker Folarin Orimolade in a punt return for Calgary. Shawn Bane scored a touchdown and Rene Paredes hit 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) are ranked second and third respectively in the CFL’s West Division behind the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (9-1). Calgary and BC wrap up 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 passing yardage leader with an eight-yarder on Calgary’s opening drive. He needed just six yards to pass Henry Burris (32,191) and reach the milestone in his 10th season and 116th game with Calgary. Burris played 118 games for the Stampeders. After two consecutive games without a touchdown pass, Mitchell threw two Saturday. The Stampeders quarterback completed 18 of 32 pass attempts for 206 yards and no interceptions, but was unhappy with Calgary’s inability to finish the Lions. “Bad penalties, bad decisions. Everyone from the sidelines to the guys on the field, everyone was terrible,” Mitchell said. “It was a bad second half. You put up 40 points, you can’t lose a game.” Calgary led 40-31 with just over six minutes to play after Logan came back for a big play. The Lions would not go quietly, however, with Burnham’s 33-yard double-coverage catch bringing BC to the Calgary 10-yard line with just under three minutes to play. Rourke had his seventh touchdown of the season with a one-yarder to put BC up just two points. Calgary opted to punt instead of bringing Paredes in for a 55-yard field goal attempt with a minute and a half to play. “I’m getting 50-plus, especially with the returner back there,” Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson explained. “We had in mind around 51, 52 maximum. He hit one because the wind changed. “I just felt like we had a good plan. We just didn’t stop them.” The Lions still faced a long field for a winning field goal, starting on their own six-yard line, but Cameron Judge’s kicking penalty cut it short for the visitors. Rourke engineered a nine-play, 86-yard drive to put White within field distance. 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 White with a 23-yard field goal. But Rourke’s 54-yard pass to Burnham behind coverage with seven minutes left in the game pulled the Lions within two points. Calgary turned a pair of Rourke interceptions into a 20-3 lead from 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 roughing penalty sent Calgary to the Lions’ 24-yard line, where Mitchell immediately threw to Bain rushing into the end zone for a 30-18 halftime lead. Paredes had a 51-yard field goal in the final minute of the half, but split the uprights from the same distance early in the third quarter for Calgary’s 33-18 lead. Whyte was good from 38 yards midway through the quarter to reduce the deficit. Rourke scored his first touchdown of the night with a one-yard plunge in the second quarter. After Orimolade’s pick six, Rourke quickly marched the Lions down the field and threw a 30-yard pass to Rhymes in the end zone for a 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 a score. The clubs traded field goals on early drives in the first quarter.
