Stampeders pull off remarkable fourth-quarter comeback, best Lions in overtime

Being up by 15 points in the fourth quarter usually wins you a CFL game, but "usually" didn't apply Friday night in Calgary's McMahon Stadium. The B.C. Lions took it to the Stampeders for much of this game, which set up as a clash of titans between 3-1 B.C. and 2-1-1 Calgary, but some late mistakes and an incredible comeback led to the hometown team triumphing 44-41 in overtime. It was one of the best games of the CFL season to date, one that illustrated the impressive offensive potential both teams have, and one that proves the value of fighting to the finish.

The Stampeders deserve a lot of credit for the resilience they showed throughout Friday night's game. They fell into a hole early thanks to a 95-yard punt return touchdown from B.C.'s Chris Rainey and an ensuing two-point conversion, but came up big on the Lions' next offensive series, stopping Rainey on a third-and-goal play to keep the score at 8-3. B.C. got another touchdown shortly afterwards once Eric Fraser picked off Bo Levi Mitchell and Jon Jennings plunged in himself, but Calgary chipped away and went into the half only trailing 17-16.

The Lions then lit them up in the third quarter and took a 34-19 lead into the final frame, but the Stampeders managed to battle back time and time again, with a particularly impressive sequence coming late on an interception, a touchdown drive and a two-point conversion to tie the score. Even in overtime, Calgary was held to a field goal, but buckled down on defence and had Tommie Campbell save the day with an end-zone interception of Jennings' pass to Shawn Gore. There were plenty of points where the Stampeders could have thrown in the towel, but they didn't, and their dogged perseverance was eventually rewarded.

This loss shouldn't be seen as a huge crisis for B.C., though. Yes, there were mistakes, and the two late interceptions Jennings threw (and the non-existent timeout he tried to call in overtime, backing them up and leading to the eventually-picked-off throw) will get plenty of discussion, but it should be remembered that he'd put on a dazzling performance before that, throwing for 374 yards and three touchdowns and running for a team-high 44 yards and a touchdown. He showed great chemistry with a variety of receivers, with Bryan Burnham (nine catches for 139 yards and a touchdown) and Emmanuel Arceneaux (six for 128) particularly standing out, and while there still could be some improvements (the 63.4 per cent completion percentage could use a boost, and the late-in-regulation interception in particular was problematic), this game suggested he's growing into some of his oft-cited potential.

The Lions' defence was also good overall, despite some of the points they allowed late, and they had four sacks and a pick on the night. The special teams shone, too, with Rainey's 95-yard return and punter Richie Leone throwing a beautiful pass for a first down. There's plenty for B.C.' fans to be happy about after this one, even if they weren't able to come away with the win.

In the end, though, it should be Calgary fans who are really impressed. The effort their team showed to battle back was phenomenal, and the never-say-die attitude may reap further rewards down the road. Mitchell showed plenty of composure under centre, bouncing back nicely from that early interception to finish with 29 completions on 44 attempts (65.9 per cent) for 364 yards and three touchdowns, and he demonstrated particularly good chemistry with deep threat Greg Wilson, who had 118 yards and two touchdowns on three catches. Jerome Messam was solid on the ground, averaging 7.5 yards per carry, and he would have had more than 45 total yards if the Stampeders weren't playing from behind much of the night.

The Calgary defence also came up huge when needed, stopping B.C. deep in their own end after the Stampeders tied the game with a minute left in regulation and then pulling off the vital end-zone interception. There's still work to be done in Calgary, for sure, and they may wind up running into the very good Lions again in the postseason. Friday's game was a nice step forward for the Stampeders, though, and one that proves the value of never giving up. As they say, no lead is safe.