B.C. Lions' Keon Hatcher, left, makes a touchdown reception as Calgary Stampeders' Kobe Williams watches during the first half of the CFL western semifinal football game, in Vancouver, on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VANCOUVER - Just over two weeks after the Calgary Stampeders ended the Lions' regular season with a blowout victory, B.C. roared back in the CFL's West semifinal.

Vernon Adams Jr. scrambled, threw and punched in touchdowns for the Lions on Saturday night, as B.C. beat Calgary 41-30.

The Pasadena, Calif., quarterback finished 28 of 39, throwing for 413 yards and two touchdowns in addition to the three he scored himself.

"When I use my feet a little bit, I'm more into the game. I can extend plays and scramble and throw to guys down the field," he said. "It opens the game up a little bit more. The defence has to play a little more honest."

Making only his second start in the playoffs, Adams spoke during the week of looking past the regular-season setback.

"I didn't have the best practice week and I was a little frustrated, but I was locked into my preparation and trusting the process," he said.

The Stampeders opened the scoring on their opening possession of the game, running three plays with quarterback Jake Maier connecting with a wide open Marken Michel.

But the Lions responded, and derailed Calgary's momentum, with a Garry Peters interception, setting up Adams for a touchdown drive by finding an open Jevon Cottoy at 4:58 in the first quarter.

Lions head coach Rick Campbell said he was pleased with how his team responded after falling behind early in the game.

"We were better with our poise tonight," Campbell said. "And when something didn't go our way, like the start of the game, we weren't blaming or pointing fingers or stuff.

"That was better from our standpoint and we're going to need that going forward to play a team like Winnipeg."

B.C. built a 15 point lead by halftime with Adams twice rushing for touchdowns as the Stampeders' zone defence struggled to limit deep throws to receivers Cottoy, Keon Hatcher and Dominique Rhymes.

Hatcher finished the game with 195 receiving yards and one touchdown.

"It was a slow start, they came out kind of fast on us and we could've bickered," Hatcher said. "But nobody did that. We all had one goal tonight and that was to get a win, no matter how it came about."

The Stampeders struggled to find a rhythm in the second half, with Maier scoring his second touchdown of the game with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter.

Maier finished 23 of 34, throwing for 304 yards and two touchdowns along with two interceptions.

"We fired every bullet we could and the better team won. As a competitor we gave it literally everything we had," Maier said after the game.

Calgary head coach Dave Dickenson agreed with his quarterback, adding he tried every play he could think of to generate momentum on offence.

"We just couldn't defensively stop them," he said. "We couldn't really reel them in. They just kept scoring and scoring and that was tough."

The Lions added two field goals and a third, and final, touchdown rush from Adams to close out the win.

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B.C. will play the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West final on Remembrance Day in the Manitoba capital.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2023.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2023