Every Canadian Football League season has its peaks and valleys. And for the 0-2 BC Lions, they’re hoping this early-season bump in the road will simply serve as a footnote when all is said and done. Perhaps a trip to the Okanagan comes at just the right time for this motivated bunch. Week four sees Nathan Rourke and company host the equally desperate Calgary Stampeders in the first of two Touchdown Kelowna contests. The winner will get a much-needed boost, while the team on the losing end may fall behind the eight-ball for a long time in this competitive Western Division. With more, we present our 5 Things To Know preview.
Game 3: BC Lions vs. Calgary Stampeders
Saturday, June 27
4:00 pm, Save-On-Foods Field at the Apple Bowl
TV: Canada: TSN, USA: CBS Sports Network
Stream: CFL+ (International)
Radio: 730 CKNW/Lions Audio Network/Sher-E- Punjab Radio AM 600
1. An Extended Home Stay: Just What The Doctor Ordered?
Perhaps a little Okanagan excursion is exactly what this Lions team needs to get out of the doldrums. The squad arrived in Kelowna on Thursday afternoon and will take up shop at Okanagan College through to the end of next Saturday’s clash with Edmonton, the second half of this historic two-game series. A little team-bonding in a new locale certainly can’t hurt. Case in point: the 2024 Lions were in the midst of a five-game losing streak before Touchdown Pacific in Victoria. A few days on the Island proved to be beneficial, as the squad took down Ottawa 38-12. Two big divisional wins at the Apple Bowl will help reset what should be a crazy race in the West all season long.
2. Reinforcements On Offence
Receivers Keon Hatcher Sr. and Justin McInnis are both on track to play, despite missing practice time this week. This will provide a much-needed boost for Rourke and an offence that simply couldn’t keep up in Hamilton, due in large part to injuries to those two playmakers, plus Kieran Poissant, who will likely dress in a noon-starting role behind Hergy Mayala. The re-addition of Mayala gives the offence another veteran presence after he had a strong training camp. A big part of this week’s recipe will be to play from in front. The more weapons at Rourke’s disposal give them a big edge in that department.
3. Bringing The Heat
And we’re not just talking about the Okanagan kind that we’re so used to in the summer. The Stampeders’ defensive front was a major cog in their turnaround last season with the likes of Jaylon Hutchings and Clarence Hicks leading the way. Florian Orimolade is slated to make his season debut on Saturday after his 2025 season ended prematurely due to an Achilles injury. The Lion offensive line will be in for perhaps its toughest test of the young season. Left guard Joshua Donovan is expected to slot into the lineup in place of injured Brandon Yates. Rourke’s ability to get the ball out quickly and make quick decisions should be a big factor.
4. Lion D Not Short On Pride
Defensive coordinator Mike Benevides gratefully accepts full responsibility for a pair of lacklustre outings to begin 2026. Opposing quarterbacks have completed 83.3 percent of passes and boasted a perfect passer rating of 158.3. Almost unheard of when you factor in the personnel on that side of the ball and the fact that they looked poised for a big improvement through camp and limited action from starters in pre-season. One area they certainly can be better: sacks and takeaways. Mathieu Betts has the lone quarterback takedown, while they’re still waiting to register their first takeaway. Now is the time to put up or shut up, as they say.
5. What They’re Saying
“I think the concern is just kind of where we sit right now. Obviously, we thought we’d be a bit farther along. Listen, it’s all part of a process. Nobody is happy with where we are right now. The matter of fact is, we’ve got to get better. It’s got to start during the week; it’s got to start in all phases. Until we do that, we’re going to continue to fight and claw. Just like everything, we believe in what we’re doing and we’ve got to continue to lean into the work throughout the week and make sure we’re doing it the right way.”- Buck Pierce on the feeling around the squad after starting with a pair of losses.
“Definitely on the back end side. We’ve had too many deep shots, too many receivers making plays on us. That just comes down to being confident in our scheme and our abilities as a unit. It’s a full defensive effort. We all need to be better and we will.”- Jackson Findlay on the urgency to get better in the secondary.
Extra Points
Courtesy Lions historian Steve Daniel: Of the previous 605 home games in team history, we have played in four venues. Empire Stadium (1954-82, 232 games), BC Place Stadium (1983-present, 358 games), Temporary Empire Field (2010-11, 14 games), and Touchdown Pacific at Victoria’s Royal Athletic Park for the one unforgettable afternoon in August 2024.
Rourke holds a career record of 4-0 against the Stampeders and is just 205 passing yards shy of 12,000 for his great career. Last week, he moved ahead of Joe Paopao for seventh on the club’s all-time passing yards list.
The Lions look to avoid starting 0-3 for the first time since 2019, a forgettable campaign where they started 1-10 before limping to a 5-13 record. The last Calgary 0-3 start was 2002; ironically the final year for Wally Buono as a Stampeder before moving west to the Lions.
Ball security looms large heading into this one. Calgary’s offence has only given the ball up once and they entered week four as the only team that hasn’t given up a point off turnovers.
Should T.J. Lee (Calf) be unavailable, Stantley-Thomas Oliver will step in for his CFL debut. A seventh-round draft pick of the Carolina Panthers in 2020, Thomas-Oliver appeared in 25 games with the team over three seasons. He also had stints with the New York Giants and Detroit Lions, earning a promotion to Detroit’s active roster in the final regular season game of 2024.
Hicks entered this week with a share of the CFL lead with three sacks. Dating back to the final game of last year, he has a sack in each of his last three games.