Lions lick wounds after Stampeders’ Jorden steals show
Calgary sits at 7-0; Leos’ bench boss says team didn’t play ‘smart football’
A highlight-reel touchdown, 185 receiving yards and a tweet from Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson made for a fun night for Kamar Jorden, not so much for the B.C. Lions.
The Calgary Stampeder was the favourite target of quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell in a 27-18 win over the Lions on Saturday.
The Stampeders opened a CFL season 7-0 for the first time since 1995, which happens to be the same year Johnson spent a few weeks on Calgary’s practice roster before the linebacker was released.
In the spirit of Legacy Night at McMahon Stadium, Jorden tweeted a pre-game photo of himself wearing a No. 74 D. Johnson jersey.
Johnson, whose post-football career went from pro wrestling to acting in Hollywood, thanked Jorden in a reply saying “My career in the @CFL was very short lived but a lifetime of defining lessons.”
“I just tried to think of a jersey that nobody had that was rare and stuff,” Jorden explained after the game. “I thought about Doug Flutie and Allen Pitts and for some reason The Rock just popped into myhead.
“I can tell people The Rock tweeted me. I’m going to have to go see ‘Skyscraper’ now that’s he’s tweeted me.”
Mitchell threw for season-high 370 yards Saturday, but said his
wobbly 53-yard air ball to Jorden in the first quarter “might have been the ugliest pass I’ve ever thrown.”
Jorden made the over-theshoulder catch for Calgary to take alead.
Stampeders backup quarterback Nick Arbuckle scored a pair of touchdowns on one-yard carries. Rene Paredes kicked a 44-yard field goal for the hosts in front of an announced 25,075.
Jeremiah Johnson rushed for a touchdown and Bryan Burnham had a touchdown catch for the Lions, who fell to 2-4. Ty Long kicked a 40-yard field goal for B.C.
B.C. quarterback Travis Lulay completed 25 of 39 pass attempts for 281 yards and was intercepted once. The Lions turned the ball over three times, including twice on downs.
“We didn’t play smart football,” said Lions coach Wally Buono, who in another tie-in to 1995 was the coach of that 7-0 Stampeder team.
“We gave them way too many opportunities to beat us and a good football team will always beat you.”