B.C. Lions 37, Alouettes 23: Stand back, and let Will Stanback cook

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When William Stanback came to the B.C. Lions in free agency, he made it clear he was happy to be somewhere he felt respected, where he felt wanted. Valued.

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The only CFL team he’d known up to that point was Montreal, where he spent five fruitful seasons, helping the Als to the Grey Cup in 2023. It was why the circumstances around his departure stung so much. He was ready to take a pay cut to stay in Montreal, but he was never asked to. In fact, he wasn’t asked anything at all.

“I never thought it … was the money aspect because, truthfully speaking, I didn’t even ask for anything,” Stanback said in February after coming to B.C.

“I never approached (the Als) with any number; I just wanted to see how things were going to be. There was never anything proposed to me. So fitting into the cap, we don’t know if I was able to fit in because there were no numbers spoken about. We didn’t speak about anything.

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“I just wanted to be just treated right. I wanted to be respected. I didn’t want to be looked at as I’m just being tolerated. That was the feeling that I was having.

“I just wanted to make sure wherever I (would) go, that I’m treated with respect like the vet that I am. And I didn’t feel that in the building.”

No surprise why Friday night’s game had been circled in his calendar for six months. Will Stanback, coming back to Percival Molson stadium as a visiting player, and looking for payback.

He pulled on a fresh new pair of cleats, pulled on his Fog Grey Lions kit, and lit up the Alouettes.

The wide-shouldered tailback had 128 yards on 20 carries, including a tackle-busting, leg-churning 38-yard score in the third quarter. It was his highest game total since the 2021 season — when he won the CFL rushing title with Montreal.

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“Yeah, it definitely was (marked on the calendar),” said the 30-year-old. “I tried not to think about it too much, because I take it game by game and I don’t want to look too far in the future, but it definitely was something I was looking forward to.

“We understand what type of team we are. We know what they are. They’re obviously capable of going to the Grey Cup again. And we feel like we’re the West team that can do it too. (People) feel like this was a (Grey Cup) preview, and it’s what we tried to give everybody.”

It wasn’t long ago that the Lions (7-6) were on the precipice of having a future where watching the Grey Cup on TV was the likely outcome. It wasn’t just losing five straight games, it was the manner of the defeats that was concerning.

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With Vernon Adams Jr. injured, Jake Dolegala underwhelming and Nathan Rourke still finding his CFL feet again after a season in the NFL, the once-potent offence fizzled and creaked. Until the Lions began to utilize Stanback as a carrier and pass-catcher.

In his last five games, he’s averaging 101.4 yards per game, and is leading the league in rushing yards (938) with No. 2 Brady Oliveira yet to play this weekend. His 26 carries of 10 or more yards is most in the league, and he showed why on his touchdown run Friday, when he went through seven defenders without any blocks to score.

“He’s been a man on a mission lately,” said Lions coach Rick Campbell. “He’s been playing really well for us, especially over these last four or five games.

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“I’m sure he’s happy to come back to Montreal — I know he knows a lot of people here, but it’s always fun to come back and have a good game against your old team.”

Stanback wasn’t perfect, and neither were the Lions. The running back had a fumble late in the first half on the Montreal 28-yard line with B.C. looking to add to a 7-0 lead. Montreal turned it around and marched 94 yards to score a touchdown just before the halftime horn.

Stanback also had a pass bounce off his hands for an interception, one of three on the night for the Alouettes. Rourke had another bounce off Justin McInnis’s hands for a pick, and threw another that he’d quickly raise his hand to take accountability for.

But unlike their losses during their slump, the Lions had enough in the tank defensively to limit the damage and come out with a win against a team with the CFL’s best record, and on a record-setting 19-1 mark dating back to last year.

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“We talk about all the time about ‘winning by any means.’ And that was kind of the definition right there,” Rourke said after the game. “We did a great job of not snowballing (badly) as an offence. We had some lows, we had some mistakes, and we bounced back. We really stopped ourselves a lot of time, more than they stopped us. Our defence, hats off to them. They did a great job of doing what they could in the tough situations.”

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B.C. held Montreal to 270 net yards and just 11-of-22 on second down conversions. Alouettes QB Cody Fajardo was 27-of-37 for 240 yards, a touchdown and interception at the hands of TJ Lee.

Rourke was 22-of-28 for 304 yards and a career-high in interceptions, as the Leos put up 472 yards in net offence and jumped into first place in the West Division — at least until the conclusion of Saturday’s Banjo Bowl between the Blue Bombers (6-6) and Roughriders (5-6-1) in Winnipeg.

With the win, the Lions have now knocked off the top two teams in the East in back-to-back weeks, and will host the next best team this coming Friday, when the Toronto Argonauts come to B.C. Place.

NEXT GAME

Friday

Toronto Argonauts vs. B.C. Lions

7 p.m., B.C. Place, TV: SN Pacific, Radio: AM730

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