VANCOUVER — It's been nearly two decades since Dave Dickenson and Buck Pierce won the Gray Cup with the BC Lions.
Now the pair are set to face each other, with a trip to the CFL West Division finals on the line.
“I like competing with people I respect and he's definitely one of those top guys,” Dickenson, the Calgary Stampeders head coach, said of his former teammate Friday.
Dickenson Stamps (11-7) are in Vancouver where they will face rookie head coach Pierce and the BC Lions (11-7) on Saturday in the West Division semifinals.
Back in 2006, both were defensive backs on the Lions team that beat the Montreal Alouettes 25-14 in the CFL championship game.
It's an experience Dickenson and Pearce have been reflecting on as they prepare to begin this year's playoff campaign against each other.
“It was a special time,” Pierce said.
“It's hard to win, and when you win a championship, those bonds run very deep. In my opinion, it was a collective group of guys. Obviously, we all followed Dave's lead and we all wanted to be a part of the success. And I think we were allowed to do that.”
Back in 2006, Dickenson was the Lions' veteran starter and Pierce was in his second season in the league.
“We were at different points in our careers,” Dickenson said. “I knew I was pretty close to finishing. I thought, “Man, I need one of these as a starter.” I almost took a deep breath. It was one of those moments where you go, “Ugh. Understood. And Buck probably said, “Oh, that wasn't that hard.” We can get a lot of these.”
To win the Gray Cup this year, one former teammate will have to beat another.
Both teams have identical records, but the Lions maintain home-field advantage after beating the Stamps twice in regular-season play.
Both teams are also on winning streaks, with BC undefeated in their last six games and Calgary undefeated in three games.
The Lions struggled early in the season, starting the campaign 3–5. Dickenson said the stretch showed Pierce's strength as a coach.
“You get into a rut. Sometimes as a young coach you have to realize it's a long season. His guys play their best football when it matters most,” he said.
“I knew Buck would be a good coach, but I give him credit: I think he did an outstanding job. I think he did as good a job as anyone in the CFL this year.”
Part of the credit for Pierce's coaching goes to Dickenson.
Not only were the duo teammates at BC back in the early 2000s, but Pearce said he had long followed Dickenson's coaching career.
“I’ve probably stolen a lot over the years,” he admitted. “I've always tried to take something from where I've been, especially experience and learning along the way. I think that's one of the great things about our profession.
“And as a new head coach, I have to go through a lot of things that you might not expect. So I'm learning from the lessons that I've learned. And I've learned a lot from (Dickenson).”
Dickenson and Pierce aren't the only former teammates who will face off against each other on Saturday.
Calgary's offense is led by quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., who spent the last two seasons with BC and was the team's starter for much of that period.
Asked if he had spoken to Adams about the match against his former team, Dickenson was candid.
“No, because it should be about winning football. In fact, it can't be about anything more,” the coach said. “The only thing you need to understand is that you are one cog in a wheel. You are an important cog, but you are a cog in a wheel.”
Adams finished the regular season with 4,247 passes, 21 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, and said he was grateful and fortunate to play against his former team.
“It's going to be an amazing environment. It's going to be loud. I know I've played a couple of playoff games here, too, and the crowd is going to be crazy,” he said. “That's what we want. We want to go into a hostile environment and lean on each other.”
Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke regained his full-time starting role at BC this season and set career highs in both passing yards (5,290) and touchdown passes (31).
A nominee for this year's CFL Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian, Rourke said he isn't focusing on his former teammate ahead of Saturday's game.
“At the end of the day, I'm not playing against Adams. That's how I look at it,” he said. “I'm playing against the Calgary defense. They're a very good defense. They're very well coached, they're flying, they've got a lot of good players. That's what I'm thinking about.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2025.
