Stampeders 27 Lions 18
Henry Burris ran for a pair of touchdowns and threw for another to lead the Calgary Stampeders to a 27-18 win over the B.C. Lions on Friday night.
Jeremaine Copeland hauled in a five-yard pass from Burris in the end zone in the third quarter, giving the Calgary quarterback 141 passing touchdowns — one ahead of Doug Flutie for first place on the franchise list.
Sandro DeAngelis added a pair of field goals for the Stampeders (7-5), who rebounded from a disappointing 24-17 road loss to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last weekend.
Martell Mallett had a rushing touchdown for the Lions (5-7), while quarterback Buck Pierce tossed pass to Paris Jackson in the end zone. Kicker Sean Whyte added a field goal and a single.
Neither team could get anything going early on as the first quarter ended in a scoreless tie.
The Lions had the best chance to get on the board in the opening frame, but Calgary defensive back Dwight Anderson forced a fumble after O’Neil Wilson caught a pass from Pierce deep in Stampeders territory. Playing in his first CFL game, Calgary’s Dee Webb picked up the ball and ran it back 35 yards to end the threat.
With B.C. on the move again early in the second quarter, Webb was flagged for illegal contact on a receiver to give the Lions a first down deep in Calgary territory. On the next play, Mallett rambled 25 yards into the end zone to put the Lions up 7-0.
On the ensuing kickoff, Calgary’s Demetris Summers returned the ball 75 yards back to the B.C. 28-yard line. Four plays later, Burris ran for a seven-yard score to tie the game.
The Lions responded quickly as Pierce hooked up with Emmanuel Arceneaux for a 51-yard pass-and-run play. Two plays later, Pierce tossed a 19-yard TD pass to Paris Jackson.
The Stampeders then rallied back with an 11-yard field goal by DeAngelis, before Burris engineered a seven-play, 65-yard drive that he capped off with a one-yard touchdown plunge to give Calgary a 17-14 lead at halftime.
B.C. took advantage of a Joffrey Reynolds fumble early in the second half and tied the game on an 18-yard field goal by Whyte.
The Stamps then took a 24-17 lead after a pair of controversial plays. First Nik Lewis caught a 28-yard pass at the B.C. five-yard line, but the ball popped right up to Barron Miles, who celebrated as if he had a reception. Calgary challenged the play and Lewis was ruled to have been down by contact before the ball got loose.
On the next play, Copeland made a diving catch in the end zone for a five-yard touchdown. B.C. coach Wally Buono challenged the play, but officials deemed that Copeland kept both his toes in the end zone to make the spectacular catch.