Calgary’s five-game winning streak at home was snapped Saturday night as the Stampeders dropped a 34-8 decision to the BC Lions at McMahon Stadium.
The loss drops Calgary’s record to 2-3 as the Stampeders head into their bye week.
Andrew Harris scored two second-half touchdowns for BC as the Lions (3-2) broke open a close game.
The Stamps’ previous setback at home had come on Sept. 17, 2011, also against BC. That was followed by three straight victories at McMahon to close out the 2011 season and two in a row to kick off the 2012 campaign.
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One of the major differences in Saturday’s contest was the ground game as the Lions amassed 161 rushing yards while the Stamps were held to just 29.
“We didn’t play nearly well enough to compete with the BC Lions,” said Stamps head coach and general manager John Hufnagel. “The longer the game went on, the more we wore down and we weren’t able to establish anything on the ground offensively. It was a struggle all night long. Right now, we’re scrambling a little bit on the offensive line but that’s no excuse for the output we had tonight.
“Defensively, you need to contain Travis Lulay. We lost our poise and discipline and forgot about our pass-rush lanes. We weren’t able to do anything in any of the three phases (offence, defence or special teams) to turn the momentum. A large part of the game is momentum and we just weren’t able to do it.”
The first half was a defensive struggle with the only touchdown coming in the final minute of play. The major was scored by BC as Lulay — who finished the night with 315 passing yards and three touchdowns — connected with Akeem Foster on a 17-yard toss into the end-zone.
Until then, the scoring had consisted of field goals — 42 yards by Calgary’s Rene Paredes; 39 and 45 yards for BC’s Paul McCallum — and a safety conceded by the Lions.
Paredes’ second field goal of the night — a 35-yarder — allowed the Stamps to cut the Lions’ lead to 13-8 but the visitors replied with a 28-yard McCallum field goal and a five-yard touchdown reception by Harris to take a 23-8 lead after three quarters.
Harris added a 19-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter while McCallum booted a nine-yard field goal in the final minute.
The Stamps return to action on Thursday, Aug. 9 when they travel to Hamilton to make their final regular-season appearance at Ivor Wynne Stadium.