By Stampeders.com staff

Calgary gave up a touchdown on BC’s first drive of the night and nothing else the rest of the way as the Stampeders defeated the Lions 14-7 on Saturday at McMahon Stadium.

The Lions took the opening kickoff and marched the ball 77 yards, culminating with a two-yard touchdown run by John Beck. BC managed just 164 offensive yards the rest of the way as the Stamps improved to 11-2 and took a four-point lead over Saskatchewan and Edmonton at the top of the West Division.

 “They gave up the one in the first series,” said Stampeders head coach and general manager John Hufnagel, “but after that, (the defence) played solid football. Good tackling and they made it a second-and-long game for them. That’s hard to do against any defence.”

Calgary is now 27-6-1 the week after a loss since Hufnagel came to Calgary in 2008.

Back in the lineup after a one-week absence, Stampeders running back Jon Cornish rushed for 156 yards. It was his fourth consecutive 100-yard game and his third game this season with at least 150 yards.

Despite playing in just six of the Stamps’ 13 games this season, Cornish has 743 yards and trails Brandon Whitaker by just 21 yards for the CFL rushing lead.

Rene Paredes took care of most of the scoring for the Stampeders as he booted four field goals. He connected from 24, 35, 43 and 30 yards.

Three of the field goals came in the second half as the Stamps overcame a 7-3 halftime deficit.

Calgary’s other points came five minutes into the third quarter when BC punter Ricky Schmitt opted to concede a safety.

Saturday’s game marked the third time this season the Stamps have held an opponent to seven points. Calgary owns the stingiest defence in the CFL with an average of just 18.4 points allowed per contest.

Calgary quarterback Drew Tate threw for 162 yards and did not throw any interceptions as he won for the sixth time in as many career starts at McMahon Stadium.

“A winning performance,” said Hufnagel. “He managed the game well, he saw the field well, he managed it well and he made some big plays for us.”

The Stamps defence allowed BC completions on just 16 of 29 passes and Brandon Smith and Keon Raymond each had an interception.

Calgary had two sacks including the first of rookie defensive lineman Quinn Smith’s CFL career.

In addition to Paredes’ field goals, the Calgary special-teams unit had a strong return game. Jock Sanders had 156 return yards before being sidelined by an injury. Brad Sinopoli then took over and returned the first three punts of his career — at any level — for 41 yards.

The Stamps’ next action comes on Friday as the Red and White travel to Regina to face the Roughriders. Kickoff is at 8 p.m.