By Stampeders.com Staff

BC’s kick returner tried to rain on the Stampeders’ parade but Calgary recovered from a pair of Lions special-teams touchdowns to post a 35-23 victory on Friday night at McMahon Stadium.

Chris Rainey had a 103-yard kickoff return touchdown and a 103-yard punt return major to help the Lions erase an 18-6 halftime deficit and create a 21-21 tie with 12:31 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Calgary responded with a scoring drive on its next possession and never looked back on the way to improving to 9-3. The go-ahead score was set up by a 61-yard Nathan Slaughter punt return and featured receptions by Eric Rogers (20 yards) and Jon Cornish (11) before short-yardage quarterback Bryant Moniz ran the ball in from the one-yard line.

“We knew we had to do something to give ourselves a chance to win the game because obviously (the Lions) got the momentum,” said Stamps head coach and general manager John Hufnagel. “You have to find a way to answer, and we did.”

Cornish, making his return to the lineup after missing six games with a broken thumb, later added a 16-yard touchdown run to seal the Stamps’ seventh consecutive win at home.

The Stamps led 6-0 after one quarter thanks to field goals of 37 and 39 yards by Rene Paredes.

After BC’s Richie Leone cut Calgary’s lead in half with 25-yard field goal, the Stamps recorded the game’s first major on a 38-yard completion from Bo Levi Mitchell to Jeff Fuller.

Later in the second quarter, Freddie Bishop III had a sack/forced fumble against BC quarterback John Beck. Junior Turner returned the loose ball 46 yards to the BC eight-yard line.

It was one of six forced turnovers on the night for the Stamps, who recovered two fumbles and had three interceptions including two by Keon Raymond.

“It was a game where we were able to create a bunch of turnovers, which definitely helped us win this football game,” said Hufnagel.

On the very next play after the sack/forced fumble, Mitchell connected with Tory Harrison on an eight-yard pass and a touchdown.

Leone closed out the first-half scoring with a 25-yard field goal.

It was a milestone night for Rogers as the Stamps slotback recorded his fifth 100-yard receiving game of the season and became the first CFLer in 2015 to surpass the 1,000-yard milestone. Mitchell also hit a landmark as he surpassed 3,000 passing yards for the season.

The Stamps return to action on Friday when they travel to Winnipeg to face the Blue Bombers.