By Max Campbell
Stampeders.com

As the Stamps get ready to take on the Lions in a post-season affair, the Red and White certainly have history on their side.

Saturday’s Western Semi-Final marks the 12th playoff matchup between the two franchises and their sixth matchup when battling for the right to face the division’s first-place finisher.

Calgary holds an unblemished 5-0 mark against BC in Western Semi-Finals dating back to 1969 – with all of those games coming on home turf – and a 3-3 record against the Leos in the Western Final. The rivals first met in the playoffs in 1964, in a three-game series claimed by the Lions after three hard-fought encounters.

In five days’ time, McMahon Stadium will be the site of their 2015 clash, a venue in which the Stampeders have won six post-season games against the Lions and lost just three. Perhaps fate has played a factor as well, as Calgary’s last two playoff contests against BC have led to eventual Grey Cup appearances and their most recent Semi-Final matchup in 2001 preceded the Stamps’ fifth league championship.

And rather than patrolling the Stamps sideline as he was on that occasion, Wally Buono will be attending this weekend’s game in a much different capacity, as he now holds the title of BC’s general manager and vice-president of football operations. Buono switched allegiances after the 2002 season.

Fourteen years ago, the Stampeders were only the second CFL team to win the Grey Cup after sporting a losing record in the regular season, something the Lions will attempt to accomplish this time around. Also of note is that the 2001 Western Final took place at Commonwealth Stadium, the home of the Eskimos, where this year’s divisional crown will be awarded once again.

Head coach John Hufnagel’s very first playoff win came during his inaugural campaign in 2008 against none other than the orange-clad Lions, which happened to fall on Nov. 15. This year’s Calgary-BC showdown happens exactly seven years later.

In the 2008 game, touchdowns from current RedBlack Henry Burris and the since-retired Ken-Yon Rambo resulted in a 22-18 Western Final victory, and that performance would precede a six-point triumph over the Montreal Alouettes in the 96th Grey Cup.

Next up in terms of post-season meetings involving the Stamps and Lions was the 2012 Western Final, this time from BC Place. Both Marquay McDaniel and now-Ottawa wideout Maurice Price recorded over 100 receiving yards and a touchdown apiece. Keon Raymond and Corey Mace registered quarterback sacks on Travis Lulay en route to a 34-29 win, although Calgary’s championship aspirations were denied by the Argos the following week.

A trio of consecutive playoff victories for the Stampeders over the Lions and three straight post-season losses overall by BC may be promising statistics for Calgary supporters. But in order to advance and earn a shot at the Esks, the Stamps must continue to reign over their costal opponents.