LIONS FALL TO STAMPEDERS ON FRIDAY NIGHT

VANCOUVER - The Calgary Stampeders finally shed their B.C. Place jinx with their first win in Vancouver after seven straight losses Friday night.

Quarterback Henry Burris fired a five-yard touchdown pass to Brett Ralph late in the fourth quarter as the Stampeders beat the B.C. Lions 36-29.

The game-winning drive ended with 2:46 remaining and was kept alive by a Korey Banks pass interference call on Stampeder receiver Ken-Yon Rambo.

The Stamps improved to 5-3 and moved into a second-place tie with the Edmonton Eskimos in the competitive West Division, two points behind the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The Lions, who dropped their season opener 28-18 to the Stampeders, lost for the second time in three games and slipped to 4-4 and last in the West.

B.C. tied the game 29-29 with 6:27 remaining as quarterback Buck Pierce came off the bench to orchestrate an eight-play, 75-yard drive. It ended with a three-yard reception by Jason Clermont who had earlier made a key 21-yard reception. Pierce then passed to Stefan Logan for a two-point convert.

They also got some second-half life from Banks, who picked off a Burris aerial and returned it 40 yards to give the Lions an 18-16 lead.

Nik Lewis made a leaping catch over Lion defender Reggie Myles for Burris's first TD toss of the game and a 26-18 lead.

Joffrey Reynolds, who had his third 100-yard game this season, scored the first Calgary major with a 45-yard burst up the middle on the Stampeders' first series.

Calgary kicker Sandro DeAngelis converted all three and was good on all five of his field goals, the longest from 36 yards.

Banks, a high-risk, high-reward defender who was burned for three TD catches in a win over Edmonton earlier this month, also has a 27-yard interception return for a major this season.

Rolly Lumbala plunged over for the Lions' other touchdown while Paul McCallum booted two field goals, two converts and a single.

Most of the first-half scoring occurred on the first two drives of the game.

The Stampeders were ahead 7-0 with only a minute gone two plays after the opening kickoff.

Ryan Thelwell caught a sideline pass from Burris for 31 yards and Reynolds rambled his 45 yards for the TD on the next snap. Only B.C. safety Barron Miles had a shot at Reynolds but couldn't bring him down.

While Calgary made quick work of their first possession, the Lions were more methodical for their first major score.

Jarious Jackson engineered a 14-play, 78-yard drive that ended with Lumbala plunging over from the one-yard line. There were only two passing plays in the drive.

Defences tightened from there as the rest of the first-half scoring was limited to field goals and a Paul McCallum single.

Calgary, starting three rookies in the offensive line had only allowed seven sacks all season but the Lions got to Burris three times in the first half.

Penalties and an inability to move the ball cost the Lions field position in the second half and Jackson gave way to Pierce for the second game in a row late in the third quarter.

NOTES: Calgary lost twice to B.C. in Vancouver last season but were without Burris in both games ... Burris has thrown more TD passes than any other CFL quarterback since he rejoined the Stamps in 2005 ... Left tackles Ben Archibald of Calgary and Rob Murphy of the Lions have fathered triplets ... Running back Terrence Whitehead was added to the B.C. practice roster this week ... He has been getting more practice reps than Joe Smith, last year's CFL rushing leader, who was a healthy scratch Friday.