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Mitchell, Stampeders beat Lions to widen West lead

Todd Korol / Reuters

Bo Levi Mitchell and the Calgary Stampeders dominated the B.C. Lions during a 37-9 road win on Friday.

A battle for the West Division lead never materialized. Calgary (6-1-1) clinched their season series against B.C. (5-3) while leaving no doubt about who is the CFL's top team. Mitchell patiently picked apart the Lions defence. The Stampeders shut down Lions QB Jonathon Jennings, who was unable to manufacture a touchdown drive before being relieved by veteran backup Travis Lulay with 11:43 remaining at BC Place.

On July 29, the Stampeders rallied from a late two-touchdown deficit to defeat the Lions 44-41 in overtime. That night, the Lions gave up two long scoring strikes to speedster Greg Wilson. Evidently set on not letting that re-occur, the Lions gave a big cushion to the Calgary receivers on Friday. Mitchell took advantage by going 28-of-38 for 340 yards with two touchdowns, and the efficient Stampeders did not allow an interception or a sack.

Jennings, who was under pressure more often than not, was only 10-of-22 for 153 yards. The Lions netted only 241 yards and had only three first downs in the final 30 minutes.

Mitchell, who leads the league with 14 TD passes, threw down a gauntlet with a 69-yard drive on the opening possession for an 8-0 lead. National wide receiver Anthony Parker hauled in a 33-yard reception on the game's first play, while Bakari Grant hauled in a 21-yard touchdown.

Late in the first half, the Lions drove to Calgary's 25 with a chance to cut into a 17-6 deficit in the final minute of the first half. Stampeders linebacker Alex Singleton made a great read to stop speedster Chris Rainey for a six-yard loss on a swing pass. The Lions wound up kicking a field goal.

Rainey fumbled the third-quarter kickoff and Ben D'Aguilar recovered on the Lions' 21-yard line. Calgary scored two plays later.

Parker made five receptions for 97 yards for Calgary, while Grant and fullback Rob Cote each caught TD passes. Jerome Messam, the CFL's second-leading rusher, tallied 66 yards and a TD on the ground. Third-string QB Andrew Buckley chipped in with a one-yard TD rush. Rene Paredes was 2-of-2 on field goals, running his streak of successful kicks to 22.

Lions receiving leader Emmanuel Arceneaux was limited two receptions for 27 yards. Richie Leone was 3-of-4 on field goals.

On the opening kickoff, Lions linebacker Jason Arakgi brought down Calgary returner Tory Harrison. The stop was Arakgi's 185th career special teams tackle, setting a CFL career record.

The Lions have a short week before beginning a two-game Ontario trek where they face the Ottawa RedBlacks (4-3-1) on Aug. 25 and Toronto Argonauts on Aug. 31. The Stampeders begin a run of five consecutive games in Alberta when they host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 28.

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