The Calgary Stampeders will be battling for a berth in the 100th Grey Cup on Sunday when they face the BC Lions in the West Division final. Kickoff at Vancouver’s BC Place is 2:30 p.m. MST.
Fans can catch all the action on the 17-foot TV wall at the Stamps’ official Calgary headquarters for road games — Shark Club Deerfoot Meadows.
This is the Stamps’ fourth participation in the West final in the five years head coach and general manager John Hufnagel has been at the helm.
It’s the 11th time Calgary is facing BC in the post-season. The most recent meeting came in the 2008 final as the Stamps beat the Lions 22-18 en route to their sixth Grey Cup title. Overall, Calgary has won seven of the 10 previous playoff matchups with the Lions.
The Red and White, who were 12-6 during the regular season, advanced to the West Division final with a 36-30 home-field victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the semifinal. BC earned a bye to the division championship contest by finishing first in the West with a 13-5 regular-season record.
The Stamps and Lions met three times during the 2012 regular season and BC’s 2-1 advantage in the season series was the difference between first place and second place for the rivals.
The teams split the two games played at McMahon Stadium — the Lions won 34-8 on July 28 while the Stamps prevailed 41-21 on Oct. 26 — while BC was a 27-22 winner on Oct. 6 in Vancouver.
After their July 28 meeting, both teams finished the regular season by winning 10 of their final 13 games.
Sunday’s contest is a battle of strength against strength as Calgary scored a division-leading 535 points during the regular season while the Lions allowed a league-low 354 points.