Calgary Stampeders outlast B.C. Lions; Jon Cornish, Solomon Elimimian take rivalry up a notch, while Andrew Harris goes down

While Jon Cornish returning from a one-game absence dominated the pregame talk, the comeback was equally integral to the Calgary Stampeders beating the B.C. Lions 14-7 came on the other side of the ball.

The marquee matchup at McMahon Stadium, the game within the game, was between Cornish and Lions linebacker Solomon Elimimian, whom strange as it might seem regarding the league's leading rusher and leading tackler, do not like each other as much. (In fact, TSN cameras caught Eliminian shouting at Cornish before going a pre-second half interview.) Arguably, Cornish (20 carries, 156 yards) and Calgary's offensive line, reinforced by the return of Canadian right guard Brander Craighead, came out ahead in that matchup. Cornish broke 40- and 43-yard runs in the second half after Elimimian's stunting blitzes left big running holes. Each long gainer set up field goals that helped the league-leading Stampeders (11-2) slowly but surely pull away in the West Division race, as it opened a two-game lead over Edmonton and Saskatchewan (each 9-4).

Elimimian finished with 10 tackles, bringing him to 108 on the season. He's well within J.C. Sherritt's single-season record of 130.

The Stampeders defence, though, was as a big story. With Calgary coming off a string of three consecutive games where it had allowed 30-plus points, there might have been a sense of deja vu when Kevin Glenn and the Lions scored a touchdown on their opening drive.

Over the final 55 minutes, though, the Stampeders defence hit all of its marks while blanking the Lions (7-6). Linebackers Juwan Simpson and Deron Mayo had an excellent night tracking Andrew Harris (12 rushes for 76 yards, six catches for 29) and the Lions receivers.

Harris left the game game after sustaining an apparent right leg injury with five minutes to play. Meantime, Glenn (14-of-25 for 118 yards with two interceptions) was consistently forced to look for receivers other than Emmanuel Arceneaux (three receptions for 39), who was blanked in the second half. Keon Raymond, who was covering Arceneaux for much of the night, sealed the win with a pick with just more than a minute to play.

Calgary also got two drive-killing sacks from national defensive linemen Quinn Smith and Junior Turner in the second half.

The upshot for the Stampeders is despite not scoring a touchdown, they still have not lost two games in a row since July 12, 2012, a span of a 2 1/2 seasons. Quarterback Drew Tate (12-of-23 for 151) had at least three clear overthrows on deep balls, including one on a post route to Brad Sinopoli that could have been a game-breaking touchdown. Kicker Rene Paredes ended up 4-for-6 on field goals on the night, missing from 51 and 45 yards.

For B.C., it's essentially a double loss. The Lions not only have an injury concern with Harris, but are also staring at being the crossover team for the playoffs.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.