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Lions down Eskimos, clinch Grey Cup berth

Nov 21, 2011 - 7:09 AM Vancouver, BC (Sports Network) - Travis Lulay passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, and British Columbia moved into the Grey Cup with a 40-23 victory over Edmonton in the West Division championship game.

Lulay completed 20-of-27 passes for 293 yards for the Lions, who will face Winnipeg in the CFL title game next Sunday. The Blue Bombers won the East Division earlier Sunday with a 19-3 defeat of Hamilton.

British Columbia earned its first Grey Cup berth since 2006, when it beat Montreal in Winnipeg. The Lions will have home field advantage this time, with the contest set to be played at BC Place.

Paul McCallum made 4-of-4 field goals in the victory, while Andrew Harris ran for a score.

Edmonton quarterback Ricky Ray passed for 260 yards and two scores, but was intercepted three times. The Eskimos, who defeated Calgary in last weekend's division semifinals, haven't appeared in a Grey Cup since 2005.

McCallum kicked field goals of 31 and 42 yards to give BC a 6-0 edge after the first quarter. While Edmonton's Derek Schiavone booted a 41-yarder on the first play of the second quarter, the Lions started to pour on the points later in the period.

Lulay hooked up with Geroy Simon for a 53-yard touchdown with a little more than five minutes remaining, and Korey Banks intercepted Ray two plays into Edmonton's next drive.

That set the Lions up at the Eskimos' 10-yard line, and after Tim Brown was dropped for a four-yard loss, Lulay hit Harris with a TD pass.

McCallum kicked two more field goals -- of 44 and 17 yards -- inside the final minute to put BC ahead 26-3 at the break.

Edmonton, held out of the end zone until the fourth, never caught up. It got two field goals from Schiavone in the third, but Harris' 13-yard run had BC up 33-9 moving into the final quarter.

Lulay followed Ray's 31-yard TD pass to Jason Barnes with a 61-yard scoring run. Ray then found Fred Stamps for a 19-yard touchdown, but it came with four minutes to go.

Game Notes

Lulay's 61-yard run set a team record for longest rush in a playoff game...Ray completed 20-of-39 passes, while Hugh Charles led the Esks with 53 rushing yards.