Lions' Stefan Logan, who is averaging 6.9 yards per carry this season, will replace Joe Smith for Friday's rematch against Edmonton. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

Should the B.C. Lions find themselves trailing Edmonton at halftime Friday night, perhaps head coach Wally Buono could summon injured slotback Geroy Simon to the locker room for a motivational chat with his teammates.

Last week in Edmonton, Eskimos slotback Jason Tucker — out for the season following neck surgery — made a pre-game visit to his teammates, who responded with 25 unanswered points in the second half for a 35-24 win over the Lions.

It marked the third time in six games this season that B.C. was outscored in the final 30 minutes.

"The fact there's enough leadership on the team to recognize that things need to be addressed is a positive," Buono told reporters ahead of Friday's rematch at BC Place Stadium (7:30 p.m. PT).

Buono expects his charges to pick up their game on home turf, where the Lions have won two of three contests this season.

"These guys over the years have responded and I expect them to again," said Buono of his veteran club. "If you were in orange last week would you not be embarrassed? I was … to have 25 points scored on you [in the second half] is embarrassing."

The Eskimos, on the other hand, never can be counted out of games these days. In their last four outings, they have scored 79 second-half points to the opposition's 47, including a 51-23 margin in the fourth quarter.

The 4-2 Eskimos played a complete game a week ago, racking up 463 total yards, limiting B.C. quarterback Jarious Jackson to 217 yards passing and seven times held Lions kick-returns to 14 yards or less.

Despite Tucker's absence, Edmonton pivot Ricky Ray connected with eight Eskimos, completing 23 of 30 passes for 392 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for two majors against the vaunted Lions defence.

'It's no fun losing'

The CFL's top offensive player this week, Ray is making Eskimos fans quickly forget about last year's 5-12-1 mark that resulted in a second consecutive fall without playoff football in Edmonton.

"[This season is] way more fun," said Ray, whose 1,953 passing yards are just 26 shy of Montreal's Anthony Calvillo for the league lead. "It's no fun losing. We play to win the game and when you're winning and you're successful out there it's a lot more fun."

A big reason for Ray's success in 2008 is the play of the offensive line, which has allowed 10 quarterback sacks, second only to Calgary's seven. The Eskimos yielded 52 takedowns a year ago.

"He's not black and blue, so I guess it's much better," head coach Danny Maciocia said of the protection Ray is seeing. "Ricky will always tell you [the offensive linemen] are his best friends [on the field]."

Edmonton's defence, which has given up 165 points in six games, no doubt ranks a close second. The unit gave Ray a chance to work his magic last week by holding Jackson to 42 yards through the air in the second half.

The Lions' signal-caller amassed 69 rushing yards and a touchdown and is likely to carry the ball more often this time around.

If not, look for rookie running back Stefan Logan, who brings an impressive 6.9-yard average per carry into Friday's tilt, to get an increased workload. He is replacing the struggling Joe Smith, last year's CFL rushing leader.

Logan won't have to contend with Edmonton defensive back Jordan Younger, who will miss a second straight game with an undisclosed injury.

Eskimos slotback Kamau Peterson could reach a milestone Friday as he sits 32 yards shy of 5,000 for his career.

The Lions have taken 10 of the previous 13 meetings between the teams at BC Place Stadium and five of the past six overall.