Red-hot quarterback Henry Burris is riding tall in the saddle for the Calgary Stampeders.

Burris fired four touchdown passes to lift the Stampeders to a 35-24 victory over the visiting Edmonton Eskimos in the annual Labour Day Classic before a capacity crowd of 35,650 at McMahon Stadium on Monday.

Joffrey Reynolds leaps over A.J. Gass in Monday's 35-24 Stampeders win.
(Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press)

Burris has had a hand in 10 touchdowns the past two games, having thrown for three and run for three more in a 45-45 tie with the British Columbia Lions on Aug. 17.

He now leads the CFL with 17 TD passes, after completing 23-of-33 pass attempts for 382 yards and four touchdowns against the
Eskimos.

"We were able to come out the first few drives in the third quarter and really take advantage of their mishaps," Burris said.

Ken-Yon Rambo and Ryan Thelwell hauled in two TD passes apiece, as the Stampeders (4-4-1) moved into sole possession of third place in the CFL West Division.  

Trevor Gaylor had a 28-yard TD catch in a losing cause for the Eskimos (3-5-1), who occupy the division basement.

"We have to keep finding a way to be more consistent," said Eskimos quarterback Ricky Ray, who was 20 of 26 for 270 yards and a touchdown.

Edmonton led 21-15 at halftime, but Calgary scored 14 unanswered points in the third quarter to grab the lead for good.

Burris fired a 14-yard TD to Rambo 4:19 into the second half to put the Stampeders ahead 22-21, and combined with Thelwell on a 58-yard TD strike at the 7:59 mark.

"We had a rough time defending the pass," Eskimos head coach Danny Maciocia said.

Thelwell, who entered the contest with 14 receptions for 172 yards, finished with seven catches for a career-high 199 yards.

"He was saving it for Labour Day," Stampeders head coach Tom Higgins said. "It was really nice to see."

"We knew what he was capable of," Burris noted. "It was all about just getting the confidence, just getting the ball to him."

Stampeders placekicker Sandro DeAngelis sandwiched fourth-quarter field goals of 32 and 30 yards around a 48-yarder from Sean Fleming to complete the scoring. 

Early TD run by Ebell

Edmonton opened the scoring 4:38 into the contest on a 21-yard TD run by tailback Tyler Ebell.

The Eskimos went ahead 8-0 on Fleming's 60-yard single less than four minutes later, but Calgary cut the deficit to one point on Thelwell's 8-yard TD catch with 1:24 left in the first quarter.

Edmonton responded with 10 points early in the second quarter on Ricky Ray's 28-yard TD toss to Gaylor at 2:23, and Fleming's 42-yard field goal at 4:09.

But trailing 18-8, Burris scrambled for two long gains to set up a nine-yard TD toss to Rambo with 2:08 left to intermission.

Fleming caught a break when he was roughed up by Stampeders defensive back Brandon Browner following a missed field goal with nine seconds remaining.

Browner's penalty kept the drive alive, and Fleming split the uprights to make it 21-15 at the break.

Ray, the league's passing leader with 2,301 yards through nine weeks, hooked up with T.J. Acree on what would have gone for a 61-yard TD had Browner not chased Acree down and knocked away the ball, which was recovered in the end zone by defensive back Dwaine Carpenter.

"We could not get anything going in the second half," Ray said.
 
Calgary's suspect defence entered the showdown ranking last in the CFL in touchdowns conceded (29) and average points allowed (32.0), but held firm the rest of the way.

The provincial rivalry resumes Friday at Commonwealth Stadium (7 p.m. MT).

With files from the Canadian Press