News

After coming off the bench to lead the Montreal Alouettes to a 33-32 win over the Calgary Stampeders, quarterback Marcus Brady dedicated the performance to Anthony Calvillo and his wife.

Earlier this week, Calvillo decided to take the rest of the season off to be with his wife, who was diagnosed with lymphoma on Thursday.

"We did this for Anthony and his wife, they are in our prayers," said Brady, who went 16-for-23 for 260 yards, one touchdown and one interception in relief of starting quarterback Jason Maas.

Montreal coach Jim Popp also wished Calvillo and his wife well.

"Our thoughts and our prayers are with Anthony and his wife," said Popp, who went into the game with the intention of playing both Maas and Brady. "Our plan was to play both Jason and Marcus. Marcus had the hot hand and we stayed with him."

Kerry Carter ran for one touchdown and caught another to pace the Alouettes' scoring attack.

"Every win is important and this is good to get momentum for the playoffs," Carter said. "Calgary does not lose here often. We played hard against a very good team. This is good win for us."

Avon Cobourne rushed for a TD, while Damon Duval kicked four field goals for the Alouettes (8-9-0), who halted a two-game losing streak.

"It is very important to play well on the road," Duval said. "We will be on the road the rest of the year."

Ryan Thelwell, Ken-Yon Rambo and Nik Lewis caught touchdown passes from quarterback Henry Burris for the Stampeders (7-9-1), while Sandro DeAngelis kicked three goals.

"Offensively we were up and down tonight," said Burris, who went 25-for-45 for 381 yards along with three interceptions to go with his three TD passes. "We had two many turnovers. I had the three picks and (there were) a couple fumbles there. Those are things that we have to get out of our system."

The Stamps started the game with an impressive seven-play, 93-yard drive which was capped off when Burris tossed a 24-yard touchdown strike to Thelwell. On the drive, Joffrey Reynolds made one catch for an eight-yard gain and ran the ball four times for 57 yards.

On Calgary's next two drives, Reynolds fumbled the ball resulting in a 24-yard field goal by Duval followed by an eight-play, 26-yard drive by the Alouettes culminating with a one-yard TD plunge by Carter.

After the Alouettes gave up a safety, Marcus Brady replaced Jason Maas at quarterback and immediately led Montreal on a seven-play, 98-yard drive. Cobourne capped off the drive with a six-yard touchdown run to put the Als up 17-9.

"I was told I would play," Brady said. "I had to stay warm as I knew I would be playing. I happened to have the hot hand."

The Stamps responded right back on their next drive as Burris tossed a 24-yard TD pass to Rambo to pull Calgary within a point.

Once again, the Alouettes answered back as Brady engineered a four-play, 68-yard scoring drive which ended when he hooked up with Carter for a 32-yard pass and run play into the end zone.

Following a 36-yard field goal by DeAngelis, Calgary's Shannon James picked off an errant pass by Brady to give the Stamps a chance to take the lead before the end of the half. After throwing three straight completions to get the Stamps deep into Montreal territory, Burris was picked off by Etienne Boulay in the end zone to end the threat.

In the third quarter Duval kicked a pair of field goals, while DeAngelis was good on a 17-yarder. Duval then booted another early in the fourth to put the Als up 33-22 before DeAngelis responded with his third field goal of the contest.

Burris then threw a 36-yard touchdown strike to Lewis to pull the Stamps to within a point of the Als late in the third quarter, but that was a close as they would get.

After the game, Calgary coach Tom Higgins was questioned as to why he didn't go for a two-point convert to tie the game after Lewis scored.

"We were going to get the football back a number of times," Higgins said. "We were going to get some other opportunities. When it's in the last three minutes, then we would have gone for two. Hindsight's 20-20. We had our opportunities. We didn't take advantage of them."

Notes: The announced attendance at McMahon Stadium was 29,247, but there were considerably less people in the stands. ... Fans in attendance were encouraged to lend a helping hand by bringing a jacket to the game to donate to the Annual Coat Drive for The Salvation Army. ... Offensive lineman Jay McNeil played in his final home game after 14 seasons with the Stampeders.