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Calvillo caps Montreal's comeback win over Stampeders

Jul 13, 2012 - 4:10 AM Montreal, QC (Sports Network) - Anthony Calvillo battled through a badly bruised throwing shoulder on Thursday and led Montreal to a thrilling 33-32 victory over Calgary at Molson Stadium.

Calvillo, who underwent an MRI on Monday for a shoulder injury suffered against Winnipeg last Friday, threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner with under a minute remaining.

The Stampeders had possession and a five-point lead, but Jerald Brown came up with an interception and returned it all the way down to the Calgary one-yard line. He was stripped on the play, but Kyries Hebert alertly jumped on the ball to put Montreal in prime position to jump in front.

"I made the play that we needed," remarked Brown of his interception. "That's the biggest play for me for the 2012 season so far."

After a pair of unsuccessful runs, Calvillo found Patrick Lavoie in the front of the end zone to put the home team in front.

Calgary (1-2) had one final opportunity as Kevin Glenn found Nik Lewis for five yards to near midfield, but time expired before Lewis could get down and the Alouettes (2-1) escaped with the victory.

Calvillo completed 23-of-38 passes. Brandon London registered five catches for 106 yards, while Brian Bratton added four catches for 94 yards and a touchdown to help Montreal avenge a June 1 loss to the Stampeders.

With starting quarterback Drew Tate sidelined with a shoulder injury of his own, the veteran Glenn and rookie Bo Levi Mitchell combined to lead the way for Calgary. Glenn went 26-of-36 for 267 yards and was picked off once, while Mitchell recorded a pair of one-yard touchdown runs for his first two majors of his CFL career.

Mitchell's second one-yard score gave Calgary a 25-13 lead early in the fourth quarter, but Montreal responded on its next drive as Calvillo completed a huge 3rd-and-5 with a seven-yard pass to Jamel Richardson before backup quarterback Adrian McPherson finished things off with a one-yard run around the right side to cut the deficit to 25-19.

Calgary answered promptly on Jon Cornish's five-yard scamper with less than three minutes to play to extend the lead to 32-20.

The Alouettes would not go quietly however, as Calvillo led his squad the length of the field before firing a seven-yard strike to S.J. Green to bring the Stampeders back within five with just under two minutes left.

Montreal elected to kick it deep and the decision paid off as Brown jumped a pass from Glenn and took it the other way to set up the go-ahead score.

"We had a 12-point lead with very little time left but in the CFL, it was enough time to lose it," admitted Calgary head coach John Hufnagel. "We made a big mistake to give them the lead. We threw it to the wrong team."

Earlier in the game, Calgary took the lead in the first quarter on a single and a conceded safety before the Alouettes responded with a 69-yard touchdown pass.

Calvillo fired a strike to Bratton, who made a diving catch in the middle of the field. He rolled to the ground, but wasn't touch by any Calgary defenders before popping back up and scampering to the end zone to give the Alouettes a 7-3 edge.

Sean Whyte then buried back-to-back field goals around a quick two-and-out from Calgary to extend the Montreal lead to 13-3.

Whyte conceded his second safety of the day a bit later before Rene Paredes knocked down a 46-yarder to bring the visitors within 13-8 heading into the locker room.

Mitchell registered his first CFL major on a one-yard run in the third to give Calgary a 15-13 lead and an 18-yard field goal from Paredes on Calgary's next drive provided the Stampeders with an 18-13 advantage going into the fourth.

Game Notes

Calgary had won three in a row and four of the last five matchups overall...Glenn spent the last three seasons as quarterback for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before being shipped to Calgary in the Henry Burris trade...Calgary defeated Montreal 38-10 at home to open the season.