The Calgary Stampeders twice rallied from deficits and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 55 seconds to play Saturday at McMahon Stadium in a 38-31 Canadian Football League victory over the two-time defending-Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes.

The Stamps snapped a 31-31 tie when Henry Burris immediately capitalized on Calgary defensive back Keon Raymond’s late interception of Anthony Calvillo by recording a six-yard rushing major.

Burris also threw for 422 yards to pass the 40,000-yard milestone in his career. With the win, the Stamps improve to 6-2 and take a two-point lead over the Edmonton Eskimos in the West Division.

“It was a good win, there’s no question about it,” said Stampeders head coach and general manager John Hufnagel. “I’m thrilled that we won the football game; I’m not quite pleased with the way we played the game but we did play hard for 60 minutes and we were able to win a close game against a good football team.”

Johnny Forzani, playing with a heavy heart this week because of the accidental death of a friend, was one of three Stamps receivers to hit the 100-yard mark on the game and he scored his first two CFL touchdowns.

“He had a terrific day,” said Hufngel. “He’s getting better and it’s good to see.”

Nik Lewis and Ken-Yon Rambo also had 100-yard receiving games for the Stamps, who have now won four in a row.

After Sean Whyte’s third field goal of the game had given the Alouettes a 24-21 lead in the fourth quarter, the Stamps surged back ahead thanks to Forzani’s second touchdown of the day. The second score covered 37 yards and came just one play after an apparent Forzani touchdown had been negated by an illegal block penalty.

Rene Paredes’ 46-yard goal padded the Stamps’ lead to seven points but Brandon Whitaker’s touchdown catch with 2:08 to play in the fourth quarter allowed Montreal to tie the game 31-31.

Montreal took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to a 37-yard Whyte field on the Alouettes’ first drive and a 16-yard touchdown reception by Jamel Richardson. The major came one play after the Alouettes’ Mark Estelle recovered a Joffrey Reynolds fumble near midfield and returned it to the Calgary 17.

Calgary’s only scoring in the opening quarter came as the result of Burke Dales’ 81-yard punt single.

Montreal got a punt single of its own at the start of the second quarter before the Stampeders recorded a major. A 29-yard completion to Jabari Arthur was followed by completions of 22 and 15 yards to Forzani for the touchdown.

After having a drive halted by a fumble at the Calgary 10, the Alouettes got a second chance and this time made no mistake as Calvillo and Richardson hooked up for a second touchdown on the afternoon.

Calgary closed out the first-half scoring in the final minute as Paredes kicked a 17-yard field goal to cut the gap to 18-11.

The Stamps scored the first 10 points of the second half to take their first lead of the afternoon. First, it was Paredes nailing a 35-yard field goal.

Then, a 25-yard reception by Arthur and a 29-yard grab by Nik Lewis set the stage for Burris’ 11-yard touchdown pass to Rambo.

Late in the third quarter, Whyte kicked a 43-yard field goal for the visitors to even the score at 21-21.

The Stamps will be back at McMahon on Monday, Sept. 5 for the annual Labour Day Classic grudge match against the Eskimos. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m.

INDIVIDUAL STATS

PASSING
Cgy: Burris 26-42-422-3-0; Mtl: Calvillo 28-49-369-3-1

RUSHING
Cgy: Burris 3-29-1, Cornish 3-19, Reynolds 3-11, Tate 2-3; Mtl: Whitaker 9-48, Calvillo 1-15, McPherson 1-1

RECEIVING
Cgy: Lewis 7-121, Rambo 5-111-1, Forzani 6-102-2, Arthur 3-60, Bryant 2-14, Reynolds 2-12, Cornish 1-3; Mtl: Richardson 8-136-2, Bratton 5-61, Green 4-52, Whitaker 5-48-1, Watkins 3-42, Deslauriers 1-20, London 1-7, Carter 1-3

NOTABLES
Cgy: Paredes 3/3 FG 4/4 XP 13 PTS, Jackson 4 TKL 1 FR, Raymond 2 TKL 1 INT, Scott 3 TKL 2 STT, Isaac 4 TKL 1 KD, McCune 3 TKL 1 STT 1 KD; Mtl: Whyte 3/3 FG 3/3 XP 12 PTS, Cox 7 TKL 1 STT, Anderson 6 TKL 1 KD, Estelle 2 TKL 1 FR

More coverage

>> Locker-Room Blog: Johnny Forzani
>> Locker-Room Blog: Nik Lewis
>> Video: Locker-room reaction
>> Video: Game balls
>> Audio: John Hufnagel’s post-game press conference
>> Photo gallery
>> Updated standings
>> Team stats