Bill Beacon, THE CANADIAN PRESS

MONTREAL - In a battle of the CFL's top two offensive clubs, it was the Calgary Stampeders defence that came out on top.

Joffrey Reynolds and Ken-Yon Rambo scored touchdowns and Sandro DeAngelis went 3-for-4 on field goals as the Stampeders held Montreal to only two points in the second half of a 23-19 victory over the Alouettes on Thursday night.

"It was unbelievable, especially after being down 17-7 at the half," said Calgary defensive lineman Mike Labinjo.

Quarterback Henry Burris excelled with his arm and his feet on some long scrambles, leading his team with 77 rushing yards, as Calgary (2-1) got a rare road win. The Stampeders had been 2-12 in their previous 14 road games.

Jamel Richardson had the only TD for Montreal, with the rest coming from three field goals and a pair of punt singles from Damon Duval.

The Alouettes fell to 2-1 as they suffered their first loss under head coach Marc Trestman, whose quick-strike attack had overwhelmed Hamilton and Winnipeg in their previous two games.

"I thought that if we held Calgary to 23 points we would have a good night," said Trestman. "We held their running back (Reynolds) pretty well, but Burris is a dangerous guy running and throwing the ball. He did a great job.

"I don't think we were going all systems go. We had plays where we didn't convert. They did a lot of things we'd seen before, but they did them with great effort."

Before the game, it was a toss-up whether they would run up a big score or whether defensive co-ordinators Chris Jones of Calgary and Tim Burke of Montreal, who switched teams in the off-season, would shut one another down.

It was Jones' blitzing line that had the upper hand from late in the first half, while Montreal struggled to contain Burris out of the pocket and Reynolds' sweeps to the outside, although they made Calgary work for every point.

At 20-18 going into the final 15 minutes, only Duval's second single of the game went up on the board until DeAngelis hit from 40 yards with 12 seconds left to play.

"I thought it would be a defensive battle, but I didn't think 20 points would be enough to win," said Calgary coach John Hufnagel.

"It's all about playing your hardest," added rush end Charleston Hughes. "It's who wanted it on this day.

"As a defensive line, we play hard to try to get to the quarterback. That's how you have success."

Charleston Hughes and Eddie Freeman were in on the hit five minutes into the second half that left Calvillo with a dislocated small finger on his left (non-throwing) hand. Brad Banks took over briefly, but Calvillo was able to return for the next series

"I was able to come back," said Calvillo, adding that it did not affect is game. "We have to give credit to Calgary.

"They had a good defensive game plan, but I was disappointed with a couple of throws I made to Richardson (in the second half) that could have changed the game."

Burris was good on 26 of 35 passes for 284 yards, while Calvillo went 21-for-35 for 341 yards, including six to Kerry Watkins for 128 yards. But Calgary out-rushed Montreal 153-25. Montreal tailback Avon Cobourne was held to only 23 yards on five carries.

And after dominating time of possession in their first two games, the Alouettes had the ball nearly 10 minutes less than Calgary.

The first half saw each team score only one touchdown and the rest came from the kickers.

Montreal built an 11-0 lead by the 14:25 mark as Duval kicked a field goal and missed wide on another, and then Calvillo hit Richardson with a 67-yard touchdown strike down the middle.

The Stampeders answered back with a seven-play drive highlighted by Burris' 38-yard keep and capped by Reynolds' eight-yard TD around the left side 2:43 into the second quarter.

The Alouettes were forced to settle for two more field goals before a late Calgary drive led to DeAngelis' 25-yard effort as time expired in the half.

Calgary tied it 17-17 on their first possession of the second half as Burris found Rambo alone at the back of the end zone at 3:29.

Montreal got a point on a punt and then DeAngelis hit a 32-yard field goal at 9:33 to put the Stamps ahead 20-18 - the first time this season the Alouettes trailed in a game.

A 50-yard DeAngelis attempt fell short in the fourth quarter - his first missed field goal in 20 career attempts against Montreal - but then made good from 40 on his fourth attempt of the night.

Notes: Flamboyant boxing promoter Don King, in town for the Joachim Alcine-Daniel Santos WBA title fight on Friday night, attended the game as a guest of Alouettes owner Bob Wetenhall . . . A moment of silence was held for B.C. Lions president Bob Ackles, who died Sunday of a heart attack . . . The Alouettes drew their 80th straight sell-out of 20,202 at Percival Molson Stadium.