CFL 'Quick Kicks' 2025: Week 1

By Chris Lawton

The CFL is back and into actual on-field regular season action. Welcome to week one of our weekly review of each week of the 2025 CFL season. ‘Quick Kicks’ brings you week to week news of how the games went, scores, surprises, and a general feel of ‘what we learned’ from the games.

Let’s dive right in. The first game of the weekend saw the season kick off in Regina as the Ottawa RedBlacks visited the Saskatchewan Roughriders. It was the first time a CFL season has kicked off in Saskatchewan since 2010 and it was the home team who sent their fans home happy with a 31-26 win. This is the fifth consecutive season opening win for the Riders. A little nugget to add here, the last time the RedBlacks won in Saskatchewan was all the way back in September 2018. Why mention that now? Because, ironically, Ottawa’s starter that day was the Riders’ own Trevor Harris.

The visitors started well. First driving down the field to a touchdown and a 7-0 lead then forcing a turnover. However, Lewis Ward pushed a field goal attempt wide and ‘Super’ Mario Alford brought off a big return to reignite the Roughriders. A touchdown from near the goal line saw an immediate return on investment from backup QB Tommy Stevens. Saskatchewan brought him in from Calgary specifically because of how good he is in short yardage situations, and he showed that, plunging over the goal line. At halftime it was 17-7 to the Roughriders.

Despite having three key starters out at halftime, Saskatchewan mirrored Ottawa by driving downfield to score to start the second half and move to 24-7. Then Ottawa got it going as Dru Brown threw a TD to Geno Lewis. That makes the 9th consecutive game in which Lewis has scored a touchdown – tied for the second-best streak in CFL history. One more and he will equal the record.

Saskatchewan answered right back as another Alford return saw them start with great field position and they marched in for another major to make it 31-14. William Hardy would run in a score in his Ottawa debut and Dru Brown would hit Justin Hardy to make it 31-26 and they got the ball back a couple of times with a chance, but the Rider’s D stood firm to see it out.

There were some outstanding performers in the game. For the visitors’ Dru Brown went 34 of 41 for 413 yards and 2 touchdowns, whilst Justin Hardy had 8 catches on 10 targets for 133 yards and a touchdown and Bralon Addison 8 catches for 112 yards. On Defence for the RedBlacks Adarius Pickett had 6 tackles and a fumble recovery while Adrian Frye had 5 tackles 2 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

For Saskatchewan Trevor Harris had 19 completions on 26 attempts for 277 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. The best day on Offence for the men in green and white came from receiver Samuel Emilus who had 8 catches on 8 targets for 133 yards and a touchdown. Mention should go to Thomas Bertrand-Houdon who, with starter AJ Ouellette out at halftime, ultimately chipped in 14 carried for 57 yards and 2 touchdowns as well as 2 receptions covering 17 yards also.    Defensively Jameer Thurman was the standout performer with 10 tackles and a key sack late in the game. Malik Carney added another 2 sacks to that. On Special Teams Mario Alford had 5 punt returns for 45 yards and 4 kickoff returns for 112 yards but most importantly twice provided a spark to get things moving.

The second game of the weekend was in Montreal where the defending 2024 Grey Cup Champions the Toronto Argonauts faced the 2023 champion the Montreal Alouettes. It was the Als who scored a convincing 28-10 victory here to get some measure of revenge for their defeat in the 2024 Eastern Final. Toronto were looking for their 100th ever win against the Als but now they will have to wait until week 7 to try for that again. By then we will have a much better feel for who these teams are, but for right now we can say that Montreal dominated the Argos.

The Als are officially Davis Alexander’s team now. In his first season as a full-time starter, he looked sharp early although the opening drive stalled, and Montreal had to settle for a field goal attempt. That was pushed wide and the Als took the rouge. You just know an ardent fan of the 3 Down game somewhere was shouting ‘Roooouuuge!” as the scoreboard showed 1-0.  

That first drive had seen a shot to the end zone for Tyson Philpot not quite come off. After a quick Toronto drive, Montreal drove downfield and went right back there as Alexander hit Philpot from 25 yards out and the score moved to 8-0. A couple of drives were exchanged, and whilst Grey Cup MVP Nick Arbuckle had started well, he was sacked and picked off in those exchanges as the Montreal D served notice. Even so Toronto scored next to make it 8-3. But that D that had served notice came to cash in. The D-line got to Arbuckle who coughed up the ball and it was scooped and run in by Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund to give Montreal a 15-3 lead at the half.

As the game progressed, Alexander scrambling to find a receiver or extending a drive with a run looked a little like former Montreal starter Cody Fajardo at times. He led them down the field again in the third and Caleb Evans came on much as Tommy Stevens had for Saskatchewan to drive the ball over near the goal-line. Montreal were now in control at 22-3. At which point Toronto had their best sequence, Alexander was picked off deep and Toronto found some life eventually resulting in Arbuckle throwing a touchdown pass to veteran receiver DaVaris Daniels who got in on second effort to make it 22-10.

After that Montreal added a couple of Jose Maltos field goals to round out the scoring and added another pickoff to their excellent defensive display. In 2024 the Als had the number one ranked D, and they looked solid again here too as they held Toronto to 34 yards on the ground, had 3 sacks for 28 yards, forced a fumble, had 2 picks and scored a defensive touchdown.

We always say special teams matter here at Touchdown Towers and that was really apparent here. The Argos were without 2024 Most Outstanding special teams’ player Janarion Grant who often provides the kind of spark the Roughriders fed off from Mario Alford the night before. Instead, Calvin Turner Jr didn’t once cross midfield and had an average punt return of just 5.2 yards. Kudos to Montreal’s Alexandre Gagne here as he tied the CFL record with 7 special teams tackles.

A QB comparison shows Davis Alexander going 19 of 26 for 205 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception and carrying the ball 4 times for 50 yards. Whilst Nick Arbuckle finished 20 of 32 for 273 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions, as well as carrying the ball 3 times for 17 yards.

Sean Thomas-Erlington led a ground attack that recorded 163 yards with his 17 carries for 86 yards. Whilst on D, Tyrice Beverette who was in the conversation for defensive player of the year last season had 4 tackles and the game icing pickoff. Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund chipped in 4 tackles, 1 sack, and a touchdown off a fumble recovery.

The third game of the weekend was between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and their hosts the Calgary Stampeders in Calgary. This was the third game that saw the home team win as the Stamps came away with a 38-26 victory. This game had season opener vibes all over it as Doug Flutie was on the Stamps sideline and former 2017 CFL Defensive Player of the Year, and current Denver Broncos’ linebacker Alex Singleton was around, including being on the Stamps’ horse! In fact, Calgary had a roster of former greats on hand as Mark McLoughlin, Marcus Crandell, Nik Lewis, and Jeremaine Copeland were all in attendance too. No pressure on the 2025 team then!

Last year the visitors started 0-5 before falling to 2-9 and the home team finished 5-12-1 so both teams wanted to get out to a good start for this season. Which Calgary certainly did. Marquee offseason signing Vernon Adams Jr looked to have a touchdown on the opening drive, but a penalty called it back. That didn’t hold the Stamps back too much however, as they did get a major as Dedrick Mills scored the first of three touchdowns he would garner on the ground in the game.

After that it was a back-to-back-to-back trading of field goals to make it 10-6 Calgary. Adams Jr was picked off twice after this, but Hamilton could not convert their turnovers into anything more than one more field goal to pull it back to 10-9.  

Remember when we said above that special teams matter? Well, they can really make a difference, and they did again here as the Stamps coverage brought down Hamilton’s punter Nik Constantinou before he could get the kick away. A drive from Hamilton’s 42 ended with Mills’ second score of the day and an 18-9 halftime lead for the men in red.

Hamilton’s special teams woes continued at the start of the second half as Calgary forced a fumble on the kickoff return and this led to a drive starting inside the Ticats 15-yard line that saw former XFL and NFL quarterback PJ Walker running in a score to give Calgary a 25-9 lead. A single for Hamilton and another field goal for Calgary meant it was 28-10. Hamilton added another single before Adams Jr hit receiver Clark Barnes in stride for a 65-yard bomb putting the ball on the Hamilton 5-yard line. Dedrick Mills ran in his third score and the Stamps led 35-11 early in the fourth.

For once the Hamilton special teams came up big as Isaiah Wooden bounced out of tackles on his way to a 105-yard touchdown return. Hamilton added another score but missed on the 2-point conversion and Calgary added a final field goal to see out the scoring.

A QB comparison shows Vernon Adams Jr going 19 of 28 for 284 yards with 2 picks and rushing 3 times for 33 yards. He started out 9 of 9 early on and although this wasn’t a masterpiece you could sense he was in control of this offence in a way Calgary will want to see grow.  Meanwhile Bo Levi Mitchell went 31 0f 50 for 304 yards with 1 touchdown and had 1 carry for 11 yards. Mitchell is on 99 wins a starter and has a good chance to reach 100 the fastest ever, but it didn’t happen against his former team. He also now has 39,327 career passing yards moving him to 11th all-time. If he stays fit, he will move up the top 10 list this season.

One of the best performances of the game for the Ticats came from Isaiah Wooden who finished with 5 kickoff returns for 205 yards and a touchdown and 214 total return yards.

The player of the game was Derick Mills who had 17 carries for 94 yards and 3 touchdowns. Clark Barnes added 4 catches for 112 yards and Marquel Lee had 10 defensive tackles as all three contributed to the Calgary win.

The final game of the opening round of matchups was in Vancouver as the BC Lions hosted the Edmonton Elks. A lot of talk leading up to this one was centred around the Lions’ fourth annual kickoff concert, this time featuring Snoop Dogg. These concerts are becoming a feature and are certainly driving some of the growth in attendance at BC Place. In 2022 the Lions and One Republic drew 34,082 for their opener. In 2023 LL Cool J helped the Lions move 33,103 tickets. It was last year however that really took it to a new level as 50 Cent and the Lions saw 53,788 tickets sold. This time with Snoop it was 52,807 tickets sold. The hope is that some of the people who come for the concert also stay for a taste of the 3 Down game and like it.

As for the game itself, it was the home side who came away with a convincing 31-14 win. A little bit of history was made here too as Nathan Rourke led the Lions and Tre Ford led the Elks into this one marking the first time two Canadian quarterbacks have started a CFL game on opening weekend since 1968! It also marked the Head Coaching debuts of Mark Kilam (Elks) and Buck Pierce (Lions).

It was actually Kilam who would have been happier at halftime. Because the Lions were stopped twice going for it on third down, Including a stop at the one-yard line. They also had what looked like a certain touchdown dropped in the endzone and were held to a single field goal in the first half. This was another game too where the first point was a rouge – this time on a deep punt by Cody Grace of the Elks. So once again we saw the 1-0 scoreline.

Tre Ford was pressured by the BC D-Line but on a key drive he scrambled and found Arkell Smit for a big gain and on another play evaded a sack, ran around and set the Elks up inside the five-yard line. 2023 Grey Cup MVP Cody Fajardo who is now the backup in Edmonton was able to run in a touchdown from near the goal line after that and Edmonton led 7-3 at the intermission.

Whatever adjustments Buck Pierce and the coaching staff made for the Lions at halftime certainly worked. They had four straight touchdowns on four straight drives to take the game away from Hamilton. Rourke went six for six on the opening second half drive and capped it with a rainbow dropped into Stanley Berryhill III from 34-yards out to make it 10-7 Leos.

A 64-yard return from Arkell Smith looked to have given the Elks a chance to respond but a missed field goal was all they had to show for it. BC capitalised quickly as Rourke showcased his running ability to keep things moving before hitting Berryhill again down the middle from 30+ yards out to add another score and make it 17-7 BC.

Edmonton responded with a long drive of their own. The highlight of which was Tre Ford evading a sack and running backwards, sideways and up the field before delivering a long pass that all looked like something out of Madden gameplay.

That led to another short yardage touchdown from Cody Fajardo to bring the score back to 17-14. The thing was they got closer, but the Ticats just seemingly couldn’t stop the Lions offence at this point. A march downfield ended with Rourke throwing his third touchdown from 20+ yards as this time he hit Justin McInnis to make it 24-14 to BC. That was swiftly followed by Ben Hladik picking off Ford and returning the ball over 60 yards before being brought down at the Edmonton 4-yard line. This gave the Lions a chance to put the icing on the cake of their win as James Butler ran in the final score of the game which, with the extra point, made it 31-14.          

Standout players of the game were Nathan Rourke who finished 27 of 36 for 324 yards with 3 touchdowns, and had 5 carries for 54 yards too. Stanley Berryhill III had 6 catches for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns and James Butler, returning to the Lions had 10 carries for 68 yards and a score and 3 receptions for 22 yards. The Lions D line was a force all night as well as linebacker Ben Hladik having 3 tackles, and an interception return that covered 64 yards.

For Edmonton Tre Ford finished 18 of 27 for 178 yards with 1 interception and had 6 carries for 54 yards. Nick Anderson, last years’ Most Outstanding Rookie had 9 tackles to lead the team, and on special teams Cody Grace had 5 punts travel 296 yards, averaging just over 59 yards a kick. 

It really was a case of home sweet home in week 1 of the 2025 CFL season as the home teams went 4-0. Meanwhile, last year the bragging rights for interdivisional standings had rested with the East Division who finished 2024 with a 22-15-2 record against the West. This year however, the West have started out 2-0 against the East. It will be interesting to see how that unfolds.

The only team to sit out opening week were the defending West Division champions the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and their fans may have seen that as a blessing as they started 2-6 before finding their feet on the way to a fourth consecutive Grey Cup appearance last year.

Week 2 starts out with BC at Winnipeg at 1:30 in the morning UK time. The most easily watchable game will come on Saturday the 14th as Stampeders travel to Toronto to face the argonauts at 9PM UK time. Available free on CFL+. The league’s free streaming service is a great way to check out some CFL action and see what you think of it.

MOP's of Week 1:

O – Nathan Rourke, BC Lions: 27 of 36 for 324 yards with 3 touchdowns, and 5 carries for 54 yards.

D – Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund, Montreal Alouettes: 4 tackles, 1 sack, and a touchdown off a fumble recovery.

ST – Alexandre Gagne, Montreal Alouettes: 7 special teams tackles equalling CFL record & Isaiah Wooden, Hamilton Tiger-Cats 6 total returns for 214 yards, including a 105-yard kickoff return touchdown.

Interdivisional Standings 2025 This Week: East Division 0 West Division 2

Interdivisional Standings 2025 season: East Division 0 West Division 2

CHRIS LAWTON

CFL ANALYST

Chris originally started following the NFL with the ‘first wave’ of fans when it was shown on Channel 4 in the 1980’s. He has been a keen supporter of the Miami Dolphins since 1983. Chris first encountered the CFL in 2016 and instantly fell in love with the Canadian game. He has been writing about the CFL 2017. Chris has a degree in history, postgraduate degree in librarianship and can be found on twitter as @CFLfanUK

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