Roughriders hold off Redblacks 31-26 in CFL season opener

Jeff DeDekker · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jun 06, 2025 12:10 PM EDT | Last Updated: June 6

The Saskatchewan Roughriders won the CFL's archetypal crippled of the 2025 season, but the 31-26 triumph implicit the Ottawa Redblacks connected Thursday was costly.

The Roughriders mislaid 4 starters to injury, including 3 successful the archetypal 17 minutes.

Receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker appeared to injure his near ankle; tailback A.J. Ouellette suffered a suspected caput injury; and antiaircraft backmost Rolan Milligan near the crippled with an evident cervix injury.

Offensive lineman Payton Collins was injured successful the 3rd 4th of his CFL debut erstwhile an Ottawa subordinate rolled up the backmost of his close leg. None of the 4 injured Riders returned to the game.

The Roughriders dealt with wounded issues past play and focused connected a next-man-up mentality. Thursday's crippled took that to different level, and 1 that caput manager Corey Mace expects from his players.

"The next-man-up mentality, that surely that has been our acquisition successful the past, but the anticipation is you've got to get the occupation done," Mace said.

"You're connected this team; you're a nonrecreational athlete. We're not going to alteration excessively overmuch worldly up conscionable due to the fact that idiosyncratic other is successful there. If you're connected the progressive roster, things support rolling. I'm highly arrogant of the guys who had to measurement up and treble duty, due to the fact that a batch of those guys besides are connected peculiar teams, having to suck upwind successful Week 1."

Saskatchewan took a 31-17 pb into the 4th quarter, but the Redblacks, down the awesome play of backmost Dru Brown, chopped the shortage to 31-26 with 4 minutes near successful the game.

Brown, who completed 34 of 41 passes for 413 yards with 2 touchdowns, had the Redblacks connected their ain 41-yard enactment with 1:11 near to play.

After an incompletion, Brown was sacked for a 16-yard nonaccomplishment by Saskatchewan's Malik Carney. Facing a third-and-26 situation, Brown connected with William Stanback connected a 14-yard completion that turned the shot implicit connected downs.

"It sucks to lose," Brown lamented. "I privation it was antithetic but astatine the extremity of the day, it's 1 game. It's a crippled we felt we could've won. Great teams inactive thrive successful this benignant of situation and determination were immoderate encouraging things going on.

"We're connected our way. We're not determination yet but we'll get there."

When Ouellette went down, Thomas Bertrand-Hudon stepped into the void and rushed for 57 yards and 1 touchdown connected 14 carries. He besides gained 17 yards and 1 touchdown connected 2 receptions.

Betrand-Hudon benefited from the blocking of Samuel Emilus connected his rushing touchdown, which gave the Riders a 31-14 lead.

"He blocked his process disconnected the full game, and helium helped maine retired people a mates of times, truthful I've got to springiness props to him. He really swung maine into [the extremity zone]," Bertrand-Hudon said.

It was the 2nd two-touchdown crippled of Betrand-Hudon's CFL career. He scored doubly successful a 33-26 nonaccomplishment to the B.C. Lions connected Sept. 29, 2023, during his rookie season.

Despite immoderate large violative numbers by Ottawa — Brown's 413 passing yards and Justin Hardy and Bralon Addison with 133 and 112 receiving yards respectively — Mace felt Saskatchewan's defence answered the doorbell erstwhile it mattered.

"This is what I bash recognize astir this defence, and it has been this mode since adjacent I played — I don't attraction however galore yards, conscionable archer maine if it's a W oregon an L," the manager stated.

"As acold arsenic the defence being capable to basal up erstwhile we needed it, to marque a large play, yeah, they made them erstwhile we needed them."

Roughriders starting backmost Trevor Harris besides wasn't acrophobic astir however the triumph looked.

"It's aboriginal successful the play and we've got to recognize that these are afloat 60-minute shot games," Harris said. "It's pugnacious to triumph successful this league.

"Our defence stepped up, our specials did a large job. We're going to beryllium each right. We're going to beryllium a antithetic squad erstwhile it comes to Week 15 and playoff clip and Labour Day.

"We're going to beryllium improved from wherever we are close now. But marque nary mistake, these wins substance astatine the extremity of the year, truthful a triumph is simply a win."

Ottawa scored a touchdown connected their archetypal possession of the season. The Redblacks drove 87 yards connected 10 plays with backup backmost Dustin Crum reaching the extremity portion connected a one-yard sneak. Brown was seven-for-seven passing for 84 yards connected the drive.

Harris completed 19 of 26 walk attempts for 277 yards and 2 touchdown throws successful the game.

His backup Tommy Stevens scored connected a one-yard tally 13 seconds into the 2nd 4th and Emilus hauled successful a 10-yard touchdown walk from Harris 7 minutes aboriginal to summation Saskatchewan's pb to 14-7.

A 17-yard tract extremity by Brett Lauther with 17 seconds near successful the 4th gave the Riders a 17-7 halftime lead.

Emilus had an awesome archetypal fractional with six receptions for 106 yards and 1 touchdown. He finished the crippled with 8 catches for 133 yards.

Geno Lewis, connected an eight-yard reception, and Stanback, connected a two-yard run, besides scored second-half touchdowns for the Redblacks.