Week five is now in the books in the Canadian Football League and seven Canadians contributed to touchdowns on winning teams. They were Calgary Stampeders wide receiver Clark Barnes of Brampton, Ontario, Stampeders wide receiver Damien Alford of Montreal, Quebec, Hamilton Tiger-Cats wide receiver Tyler Ternowski of Hamilton, Ontario, Tiger-Cats wide receiver Kiondre Smith of Markham, Ontario, British Columbia Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke of Victoria, British Columbia, Edmonton Elks quarterback Tre Ford of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Elks wide receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr. of Ottawa, Ontario.
Barnes opened the scoring on Thursday for the Stampeders at 3:25 of the first quarter to put the Stampeders up 7-0 in a 37-16 Stampeders win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He had a 45-yard touchdown catch from Vernon Adams for his only catch of the game and first touchdown catch of the season. In 2025, Barnes has seven catches for 216 receiving yards.
Alford put the Stampeders up 22-3 at 8:04 of the second quarter. He had an 11-yard touchdown catch from Adams for his first touchdown of the season. Alford finished the game with two catches for 22 yards, and has four catches for 65 receiving yards on the season.
Ternowski had a 15-yard touchdown catch from Bo Levi Mitchell at 7:12 of the second quarter to put the Tiger-Cats up 24-10 in a 51-38 Hamilton win over the Toronto Argonauts on Friday. Like Barnes and Alford, it was Ternowski’s first touchdown catch of 2025. Ternowski finished the game with two catches for 22 receiving yards, and has five catches for 69 yards on the season.
Like Ternowski, Smith had a 15-yard touchdown catch from Mitchell. He put the Tiger-Cats up 44-26 at 4:29 of the fourth quarter for his first touchdown catch of 2025. Smith finished the game with three catches for 28 yards and has 12 catches for 112 yards on the season.
Rourke had a touchdown pass and a touchdown run in a 21-20 Lions win over the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday. He put the Lions within a point (7-6 Montreal) with a two-yard rushing touchdown at 1:02 of the second quarter, and had a 46-yard touchdown pass to Stanley Berryhill with four minutes and 52 seconds left in the fourth quarter to put the Lions up 18-17. Rourke finished the game by completing 22 of 36 passes for 352 passing yards and one touchdown, and had eight rushes for a team high 43 rushing yards. In 2025, Rourke has completed 61 of 99 passes for 925 passing yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions, to go along with 19 rushes for 155 rushing yards and two more major scores.
Ford had two touchdown passes in a 39-33 Elks win over the Ottawa Redblacks on Sunday. He put the Elks up 7-0 with a 45 yard touchdown pass to Justin Rankin at 3:25 of the first quarter and then combined with Gittens Jr, on an eight-yard touchdown pass to put the Elks up 15-3 with three minutes and 51 seconds left in the first quarter.
In the game, Ford completed 15 of 17 passes for 212 passing yards, along with two rushes for 14 rushing yards. Gittens Jr. had three catches for 24 receiving yards. For the season, Ford has completed 78 passes in 109 attempts for 950 passing yards, and five touchdown catches. He also has 12 rushes for 105 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. In 2025, Gittens Jr. has 10 catches for 126 receiving yards and two touchdown catches.
With the win, the Stampeders are now in second place in the West Division at three wins and one loss. Hamilton improved to a record of two wins and two losses, BC is 2-3 and Edmonton is 1-3.
