Six Canadians contributed to wins for winning teams in week one of the 2025 Canadian Football League regular season. They were Saskatchewan Roughriders wide receiver Samuel Emilus of Montreal, Quebec, Roughriders running back Thomas Bertrand-Hudon of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec, Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot of Delta, British Columbia, Alouettes defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, British Columbia Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke of Victoria, British Columbia and Lions wide receiver Justin McInnis of Montreal, Quebec.
Emelius and Bertrand-Hudon contributed to the Roughriders’s 31-26 win over the Ottawa Redblacks in the first game of the 2025 CFL season on Thursday. Emilius caught a nine-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Harris to put the Roughriders up 14-7. He finished the game with eight catches for 133 receiving yards. Bertand-Hudon had a 14 yard touchdown catch from Harris at 3:20 of the third quarter to put the Roughriders up 24-7, and had a six-yard touchdown run at 11:02 of the third quarter to put the Roughriders up 31-14. Bertand-Hudon had 14 rushes for 57 rushing yards, and two catches for 17 receiving yards.
Philpot and Adeyemi-Berglund contributed to a 28-10 Alouettes win over the Toronto Argonauts on Friday. Philpot had a 26-yard touchdown catch from Alouettes quarterback Davis Alexander at 12:59 of the first quarter to put the Alouettes up 8-0. He finished the game with four catches for 48 receiving yards. Adeyemi-Berglund had an 18-yard fumble return for a touchdown with 32 seconds left in the second quarter to put the Alouettes up 15-3.
Rourke and McInnis contributed to a 31-14 Lions win over the Edmonton Elks on Saturday. Rourke completed 27 of 36 passes for 324 passing yards and three touchdown catches. He also had five rushes for 54 rushing yards. Rourke had a 34-yard touchdown pass to Stanley Berryhill at 3:58 of the third quarter to put the Lions up 10-7, and then had a 37-yard touchdown pass to Berryhill at 12:47 of the third quarter to put the Lions up 17-7. Rourke’s final touchdown pass was 15 yards to McInnis with four minutes and 50 seconds left in the fourth quarter, to put the Lions up 24-14. McInnis finished the game with five catches for 45 receiving yards.
