Comeback attempt falls short as Redblacks drop CFL season opener
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The Ottawa Redblacks had a good start and finish in their 2025 CFL season opener.
It was what happened in between that spoiled their night.
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In a 31-26 loss to the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Mosaic Stadium in Regina, the Redbacks, who outscored the home team 19-0 combined in the first and fourth quarters, lost the second and third quarters by a 31-7 count.
Part of their undoing can be attributed to the Redblacks’ undisciplined play, as they were penalized 11 times for 121 yards.
The rest can be blamed on a hole they dug and couldn’t escape.
Dru Brown completed 34 of 41 pass attempts for 413 yards and two touchdowns while playing through what looked to be some type of hip injury in the fourth quarter.
Justin Hardy caught eight of those passes for 133 yards and a score, while newcomers to the Ottawa offence also made their mark.
With the Redblacks trailing 24-7 late in the third quarter, Brown hit Eugene Lewis with an eight-yard scoring pass that extended the veteran receiver’s streak of games with a touchdown reception to nine.
Lewis can tie the CFL record, held by former great Terry Evanshen, next Friday when the Redblacks host the Montreal Alouettes in their home opener.
William Stanback, another new addition to the Redblacks’ offence who, like Lewis, used to play for the Alouettes, also scored in the fourth quarter of his Ottawa debut.
The point after attempt that followed the Stanback score was botched when the holder, Richie Leone, couldn’t get the ball in place for Lewis Ward.
That missed point had its implications.
When Justin Hardy hauled in a 27-yard TD pass from Brown with 4:20 left, the Redblacks trailed by five instead of four. That led to the decision for a two-point attempt, which was unsuccessful.
But the Redblacks were able to get the ball right back when cornerback Adrian Frye, a late replacement for the injured Alijah McGhee, stripped the ball from receiver KeeSean Johnson near midfield for his second forced turnover of the game.
Ottawa’s offence, however, could not take advantage of the opportunity.
After the unimaginable hiccup of a time count violation before the first offensive snap of the season, Brown completed seven consecutive passes while orchestrating a textbook opening drive that consisted of 11 plays and covered 70 yards, culminating in a touchdown plunge by Dustin Crum.
Ottawa’s defence had a perfect start, too.
The first Saskatchewan possession was a quick two-and-out, and the second ended when Frye created a turnover by stripping the ball from receiver Samuel Emilus.
But the wheels slipped off the tracks three plays later when Ward, the most dependable placekicker in the CFL, was wide right on a 46-yard field goal attempt, and Mario Alford returned the ball 60 yards.
Harris directed the Roughriders into the red zone, and just when it appeared like the Redblacks would bend but not break, Bryce Carter was flagged for roughing the passer on the last play of the first quarter.
When the teams switched ends, short-yardage quarterback Tommy Stevens went over from the one to tie the score.
That was the start of a second quarter in which the Redblacks were outscored 17-0, an assault that included a Harris-to-Emilus nine-yard touchdown and an 18-yard Brett Lauther field goal that was set up by a pass interference penalty on former Roughrider Amari Henderson in the end zone.
While Brown completed 16-of-19 passes for 185 yards in the first half, the Redblacks managed just three rushing yards before the break.
The 10-point deficit might have been greater had C.J. Coldon not picked off a Harris pass to give the Redblacks cornerbacks the first two turnovers of the CFL season.
Ottawa’s secondary resembled a turnstile on the first drive of the second half, as Harris led his team 59 yards on five plays, leading to a 14-yard TD reception by Thomas Bertrand-Huton that extended Saskatchewan’s string of unanswered points to 24.
Bertrand-Huton, who took over at the running back position when A.J. Ouellette was injured earlier in the game, scored his second third-quarter touchdown after the Redblacks pulled to within 10 points with the Lewis major.
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