REGINA – It’s a wide open race for the top spot in the West Division.
The Calgary Stampeders went into Mosaic Stadium and took down the Saskatchewan Roughriders 24-10 on Saturday to move both teams to 4-1 after six weeks of play.
The game was originally scheduled for Friday night, but was postponed to the next day due to air quality.
Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. threw for over 400 yards for the first time in 2025 while also tossing three passing majors, including two to receiver Damien Alford. The rookie had his best game as a pro, topping 150 receiving yards to go alongside a couple of scores. Receiver Erik Brooks added a major of his own.
The defence also played a big role in pushing the Stamps past the Riders, forcing two fumbles and two turnover on downs that kept one of the best offences in the league to only 10 points.
Trevor Harris returned from a one-game absence and also threw for over 400 yards and a touchdown, but was unable to help his team win their fifth straight to start the season.
Receiver Joe Robustelli also had the best game of his career, topping 150 receiving yards himself while also catching a major from Harris.
The win pushes the Red and White and Green White to identical 4-1 records.
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The Riders opened the game with a bang. Adams Jr. was intercepted on his first pass attempt by A.J. Allen, who returned it eight yards to the Stamps’ 47-yard line. The Red and White defence did not allow the Riders’ march to last long though, forcing a quick third down which was settled by Brett Lauther‘s first field goal of the game.
It looked like the pivot would immediately redeemed himself with a long drive into Saskatchewan territory, but the Riders defence stepped up again as C.J. Reavis jumped on a fumble by Dedrick Mills to turn the ball over one more time for the Green and White. Calgary’s defence also stepped up after the fumble to force a quick two-and-out to get Adams Jr. and the offence back on the field.
The next drive featured a tough second-and-15 conversion on a catch by receiver Jalen Philpot that kickstarted another long campaign. The Stamps slowly and methodically moved into Saskatchewan territory with a good combination of draw plays and short passes. Adams Jr. also gained an important first down with his legs that positioned the visitors inside the 30-yard line. From there the pivot uncorked a beautiful arcing ball to the left pylon where a jumping Alford scored the first touchdown of the game.
Another deep connection between Adams Jr. and Alford led to a successful march for the Red and White. Starting the drive from his own 13-yard line, the pivot threw another 50-50 ball to Alford who went up and grabbed it for a 36-yard gain. Calgary then moved all the way to Saskatchewan’s nine-yard line, but Alford could not break free on a short pass from Adams Jr. to gain the first down and René Paredes added three points to the visitors’ lead.
After a fumble by Saskatchewan, the Stampeders continued to find ways to move the ball into enemy territory. That was until the very last play of the drive, when a short pass by Adams Jr. was tipped at the line of scrimmage and ended up in the hands of Rolan Milligan Jr. to keep the score 10-3 in favour of Calgary.
The first half kept going in Calgary’s favour when Clarence Hicks‘ strip sack on Harris gave Adams Jr. yet another chance to extend the lead in the first half. With a little over a minute left, the quarterback went to work and capped a dominating first half with his 100th career touchdown, a dart through the middle for Brooks that extended the lead to 17-3 going into halftime.
The Riders started the second half with their best drive of the afternoon. Harris correctly diagnosed man coverage to find Mitchell Picton over the middle for a big gain all the way to Calgary’s 18 -yard line. He followed it up with a perfectly placed pass to Robustelli to cut the lead to 17-10 early in the third quarter.
Calgary immediately responded with a scoring of their own. Alford beat his man deep down the right sideline and Adams Jr. placed it in front of him for an 81-yard touchdown and a 24-10 lead with the point after.
A missed field goal attempt by Lauther allowed the Stamps to hold on to a two-possession lead halfway through the third quarter.
Saskatchewan put together another long drive later in the third that was highlighted by a 43-yard connection between Harris and Robustelli. The march did not lead to points, though. That’s because Harris could not escape from Hicks once more on third-and-four and was taken down for a turnover on downs.
The home team found itself on first-and-goal once again halfway through the fourth quarter, but was unable to turn it into points after Picton was tackled short of the goal line on third down.
The Stamps remain on the road in Week 7 to take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on July 18, while the Riders travel west to BC, where they’ll meet the Lions on July 19.