THE CANADIAN PRESS
CFL.ca Staff
TORONTO — Eight teams kicked off their 2014 campaigns in Week 1, as the march towards the 102nd Grey Cup in Vancouver is now officially underway.
Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, and Saskatchewan started their seasons off on a high, while Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton and BC will look towards Week 2 to register their first wins of the new campaign.
Here’s a recap of the week that was.
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| 21 | 45 |
| R. Ray: 27/38, 283 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT J. Johnson: 4 rsh, 29 yds, 0 TD C. Owens: 8 rec, 78 yds, 0 TD |
D. Willy: 19/27, 308 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT N. Grigsby: 21 rsh, 122 yds, 0 TD A. Kelly: 5 rec, 100 yds, 2 TD |
Aaron Kelly had a career night and Drew Willy was stellar in his Bomber debut as Winnipeg handled the Toronto Argonauts 45-21 in the CFL season opener at Investors Group Field.
Kelly hauled in the first two majors on back-to-back drives and totalled 100 yards on the night. Meanwhile, Willy was spot on in front of the Bomber faithful, throwing for 308 yards and 4 touchdowns on 19 of 27 passing.
Another positive on this night was rookie tailback Nic Grigsby who rushed for 122 yards on 21 carries, averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Grigsby was filling in for Will Ford who many thought would be the starter come week one but was placed on the injured list.
 » Recap: Bombers shine in in season-opening win» Highlights: Willy shines in debut » View Game Stats » Images: Toronto at Winnipeg » Video: Willy’s first TD in Blue and Gold |
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| 8 | 29 |
| T. Smith: 18/41, 154 yds, 0 TD, 1 INT B. Whitaker: 12 rsh, 59 yds, 0 TD E. Deslauriers: 4 rec, 34 yds, 0 TD |
B.L. Mitchell: 16/25, 313 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT J. Cornish: 14 rsh, 67 yds, 1 TD M. Price: 1 rec, 102 yds, 1 TD |
Fred Bennett and the Calgary Stampeders defence swarmed Troy Smith and the Montreal Alouettes, securing a season-opening 29-8 victory at McMahon Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The victory came with a cost however, as star running back Jon Cornish left the game early after absorbing a hit from Kyries Hebert late in the game. Hebert was ejected from the contest following the play.
Maurice Price, Anthony Parker and Cornish all had touchdowns in the win.
Bo Levi Mitchell made his first start as the undisputed leader of the Stampeders offence after beating out incumbent Drew Tate in training camp. He finished with 313 yards and 2 touchdowns on 16 on 25 passing.
The Als countered with Smith who helped officially kick off the post-Anthony Calvillo era in Montreal. Smith, who stepped up near the end of the 2013 season to lead the Als into the playoffs entered after a challenging pre-season appearance and looked to prove to new head coach Tom Higgins that he was the long-term solution under centre.
 » Recap: Stamps defence stymies Montreal» Highlights: Stamps Show Complete Game » View Game Stats » Images: Montreal at Calgary » Video: Maurice Price’s 102-yard TD |
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| 27 | 20 |
| M. Reilly: 22/35, 229 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT T. Thomas: 10 rsh, 45 yds, 0 TD A. Bowman: 9 rec, 105 yds, 1 TD |
K. Glenn: 18/28, 251 yds, 2 TD, 4 INT A. Harris: 11 rsh, 37 yds, 0 TD A. Harris: 6 rec, 102 yds, 1 TD |
Mike Reilly threw three touchdown passes and the Eskimos forced five turnovers as Edmonton opened up their season on the road with a 27-20 win over the BC Lions.
In a gutsy performance, the Eskimos earned their first win under new head coach Chris Jones. He is the second rookie head coach to earn a win in Week 1 alongside Mike O’Shea in Winnipeg.
The league’s ultimate insurance policy, Glenn, came over in a Draft day trade with the Ottawa REDBLACKS in May when Buono felt more pressure to have a proven veteran on his depth chart with Lulay still recovering from off-season shoulder surgery.
As the experience of Glenn led the Lions, it was BC’s former backup, Reilly, taking charge of the Eskimo offence after a solid debut season as a starter in 2013 despite his team’s record.
 » Recap: Esks put freeze on Lions in 27-20 win» Highlights: Esks’ Defence much Improved » View Game Stats » Images: Edmonton at BC » Video: Reilly Goes Deep to Bowman |
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| 10 | 31 |
| Z. Collaros: 19/33, 159 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT Z. Collaros: 3 rsh, 18 yds, 0 TD S. Giguere: 6 rec, 46 yds, 0 TD |
D. Durant: 15/22, 136 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT A. Allen: 27 rsh, 158 yds, 1 TD C. Getzlaf: 2 rec, 42 yds, 0 TD |
The Saskatchewan Roughriders, it seems, have very quickly answered their questions at running back.
Newcomer Anthony Allen rushed for one touchdown and hauled in another as he racked up 158 yards on the ground in a 31-10 Saskatchewan Roughriders win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at a rainy Mosiac Stadium Sunday night.
The Georgia Tech product, who became the Riders starting tailback had big shoes to fill in this one, taking over for last year’s Grey Cup MVP Kory Sheets who left in the off-season to join the Oakland Raiders.
Assisting Allen and the Riders ground attack on this night was an unforgiving Saskatchewan pass rush which totalled 10 sacks on the day.
 » Recap: Riders run wild over Ticats» Highlights: Anthony Lead Riders » View Game Stats » Images: Hamilton at Saskatchewan » Video: Riders’ Sack Attack |
