Chad Kelly throws two TD passes as Argos clinch playoff berth with win over Elks

TORONTO - Chad Kelly and the Toronto Argonauts achieved two pre-season goals Saturday afternoon.

Kelly threw two touchdown passes as Toronto held on for a 24-19 win over the Edmonton Elks. The Argonauts (8-6) not only cemented a post-season berth with the victory but will begin the playoffs at BMO Field despite rushing for -1 yards.

Toronto was in a position to clinch a playoff spot Saturday after Montreal defeated Hamilton 37-25 on Friday night.

"That's first and foremost (reaching playoffs)," Kelly said. "It doesn't matter how you do it, (getting) a win is very difficult in this league.

Davis Alexander leads Montreal Alouettes to 37-25 road win over Hamilton Tiger-Cats

HAMILTON - Davis Alexander and the Montreal Alouettes continue to take care of business in the East Division.

Alexander threw two TD passes to power Montreal past the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 37-25 in the annual Hall of Fame game Friday night. The Alouettes (11-3) improved to 7-0 this season versus East rivals.

"As far as I know we're still playing for stuff," said Alexander. "We talk about it all the time, divisional opponents, no matter where we are - whether it's home or away - it's a massive, massive game.

"This is a tough place to play and that's a good football team over there. They're kind of going through what we went through a little bit last year with the quarterback situation but they're a heck of a football team … they battled to the end."

Adams, Stampeders aim to halt slide as Redblacks seek first win of CFL season

CALGARY - Two CFL teams on the ropes for different reasons seek traction Saturday at McMahon Stadium.

The Calgary Stampeders (5-8) are battling for their playoff lives while the visiting Ottawa Redblacks (0-12) just want their first win of 2026.

"They're coming in desperate. We're desperate," Stampeders quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., said Friday. "They're trying to find a win and we are too."

Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson gets his first start for Ottawa this season. The 38-year-old replaced Jake Maier during last Saturday's 26-23 loss in Toronto that ended with a 29-yard walk-off field goal by the Argonauts. 

Former Bombers linebacker Gauthier enjoying career as electrician

Most professional football players don’t ride off into the sunset on their own terms.

Shayne Gauthier was well aware of that, but it didn’t make it sting any less when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers informed the veteran linebacker that they weren’t bringing him back for 2026.

“I was really hoping to play one more (season) because it would have been my 10th season, so, I’d say it didn’t really end the way I wanted,” Gauthier recently told the Free Press.

“It left a little sour taste in my mouth, but that’s part of pro sports. If everybody got the ending that they wanted, then it wouldn’t really work.”

Former CFL player Millington taking time to relish, appreciate Hall of Fame induction

Sean Millington always saw himself as a journeyman player but he'll now forever be remembered as one the CFL's best.

Millington, affectionately dubbed, 'Diesel" for his rugged running style, was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame on Thursday night. Millington and the other '26 class members will be honoured Friday night during the Hamilton Tiger-Cats-Montreal Alouettes game at Hamilton Stadium.

"Surreal is exactly the right word for it, it sums this up perfectly," Millington said. "I've been watching guys get nominated since I retired and I couldn't help but kind of compare myself a little bit and think, 'Yeah, that guy's pretty good, I don't know if I'm quite up there.'

"I always kind of looked at myself as a journeyman-type player who had some good stats but not earth-shattering like some of the guys do when they do their thing. I figured it was 50-50 if I'd ever make it in, I mean, I'd hoped to but to actually have it happen is a massive honour and I feel very blessed."

Harrison Frost gets the start for Hamilton Tiger-Cats versus Montreal Alouettes

HAMILTON - The quarterback shuffle continues for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

American Harrison Frost will start Friday night when Hamilton hosts the Montreal Alouettes in the annual Hall of Fame game. Harrison replaces Canadian Tre Ford, who was injured in the Ticats' 37-22 Labour Day loss to the Toronto Argonauts.

Ford, who was out with a head injury, practised this week and is available to play.

The '26 Canadian Football Hall of Fame class will be honoured Friday night. It includes former players Brandon Banks, Jim Evenson (posthumously), Charleston Hughes, Sean Millington and Calvin Tiggle and former Edmonton head coach Frank (Pop) Ivy (also posthumously) as a builder.

Haggerty, Kent, Callis receive suspensions following Montreal-B.C. game

TORONTO - The CFL suspended B.C. Lions defensive back Josh Haggerty two games Thursday for striking running back Liam Talbot of the Montreal Alouettes last week.

Montreal defensive back Don Callis and Lions defensive back Ronald Kent Jr. both received one-game suspensions for their roles in an on-field incident during B.C.'s 48-29 home win over the Alouettes on Saturday night.

Talbot, of London, Ont., suffered a groin injury after reportedly being struck twice by Haggerty and required surgery. Montreal placed the 23-year-old native of London, Ont., on the six-game injury list and the expectation is Talbot won't return this season.

Tempers flared in the third quarter when Lions' defensive back Cristophe Beaulieu returned a fumble that was later negated as Alouettes running back Stevie Scott III was deemed down by contact. But Montreal receiver Tyson Philpot hit Beaulieu after the Lions player was out of bounds, prompting Kent to contact Philpot from behind. 

Ottawa Redblacks, Calgary Stampeders are both in dire need of a win

McLeod Bethel-Thompson and the Ottawa Redblacks won't be the only ones in dire need of a win this week.

Bethel-Thompson will make his first start of the season when Ottawa (0-12) visits the Calgary Stampeders (5-8) on Saturday night. The Redblacks have dropped 18 straight games dating back to 2025, a CFL modern-era record for consecutive defeats.

But Calgary also desperately needs a victory. The Stampeders are coming off consecutive losses to the Edmonton Elks and stand fifth in the West Division, four points behind the third-place Winnipeg Blue Bombers (7-6) and B.C. Lions (7-6).

Right now, Winnipeg, B.C. and Calgary have more wins than the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (4-9), who are third in the East Division. The Stamps can make the playoffs by finishing third in the West or by finishing fourth with more points than the East's third-place team.

Veteran receiver Damonte Coxie enjoying best CFL season with Toronto Argonauts

TORONTO - Damonte Coxie will never complain about all of the extra attention he's attracting this season from CFL defences.

That's what comes with being one of the CFL's top receivers, something Coxie had hoped to achieve since joining the Toronto Argonauts in 2022.

"Pressure is not really a thing because this is what you ask for and once you ask for it, it becomes you," he said. "The crown is heavy but you wear it.

"I'm my own biggest critic, I'm real, real tough on myself, harder than anybody can coach me. But at the same time I also give myself grace because you can't be so hard on yourself and not give yourself grace."

Ungerer, Beverette, Hatcher named CFL’s top players of Week 15

TORONTO - Toronto Argonauts receiver David Ungerer III, Montreal Alouettes linebacker Tyrice Beverette and B.C. Lions receiver Keon Hatcher Sr. have been named the CFL's top players for Week 15.

Ungerer recorded seven receptions for a career-high 175 yards in Toronto's 26-23 win over Ottawa on Saturday.

He had a 34-yard touchdown catch and an 85-yard reception in the victory.

Beverette posted seven defensive tackles and two sacks, totalling 23 lost yards in Montreal's 48-29 loss to B.C. on Saturday.

Bombers bring A-game in avenging Labour Day loss

This season hasn’t been overly pretty at times for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. But if they’ve proven anything over their last four games, including Saturday’s 19-6 Banjo Bowl victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders, it’s that they’re capable of beating the CFL’s best when they come to play.

Rourke’s 394-yard performance powers B.C. Lions to 48-29 win over Montreal Alouettes

VANCOUVER - Even Nathan Rourke gets tongue-tied. 

The B.C. Lions quarterback met a childhood idol on Saturday when his team added 2006 Grey Cup MVP Travis Lulay to its wall of fame. 

When the pair were introduced, Rourke started to call the Lions legend Travis but decided in the moment Mr. Lulay might be more appropriate.

"Then I came out somewhere in the middle," he said with a smile. "I told him I hope that we can chat sometime and just kind of pick his brain a little bit."

Elks snap playoff drought with 53-16 win over Stampeders

EDMONTON - The longest CFL playoff drought in Edmonton football history has finally come to an end.

Joe Robustelli caught a pair of touchdown passes as the Edmonton Elks clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2019 with a 53-16 rout over the rival Calgary Stampeders in the Labour Day rematch on Saturday.

Edmonton, which won its fourth straight game to improve to 10-3, snapped a five-year run of post-season futility which was the team's worst since the 1960s.

“That felt really good, a three-phase win,” said Elks head coach Mark Kilam. “This place was rocking, too. What we’re trying to build this place into, it’s going to be a hard place to come play in the playoffs.

Bombers exact revenge in Banjo Bowl, lose Collaros to injury

Redha Kramdi downplayed the significance of his return for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

“I don’t think I have that big of an impact,” said Kramdi on Tuesday, who watched the club go 2-4 while he was sidelined with a cast on his left hand.

It sounded silly at the time, and it’s even sillier now considering how exceptional the 29-year-old safety from Montreal was in Saturday’s 22nd edition of the Banjo Bowl.

Kramdi caused two turnovers — a forced fumble and an interception — to lead the Bombers to a 19-6 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in front of a sell-out crowd at Princess Auto Stadium.

Lirim Hajrullahu’s 29-yard field goal earns Argos 26-23 victory over Redblacks

TORONTO - McLeod Bethel-Thompson doesn't believe in moral victories.

Lirim Hajrullahu's 29-yard walk off field goal earned the Toronto Argonauts a 26-23 victory over Ottawa on Saturday. But twice late in the contest the hard-luck Redblacks squandered opportunities to earn their first win.

"There are no moral victories when your backs are against the wall like this," said the veteran quarterback. "If you don't get that zero, that goose egg, off the board it means nothing.

"Just disappointed I played my role in the trials and tribulations of this tough season … I've been through a lot of tough times and here's another one right in front of your face."