Home Teams Sweep CFL Quadruple Header Saturday

The Canadian Football League gave fans something they hadn’t seen in more than 30 years Saturday: a four-game, 12-hour football marathon. And the Forty Creek Quadruple Header certainly lived up to the hype, producing drama, surprises and a couple of statement victories.

The day began at BMO Field, where the Toronto Argonauts survived a determined Ottawa REDBLACKS comeback 26-23. Lirim Hajrullahu delivered the game-winning field goal, while Chad Kelly put together another monster passing performance with 443 yards and two touchdowns. Ottawa remains winless at 0-12, but this was hardly a walkover for Toronto, which improved to 7-6.

Then came the Banjo Bowl, and the Saskatchewan Roughriders suddenly found themselves on the wrong end of a defensive clinic. Just one week after Saskatchewan’s dramatic overtime victory in the Labour Day Classic, Winnipeg turned the tables with a commanding 19-6 victory at Princess Auto Stadium. The Blue Bombers’ defence was outstanding, with Redha Kramdi making a pair of timely turnovers in his return to the lineup. Winnipeg moved to 7-6 while Saskatchewan slipped to 8-5.

The Battle of Alberta followed, and Edmonton delivered the most emphatic performance of the day. The Elks demolished Calgary 53-16, completing a remarkable two-game sweep of the Stampeders after trailing by 18 points in their Labour Day meeting just six days earlier. Edmonton scored at least 15 points in each quarter after the opening frame, turning the game into a rout and strengthening its position near the top of the West.

Finally, under the lights at BC Place, the BC Lions saved perhaps their biggest statement for last. Nathan Rourke led the way as BC stunned the 10-2 Montreal Alouettes 48-29, avenging the previous week’s 37-30 loss in Montreal. Rourke threw a touchdown and ran for another as the Lions produced an explosive offensive performance against a Montreal team that had been one of the CFL’s most dominant clubs all season.

And so ended a remarkable day of Canadian football — four games, four different stories and 12 straight hours of CFL action. The league hadn’t staged a quadruple header since 1995, but Saturday’s experiment proved that sometimes, more football really is better.