Dedrick Mills hat trick powers Stampeders past Tiger-Cats
The Calgary Stampeders kicked off their 2025 campaign in style on Saturday night, seeing off the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at McMahon Stadium. Vernon Adams Jr. wasn’t made to do it all in his Calgary debut, with running back Dedrick Mills putting up a hat trick of touchdowns to push the Stamps to a 38-26 season-opening victory.
Mills put together 94 yards on the ground on 17 rushes to go with 30 yards receiving. Wearing Stampeders red for the first time after being acquired from BC in the off-season, Adams Jr. completed 19 of his 28 pass attempts for 284 yards, throwing two interceptions along the way. The dual-threat quarterback had 33 more yards running the football.
Receiver Clark Barnes passed the century mark of receiving yards in a single game for the first time in his young CFL career, finishing the day with four catches for 112 yards. Veteran Reggie Begelton meanwhile made a team-high five grabs for 58 yards.
Hamilton’s Bo Levi Mitchell moved to 11th in the CFL’s all-time passing yards leaderboard after finishing Saturday’s game 31-50 for 304 yards and a touchdown toss. He was free to air out the ball with his team playing catch up for the majority of the contest. The 2024 East Division Most Outstanding Player is still in search of win number 100 after the result.
Mitchell looked to get the ball to one of his new weapons on offence, Kenny Lawler. The former Blue Bomber had a game-high 13 targets, reeling in six catches for 87 yards and a score.
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Adams Jr. almost had a dream opening drive to his Stamps career, but a penalty against Dominique Rhymes brought back what would’ve been a touchdown score. Instead, Mills put the punctuation mark on a picture-perfect start to the Stamps’ season, slashing into the end zone to put his team up 7-0 after Rene Paredes’ conversion.
After the two teams traded three consecutive field goals, making it 10-6 for Calgary, Hamilton came up with a the game’s first turnover. Stavros Katsantonis stepped up in the middle of the field to pick off Adams Jr. who was under considerable pressure inside the pocket. The Hamilton offence could not make the most of the interception however, quickly coming off the field after a two-and-out with 11:16 to go in the half.
Following four scoreless second-quarter drives, Jonathan Moxey got his mitts on the football to make it two first-half interceptions for the Hamilton secondary. Soon after, Ticats receiver Tim White turned on the jets down the left sideline, making a 29-yard play after an unnecessary roughing call went against the home team. Liegghio then booted in his 37-yard attempt to cut Calgary’s lead to one.
Just when it looked like it would be a slender one-point halftime lead for the home side, a broken play on special teams allowed Calgary to get one more score before the break. Nik Constantinou couldn’t get his punt off and instead was brought down at his team’s 42-yard line for a turnover on downs. A few plays later, Mills ran in the pigskin for his second score of the half, giving the Stamps an 18-9 advantage.
On the other side of halftime, another specials teams gaffe by the visiting Ticats allowed the Stamps to extend their lead. Johnny Augustine let the ball drop on the kickoff and a number of red shirts swarmed around the football. It was Kelon Thomas who officially made the recovery, giving Calgary a bonus possession to begin the third quarter. After Mills brought his team to Hamilotn’s doorstep, P.J. Walker powered his way into the paint from short-range for his first CFL score. Paredes’ extra point made it 25-9 at the 13:39 mark of the third.
After a Constantinou single made it 25-10, Calgary kept the sticks moving on a successful scoring drive. Five conversions on second down, including a 19-yard dash by Adams, helped the hosts kill some clock en route to Paredes’ second field goal of the ballgame, giving the Stamps a 28-10 lead midway through the third.
Mills completed his hat trick of touchdowns at the start of the fourth quarter as the home team tried to put their opponent out of sight. Not showing any quit though, the Ticats responded right away as Isaiah Wooden bounced off a couple of tackles to break free for a 105-yard kickoff return, closing the gap to 17 points and keeping the Ticats in the game with 13:54 to go.
Hamilton gave themselves a glimpse of hope after Lawler hopped into the end zone for his first score as a Ticat, but a big stop on the ensuing two-point conversion attempt essentially secured the result for Calgary before an unsuccessful onside kick by the visitors. Paredes’ third kick of the game was the final score of the day with 2:16 to go, making it 38-26 the final.
The Stampeders hit the road in Week 2 for a battle against the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday, June 14. Later that day, the Tiger-Cats will welcome the Saskatchewan Roughriders to Hamilton in their home-opener.
