The Edmonton Elks are putting the East Division on notice. Cody Fajardo and the visiting Elks held off the Ottawa REDBLACKS for a 30-20 victory on Friday night, making it three straight wins, all against teams from the east. The REDBLACKS looked to be swinging the momentum in the second half after Edmonton jumped out to a 17-0 lead, but a Justin Rankin touchdown in the fourth quarter was vital in keeping the hosts at bay.
Fajardo moved to 9-1 all-time in starts against Ottawa, now having won in his past nine outings against the REDBLACKS. He was 22-28 on the night, throwing for 270 yards and an interception. He ran it in from the goal line for the game’s first touchdown in the second quarter and finished the contest with 57 yards on the ground.
After going for 179 yards from scrimmage in Week 11, running back Justin Rankin continued to be effective for the Elks. He caught all five of his targets for 58 yards and ran for 36 on 14 carries, including his vital fourth-quarter score.
Quarterback Dustin Crum had a solid outing in relief of the injured Dru Brown. He went 23-29 for 277 yards and a touchdown while adding 59 yards and another touchdown with his legs. Receiver Keelan White was Crum’s favourite target on Friday, finishing with 68 yards on five catches while Andre Miller had 54 receiving yards and a third quarter touchdown which gave Ottawa life.
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Edmonton started on offence but could only muster one first down before punting it to Kalil Pimpleton, the league’s leader in all-purpose yards. On Ottawa’s first go of things with the football, Crum threw back-to-back first down completions to Justin Hardy, but a scramble by Crum on second down which came up short forced the hosts into punting. Edmonton’s Noah Taylor got a finger on the football to partially block a punt from Richie Leone, who was suiting up for his 150th CFL game on Friday night.
The Elks got the chains moving with some more regularity on their second offensive series. Julien-Grant cut to the outside for a 12-yard gain as part of the drive which included five completions from Fajardo. Vincent Blanchard rounded things off with a 33-yard make for the game’s first points.
Crum was forced into scrambling on second down for the second straight drive and once again, it resulted in a Leone punt. Going the other way, a hurdle from fullback T. Green gave the Elks 13 yards before Javon Leake ran for 16 more on the next play. B. Victor shook off a tackle to bring the visitors to the doorstep of Ottawa’s end zone at the end of the first quarter. Fajardo finished off the drive with a quarterback sneak from a yard out, putting Edmonton on top 10-0 early in the second quarter following Blanchard’s extra point.
On the ensuing drive, Ottawa was forced into a third consecutive punt. This time, Leake made them pay. He wiggled through some bodies before finding room down the right sideline to get an 80-yard score. His second punt-return touchdown against the REDBLACKS this season put his team up 17-0.
Later in the second, Fajardo turned on the jets for a 30-yard rush through the middle of Ottawa’s defence, shaking off a tackle attempt before sliding for the first down. With Edmonton pushing for more, Ottawa was able to create a crucial takeaway. Ayinde Eley picked off Fajardo and with the ball back in his hands, Crum completed passes for 17 and 28 yards. Ottawa’s quarterback ran it himself to give the crowd some energy with halftime looming.
Steven Dunbar Jr. had two straight grabs to kickstart a quick scoring drive at the end of the half for Edmonton. Blanchard made his 31-yard field goal to extend Edmonton’s advantage to 20-7 as the two teams went down the tunnel.
The REDBLACKS’ offence got to work coming out of the break to cut into Edmonton’s lead. Crum was close to perfect on the eight-play scoring drive which included an 18-yard run by William Stanback and a 21-yard reception from White who got open in the middle of the field. Crum’s 19-yard touchdown throw to Miller and Lewis Ward’s extra point made it 20-14.
Following the touchdown, the two squads came up empty on three consecutive drives. A pass interference penalty against JJ Ross who was draping Eugene Lewis was the spark that the REDBLACKS required to get the game’s next score. Crum followed up that 24-yard pickup with a 26-yard toss to Miller down the sideline at the end of the third quarter. On the other side of the timeout Taylor brought Crum to the turf for a sack which set Ottawa back eight yards. Ward came onto the field for a 20-yard kick to make it a 20-17 ballgame.
With momentum slowly creeping Ottawa’s way, the Edmonton offence was able to come up with a touchdown midway through the final frame. Justin Rankin was busy as a rusher and a catcher on the series, producing 44 yards on five touches, including his touchdown run from inside the 10. His major and Blanchard’s extra point put the Elks up by double digits with eight minutes to go.
Later in the quarter, Ottawa’s defence forced Edmonton into back-t0-back negative plays, including a Mike Wakefield sack on Fajardo. Pimpleton’s 20-yard punt return setup his offence at Edmonton’s 35, giving Crum and company great field position just before the three-minute warning. Ross tackled White to prevent a conversion on second down, meaning that the REDBLACKS would settle for a Ward field goal with 2:51 remaining.
On Edmonton’s final drive, defensive tackle Daniel Okpoko suffered a serious injury and exited the game in an ambulance after bringing down Fajardo. Following a lengthy on-field delay, Fajardo and the Elks were able to execute and take time off the clock. Fajardo connected with Kurleigh Gittens Jr. on a 38-yard bomb to bring the Elks into field-goal range and from 35 yards out, Blanchard put the Elks up 10 and the game on ice.
In Week 13, the Elks will head to Calgary for their OK Tire Labour Day Weekend matchup against the Stampeders on Monday, September 1. The REDBLACKS will get the week off before hosting the BC Lions on Friday, September 5.