The Edmonton Elks put on a show for WestJet Thanksgiving Weekend, dominating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and keeping the playoff picture interesting as they claimed a 25-20 victory at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday night.
The Elks, who kept their own playoff hopes alive, tallied four wins in a row at home with Saturday’s result and broke the streak after losing 13 in a row to the Blue Bombers.
Cody Fajardo moved to 6-5 on the season as he threw for 142 yards completing 13 of 24 attempts, Justin Rankin controlled the ground game with 138 yards and a touchdown, and Kaion Julien-Grant led Edmonton through the air with 69 yards on three receptions.
Zach Collaros tallied 202 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in the loss, Brady Oliveira rushed for 117 yards, and Ontaria Wilson led all Bombers receivers with 65 yards and a touchdown.
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It was the visitors who would be first to strike as Sergio Castillo got started for the Blue Bombers early, hitting a 28-yard field goal with just over five minutes to play in the first quarter.
Edmonton responded with a field goal of their own on the next drive, with Vincent Blanchard successfully kicking a 35-yard attempt through the uprights.
Winnipeg started a drive in the first quarter that would result in a touchdown in the second quarter, with Chris Streveler punching in a two-yard score after Collaros connected with Jerreth Sterns three separate times for three first downs on the drive to keep the chains moving and push the Blue Bombers downfield.
Just like in the first frame of action, the Elks responded to Winnipeg’s score with one of their own, and Fajardo took the ball into the end zone with his legs for four yards to cap off a drive that took 14 plays and eight minutes, with Edmonton utilizing OJ Hiliare through the air and Rankin on the ground to build momentum.
A rouge put the Elks ahead by a single point at the half, but Rankin got the Commonwealth Stadium crowd on their feet as he got loose for 64 yards on the third play of the second half to extend Edmonton’s lead to eight points.
If that play wasn’t enough, the Edmonton special teams got in on the scoring action too as while Javon Leake fumbled a punt, Kordell Jackson grabbed it after a few bounces, taking it 47 yards to the house for the touchdown to give the Elks their biggest lead of the night.
However, in true Blue Bombers fashion, a team that knows how to come back from any deficit, they scored 10 unanswered points in the back half of the action, first with Castillo securing a field goal from 34 yards out with just 38 seconds on the clock in the third.
After that, Collaros did what he does best by making two massive throws back-to-back, first finding Kevens Clercius for 20 yards, then connecting with Wilson for 35 yards and the touchdown with 6:22 left to play in the game, making what was once a double-digit deficit now a five-point affair.
The Blue Bombers forced a punt from Edmonton that gave them one more chance with less than five seconds on the clock, and Oliveira made a decent gain of 29 yards on the play, but he was tackled as time ran out and the Elks held on for the victory.
In Week 20 action, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers will head home to Princess Auto Stadium to host the Saskatchewan Roughriders at 8:00 p.m. EDT on October 17th, while the Edmonton Elks will head to BC to face the Lions at Save-on-Foods Field at BC Place on the same night at 10:30 p.m. EDT.