Edmonton Elks’ defeat REDBLACKS for season’s first win
The Edmonton Elks pick up their first win of the season on Sunday at Commonwealth Stadium, powered by a pair of long-distance touchdowns from Justin Rankin in a 39-33 win over the Ottawa REDBLACKS.
Rankin led his side for yards in both the rushing and receiving game, going for 105 on the ground and 69 through the air to add to his two majors of over 45 yards.
Elks pivot Tre Ford was efficient behind centre, completing 15 of his 17 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns, while spreading the ball to nine different targets to help Edmonton improve to 1-3 and get Mark Kilam his first win as a head coach.
Javon Leake splashed with a 94-yard punt return touchdown, one of two kicks run back for scores in a wild second quarter.
Dru Brown could not extend his consecutive 400-yard game streak to four in his return to the REDBLACKS lineup, finishing 31-of-43 with 316 yards and two touchdowns in the losing effort.
It wasn’t the result Eugene Lewis wanted in his return to Edmonton, but the former Elk still found the end zone and tallied a team-high eight receptions and 75 receiving yards to make his mark.
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It was a strong start for the Elks on offence. After narrowly avoiding a turnover on downs in their first series, Ford escaped a heavy blitz and hit Steven Dunbar Jr. for a 14-yard, difficult grab. On the next play, he floated a screen pass to Rankin, who broke through a face-mask penalty on a 45-yard rumble, the team’s first opening-drive touchdown this season. Vincent Blanchard nailed the extra point before pushing the ensuing kickoff out of the end zone to give Edmonton an early 8-0 lead.
Brown was eager to respond on his first drive since Week 1, going three-for-three in the air for 39 yards before an offside penalty stalled the approach. Lewis Ward hit from 42 yards out to get the REDBLACKS aboard.
When Edmonton got the ball back, Ford stayed hot, completing all five passes on the drive en route to a blistering 10-for-10 start. The Canadian quarterback capped the series with a creative end-around toss to Kurleigh Gittens Jr., as offensive coordinator Jordan Maksymic dug deep into his playsheet to keep Ottawa’s front seven guessing at the goal line. Blanchard’s extra point made it 15-3.
Early in the second quarter, both defences tightened up, forcing four straight punts. On the fourth, Ottawa’s Richie Leone sent it deep, and Leake made him pay. The explosive return man found a seam, beat his man to the edge, and coasted in for a 94-yard score – Edmonton’s first return touchdown since Deontez Alexander‘s tally on October 21, 2023. Blanchard’s conversion pushed the Elks’ lead to 19 with 10 minutes left in the half.
A couple of drives later, Brown and the REDBLACKS started to regain their rhythm on offence, mounting a six-play, 68-yard push. Pimpleton popped with three straight grabs, including a 30-yard catch-and-run, and Lewis capped the drive with a catch in the back of the end zone for the major. Ward stayed true on the extra point to make it a 12-point game once again.
After the three-minute warning, Ottawa’s defence forced a quick stop to get Ford off the field. But the offence would have to wait, as Pimpleton, in for the injured special-teams ace DeVonte Dedmon, answered Leake’s earlier big play with a 97-yard punt-return touchdown of his own. The score makes it the first week in the CFL with four kick-return touchdowns since 2004. Ward added the point-after to cut the deficit to five points heading into halftime.
Edmonton avoided a half-opening disaster when a roughing-the-passer penalty nullified a Ford fumble that was returned for a touchdown. But the relief was short-lived as Cody Fajardo‘s back-to-back sneaks came up empty and the Elks turned it over on downs at their own 37. Ottawa could not completely capitalise on the favourable field position after being derailed by penalties, and settled for a 42-yard three-pointer from Ward to make it 25-19.
The Elks upped the urgency after the turnover, going back to Leake, who was blanketed in double coverage, on an impossible 46-yard bomb. Ford looked to make some magic of his own on second down in the red zone, but a timely Adarius Pickett tackle on the scramble attempt brought out Blanchard and the kicking team for a 21-yard boot.
On their next possession, the Elks wasted no time as Rankin pushed the pill through a massive hole at the line for 74 yards and the touchdown on the second play of the drive – the longest rushing play by any team this season and the third longest since the start of the 2019 season. Blanchard added another, and Edmonton had regained its 12-point cushion.
Trailing by nine to start the fourth quarter after a 43-yard field goal to end the third, the REDBLACKS dipped into their bag for a nine-play scoring drive. Lewis was the catalyst, hauling in a 21-yard jumping reception and drawing an unnecessary roughness flag to get the ball on Edmonton’s side of the field. Elks defensive back Kobe Williams nearly got the team its first interception of the season when he got his hands on a back-shoulder throw for Justin Hardy at the pylons, but the deflection stopped the drive. Ward hit his fourth field goal of the game from 28 yards out, which Edmonton would answer with a Blanchard field goal on their next drive.
With one last push, REDBLACKS receiver Andre Miller came up short of the yard to gain on third-and-three, turning the ball over on downs. Edmonton bled the clock with a couple of strong runs from Rankin, setting up Blanchard for an insurance field goal, and Pimpleton knelt the ensuing kickoff in the end zone to make it 39-26.
Brown would connect with Miller for a consolation touchdown with 10 seconds left in the contest, but Ottawa could not come up with the onside kick, and Edmonton closed it out with a final kneel-down.
The REDBLACKS remain on the road in Week 6, where they will take on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on July 12, while the Elks play host to the BC Lions on July 13.
