The Edmonton Elks (2-6) visited Percival Molson Memorial Stadium on Friday night against the Montreal Alouettes (5-4). Edmonton quarterback Cody Fajardo returned to Montreal for the first time since the Eastern Final.
For the second week in a row, Montreal did not have their best receivers in Tyson Philpot, James Letcher Jr., and Austin Mack, were all placed on the one-game injured list.
First Quarter:
In the first quarter, Edmonton started at the 40-yard line. Quarterback Cody Fajardo threw two passes for 16 yards, and running back Justin Rankin had two carries for one yard. On third down, Edmonton punter Cody Grace punted the ball 54 yards. The ball bounced into the endzone and out of bounds for a single point. Edmonton took a 1-0 lead with 11:38 left.
Later, Montreal’s offense moved the ball to the 26-yard line before the drive stalled. Kicker Jose Maltos made a 34-yard field goal. The Alouettes took a 3-1 lead with 6:12 left.
Late in the first quarter, Edmonton punter Cody Grace punted the ball 62 yards to Travis Theis. Theis ran to his left side and broke three tackles on his way to scoring an 80-yard touchdown. Montreal extended its lead to 10-1 heading into the second quarter.
Montreal’s offense had 44 yards (21 yards passing, 23 yards rushing), and Edmonton’s offense had 18 yards (32 yards passing, 2 yards rushing, 16 yards lost).
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Montreal had the ball on the 44-yard line. Running back Travis Theis started the drive with a six-yard run, followed by quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson throwing two passes for four yards to reach the 34-yard line. Kicker Jose Maltos made a 42-yard field goal. The Alouettes led the Elks 13-1 with 3:55 left.
Late in the second quarter, Edmonton quarterback Cody Fajardo threw two passes for 18 yards to the 52-yard line. On the next play, Fajardo faked a running play, which set up a screen pass. He threw the ball to Justin Rankin, who had blockers in front of him to gain 43 yards before getting pushed out of bounds at the nine-yard line.
After Montreal defensive lineman Shawn Oakman sacked Fajardo for a two-yard loss, Fajardo came back to throw a six-yard pass to Arkell Smith. On third down, kicker Vincent Blanchard made a 12-yard field goal. The Elks trailed the Alouettes 13-4 with 1:45 left.
Edmonton was looking for a break to get them back into the game. They got it. Montreal quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson attempted to throw the ball to Charleston Rambo. There was a miscommunication between the two, and it resulted in Edmonton defensive back Tyrell Ford intercepting it for an 87-yard pick-six touchdown. The Elks trailed the Alouettes 13-11 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Montreal’s offense had 119 yards (79 yards passing, 42 yards rushing, 21 yards lost), 7 first downs, no redzone opportunities, and the team was penalized two times for 15 yards. Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 10 of 15 passes (66%) for 79 yards, one interception, and one carry for one yard.
Running back Sean Thomas-Erlington had seven carries for 29 yards. Wide receiver Charleston Rambo made four catches for 28 yards, and Tyler Snead made three catches for 25 yards. The defense made two tackles for loss and three sacks.
Edmonton’s offense had 110 yards (125 yards passing, 3 yards rushing, 18 yards lost), 5 first downs, 0 for 1 in the redzone, and the team was penalized two times for 15 yards. Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 11 of 13 passes (84.6%) for 125 yards and led the rushers with one carry for three yards.
Running backs Jevon Leake and Justin Rankin combined with six carries for no yards. Justin Rankin led the receivers making two catches for 51 yards, while Steven Dunbar Jr. made four catches for 25 yards. The defense made one tackle for loss, one interception, and one touchdown.
Third Quarter:
Caleb Evans was the new quarterback for Montreal to start the third quarter. McLeod Bethel-Thompson did not play in the second half. In the third quarter, Montreal running back Sean Thomas-Erlington injured his wrist after making a five-yard catch. During the drive, Evans threw four passes for 44 yards, leading the offense to the 19-yard line.
On the next play, Evans threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Cole Spieker. Jose Maltos missed the extra point, and the Alouettes led the Elks 19-11 with 2:09 left to cap off a nine-play drive for 79 yards.
Montreal’s defense limited Edmonton’s offense to 49 yards in the third quarter. Late in the third quarter, Montreal linebacker Darnell Sankey almost picked off Fajardo. Montreal had the ball on the 16-yard line to start the fourth quarter up 19-11.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Edmonton’s offense moved the ball to the 47-yard line. Kicker Vincent Blanchard attempted a 54-yard field goal and missed it wide left.
Montreal returner Tyler Snead returned the missed field goal for 19 yards before running into his teammate Wesley Sutton, and Edmonton linebacker Nyles Morgan stripped the ball. Edmonton defensive lineman Brandon Barlow recovered the ball at the eight-yard line.
Edmonton quarterback Cody Fajardo threw a seven-yard pass to Jevon Leake to the one-yard line. On the next play, Fajardo threw a one-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Kaion Julien-Grant. They went for a two-point conversion to tie the game and did not get it. The Elks trailed the Alouettes 19-17 with 10:11 left.
Late in the fourth quarter, Montreal’s offense moved the ball to the 45-yard line. Kicker Jose Maltos made a 53-yard field goal. The Alouettes led the Elks 22-17 with 1:12 left.
Edmonton’s offense started at the 47-yard line. Quarterback Cody Fajardo threw three passes for 48 yards to the 15-yard line. On the next play, Fajardo threw the ball to Kaion Julien-Grant. He broke a tackle on his way to scoring a touchdown. Edmonton tried a two-point conversion, but did not get it. The Elks led the Alouettes 23-22 with 15 seconds left to cap off a six-play drive for 63 yards.
Montreal quarterback Caleb Evans threw a short pass to Charleston Rambo for a four-yard loss. On the last play of the game, Evans threw the ball to Tyler Snead. Snead threw the ball to Cole Spieker, but Edmonton’s defense was on him, and the game was over. Edmonton completed the comeback with a 23-22 win over Montreal.
Final Stats:
Edmonton’s offense had 256 yards (289 yards passing, 14 yards rushing, 47 yards lost), 16 first downs, 2 for 3 in the redzone, and the team was penalized six times for 55 yards. Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 27 of 38 passes (71%) for 289 yards, two touchdowns, and led the rushers with three carries for 14 yards.
Running back Justin Rankin led the receivers making four catches for 88 yards, and Kaion Julien-Grant made five catches for 45 yards and two touchdowns. The defense made 43 tackles, two tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one interception, and one touchdown.
Montreal’s offense had 263 yards (192 yards passing, 73 yards rushing, 2 yards lost), 14 first downs, 1 for 1 in the redzone, and the team was penalized six times for 41 yards. Quarterback Caleb Evans completed 14 of 18 passes (77%) for 113 yards, one touchdown, and four carries for 10 yards.
Running back Sean Thomas-Erlington had eight carries for 33 yards. Wide receiver Charleston Rambo made eight catches for 51 yards, while Cole Spieker made three catches for 50 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 38 tackles, two tackles for loss, and six sacks.
Next week, the Edmonton Elks host the Toronto Argonauts on Friday at 9 pm on TSN and CFL+, while the Montreal Alouettes visit the B.C. Lions on Saturday at 7 pm on TSN, CBS Sports Network, and CFL+.
