The Edmonton Elks (7-9) hosted the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (8-8) on Saturday night from Commonwealth Stadium in their second and final meeting of the regular season.
Winnipeg was missing several players for this game, including running back Payton Logan (Non-Injury Related), wide receiver Keric Wheatfall (Head), offensive lineman Micah Vanterpool (Non-Injury Related), and defensive back Michael Griffin (Knee). For Edmonton, they did not have linebacker Nick Anderson (Abdominal).
First Quarter:
In the first quarter, Edmonton had the ball on the 40-yard line. Running back Justin Rankin rushed for five yards to the 35-yard line, and that was all they got. Kicker Vincent Blanchard attempted a 43-yard field goal. Blanchard missed it wide right, and Winnipeg returner Trey Vaval returned it for 58 yards to the 46-yard line.
Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros threw four passes for 27 yards, and running back Brady Oliveira had one carry for 17 yards to the 20-yard line. Edmonton’s defense pressured Collaros a couple of times, forcing two incomplete passes. On third down, Kicker Sergio Castillo made a 28-yard field goal, putting the Blue Bombers up 3-0 with 5:41 left.
Edmonton quickly responded. Quarterback Cody Fajardo began the drive by throwing a 37-yard pass to Kaion Julien-Grant to the 33-yard line. Running back Javon Leake picked up five more yards to the 28-yard line before the drive stalled. Kicker Vincent Blanchard made a 35-yard field goal, and the game was tied 3-3 with 3:26 left.
Late in the first quarter, Zach Collaros threw two passes for 23 yards, and Brady Oliveira had two carries for nine yards. On the final play of the first quarter, Chris Streveler rushed for six yards to the 22-yard line. The game remained tied 3-3.
Winnipeg’s offense had 85 yards (54 yards passing, 32 yards rushing, 1 yard lost), and Edmonton’s offense had 48 yards (37 yards passing, 11 yards rushing).
Second Quarter:
In the second quarter, Winnipeg’s offense moved the ball to the two-yard line. Then, backup quarterback Chris Streveler followed his linemen into the endzone. The Blue Bombers went ahead 10-3 with 12:12 left to cap off a 10-play drive for 70 yards.
Edmonton’s offense had the ball on the 23-yard line. They ate up over eight minutes off the clock, moving the ball to the four-yard line. On the next play, Cody Fajardo faked a handoff to Justin Rankin and ran into the endzone. The game was tied 10-10 with 3:48 left to cap off a 14-play drive for 87 yards.
Late in the second quarter, Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros attempted a pass to Nic Demski. His pass was short, and Edmonton defensive back J.J. Ross made the interception. He returned it for 59 yards to the 29-yard line. Winnipeg wide receiver Nic Demski grabbed the back of his leg while walking to the sideline. He would later be ruled out for the rest of the game.
Edmonton quarterback Cody Fajardo completed a pass to Justin Rankin for a one-yard loss and rushed for 14 yards to the 16-yard line. A time count penalty on Edmonton backed them up 10 yards. Kicker Vincent Blanchard missed a 33-yard field goal wide left, but did get a single point out of it. The Elks led the Blue Bombers 11-10 at halftime.
First Half Stats:
Running back Justin Rankin had 11 carries for 54 yards. Wide receiver Kaion Julien-Grant made two catches for 48 yards, while O.J. Hiliare made three catches for 36 yards. The defense made one tackle for loss, one sack, and one interception.
Winnipeg’s offense had 125 yards (82 yards passing, 44 yards rushing, 1 yard lost), 9 first downs, 1 for 2 in the redzone, and the team was penalized one time for eight yards. Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 10 of 14 passes (71.4%) for 82 yards and one interception.
Running back Brady Oliveira had six carries for 36 yards and two catches for 14 yards. Wide receiver Jerreth Sterns made three catches for 33 yards, while Ontaria Wilson made two catches for 12 yards. The defense made one tackle for loss.
Third Quarter:
Edmonton started the third quarter on the 38-yard line. Cody Fajardo completed a seven-yard pass to O.J. Hilaire, and Justin Rankin rushed for one yard to the 46-yard line. On third down, Fajardo handed the ball off to Rankin. He broke a couple of tackles before turning on the jets to score a 64-yard touchdown. The Elks extended their lead to 18-10 with 12:38 left.
Late in the third quarter, Winnipeg punter Jamieson Sheahan punted the ball 41 yards to Javon Leake. Leake started to run before Jaylen Smith knocked the ball out, causing a fumble. There was a scramble for the football before Kordell Jackson scooped it up and took it to the house for a 47-yard touchdown. The Elks extended their lead to 25-10 with 3:57 left.
Winnipeg had the ball on the 30-yard line. Running back Brady Oliveira started the drive with a 34-yard run to the 46-yard line. Two plays later, Edmonton’s defense got called for a roughing the passer penalty, and Oliveira rushed for four yards to the 27-yard line. The drive stalled, and kicker Sergio Castillo made a 34-yard field goal. The Blue Bombers trailed the Elks 25-13 with 40 seconds left.
Edmonton running back Justin Rankin rushed for four yards, and quarterback Cody Fajardo rushed for six yards to the 50-yard line to end the third quarter with a 25-13 lead.
Fourth Quarter:
In the fourth quarter, Winnipeg’s offense moved the ball to the 45-yard line. Two plays later, Zach Collaros’ pass intended for Jerreth Sterns was intercepted by Kenneth Logan Jr. He returned it for 37 yards to the 38-yard line, but an unnecessary roughness penalty backed them up 15 yards on the 43-yard line. Edmonton went two-and-out. Winnipeg had the ball on the 50-yard line. Quarterback Zach Collaros threw two passes for 25 yards to the 35-yard line.
On the next play, in what can be described as the catch of the year, Zach Collaros threw a long pass into the endzone intended for Ontaria Wilson. The ball was short, and Wilson had Chelen Garnes in front of him. Wilson was able to tip the ball to himself three times before making the catch for a 35-yard touchdown. The Blue Bombers trailed the Elks 25-20 with six minutes left to cap off a three-play drive for 65 yards.
Late in the game, Zach Collaros threw two passes for 27 yards to the 50-yard line. On third down, his pass intended for Jerreth Sterns was incomplete, and Edmonton took over on downs. Edmonton went two-and-out, and the Blue Bombers had one second on the clock. Brady Oliveira ended the game with a 29-yard run.
The Edmonton Elks defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 25-20. They won their fourth home game in a row, kept their playoff hopes alive for another week, and snapped a 13-game winless streak against the Blue Bombers.
Final Stats:
Edmonton’s offense had 307 yards (142 yards passing, 165 yards rushing), 15 first downs, 1 for 1 in the redzone, and the team was penalized eight times for 100 yards. Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 13 of 24 passes (54.2%) for 142 yards, four carries for 25 yards, and one rushing touchdown.
Running back Justin Rankin had 18 carries for 138 yards and one rushing touchdown. Wide receiver Kaion Julien-Grant made three catches for 69 yards, while O.J. Hiliare made five catches for 51 yards. The defense made 35 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, two interceptions, and one turnover on downs.
Winnipeg’s offense had 326 yards (202 yards passing, 125 yards rushing, 1 yard lost), 18 first downs, 1 for 2 in the redzone, and the team was penalized one time for eight yards. Quarterback Zach Collaros completed 22 of 34 passes (64.7%) for 202 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Backup quarterback Chris Streveler had two carries for eight yards and one touchdown.
Running back Brady Oliveira had 12 carries for 117 yards and seven catches for 30 yards. Wide receiver Ontaria Wilson made four catches for 65 yards and one touchdown, while Jerreth Sterns made five catches for 43 yards. The defense made 36 tackles, one tackle for loss, and one forced fumble.
Next Friday, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers host the Saskatchewan Roughriders at 8 pm on TSN and CFL+, followed by the Edmonton Elks visiting the B.C. Lions at 10:30 pm on TSN and CFL+.
