The Edmonton Elks (7-3) hosted the Toronto Argonauts (4-5) on Saturday afternoon at Commonwealth Stadium in their first of two meetings this season.
Edmonton got the ball to start the game at the 35-yard line. On the second play, quarterback Cody Fajardo threw a 20-yard pass to Austin Mack. Toronto defensive back Jack Ceasar stripped the ball out, and it was recovered by Adarius Pickett for a 17-yard return to the 50-yard line. Toronto quarterback Chad Kelly threw a 21-yard pass to Kevin Mital to the 29-yard line. After the drive stalled, kicker Brady Lidster made a 36-yard field goal to put the Argonauts up 3-0 with 12:12 left.
Edmonton had the ball on the 40-yard line. Running back Justin Rankin had two carries for minus three yards, and Cody Fajardo threw two passes for 28 yards to the 45-yard line. Kicker Vincent Blanchard made a 52-yard field goal, tying the game 3-3 with 9:20 left.
Toronto’s offense would get 15 yards on their next drive before punting the ball back to Edmonton. Cody Fajardo threw two passes for 21 yards, and Javon Leake had three carries for 19 yards to the 52-yard line. Punter Jake Julien punted the ball 62 yards. The ball bounced into the endzone, where Toronto returner Janarion Grant conceded the single point. The Elks took a 4-3 lead with 4:21 left.
Toronto’s offense moved the ball to the 28-yard line, but kicker Brady Lidster missed a 35-yard field goal. Edmonton moved the ball to the 30-yard line to close out the first quarter. The Elks had 122 yards on offense, while the Argonauts had 64 yards on offense.
In the second quarter, the Elks continued to move the ball to the one-yard line. Quarterback Cole Snyder scored the touchdown, extending Edmonton’s lead to 11-3 with 10:17 left on a 13-play drive for 105 yards.
For the majority of the second quarter, both teams went two-and-out. Late in the second quarter, Toronto had the ball on the 52-yard line. Chad Kelly threw a six-yard pass to Damonte Coxie, followed by a 51-yard pass to Kevin Mital to the one-yard line. Nick Arbuckle came in and scored the touchdown. The Argonauts went for a two-point conversion, but did not get it. They trailed the Elks 11-9 at halftime.
Edmonton’s offense had 220 yards. The Elks went 6 of 13 on second down. Cody Fajardo went 14 of 17 for 157 yards, and three carries for 50 yards. Running back Javon Leake had four carries for 24 yards. Wide receiver T.J. Luther made four catches for 47 yards, while Joshua Cephus made three catches for 37 yards.
Toronto’s offense had 135 yards. The Argonauts went 3 of 10 on second down. Chad Kelly went 11 of 19 for 142 yards. Running back Samuel Hicks had two carries for five yards. Wide receiver Kevin Mital made four catches for 77 yards, and Tyler Kahmann made two catches for 23 yards.
In the third quarter, Edmonton’s special teams came up big when Richard Jibunor hit the ball out of Janarion Grant’s arm, and it was recovered by Brock Mogensen at the 34-yard line. The Elks only got five yards before Vincent Blanchard made a 37-yard field goal for a 14-9 lead with 13:18 left.
The two teams continued to trade field goals. Toronto kicker Brady Lidster made a 37-yard field goal, and Edmonton kicker Vincent Blanchard made a 46-yard field goal for a 17-12 lead with 6:19 left. Toronto had the ball on the 40-yard line.
Chad Kelly completed a seven-yard pass to Damonte Coxie. Edmonton defensive back J.J. Ross stripped the ball out, and it was recovered by Joel Dublanko on the 47-yard line. Two plays in, Cody Fajardo threw a 37-yard pass to Justin Rankin to the eight-yard line. Rankin finished the drive off by breaking tackles on his way into the endzone. The Elks extended their lead to 24-12 on a three-play drive for 47 yards. After Toronto went two-and-out, Edmonton had the ball for the rest of the third quarter. The offense moved the ball to the 51-yard line to end the third quarter.
Edmonton began the fourth quarter by punting the ball to Toronto. The Argonauts moved the ball to the 27-yard line. On third down, Edmonton’s defense stopped them short at the 26-yard line. Cody Fajardo threw a 16-yard pass to Austin Mack to the 10-yard line. Two plays later, Fajardo threw a touchdown pass to Joshua Cephus for a 31-12 lead with 11:01 left on a four-play drive for 26 yards. The Elks scored 17 points off turnovers.
Toronto had the ball on the 36-yard line. Chad Kelly completed two passes for 33 yards, followed by Samuel Hicks rushing for eight yards to the 33-yard line. Then, Chad Kelly’s pass intended for Damonte Coxie was intercepted by J.J. Ross for an 81-yard pick-six touchdown. Kicker Vincent Blanchard initially missed the extra point, but a penalty on Toronto gave him another shot. He made the extra point on his second try. It was now 38-12 with 8:51 left.
Edmonton’s defense stopped the Argonauts on third down. The offense took their time moving the ball to the 17-yard line. Kicker Vincent Blanchard made a 24-yard field goal for a 41-12 lead with 1:43 left. Blanchard kicked the ball 96 yards into the endzone, where Janarion Grant conceded the single point. It was now 42-12.
With the game out of reach, Toronto put in Nick Arbuckle to finish the game. Toronto moved the ball to the 40-yard line before Nick Arbuckle’s intended for Janarion Grant was intercepted by J.J. Ross to end the game. The Elks beat the Argonauts 42-12. The Argonauts were shut out in the second half.
Edmonton’s offense had 431 yards (301 passing yards, 158 rushing yards, 28 yards lost), 22 first downs, 3 for 4 in the redzone, and the team was penalized seven times for 69 yards. Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 25 of 31 passes (80.6%) for 301 yards, one touchdown, and three carries for 50 yards. Running back Justin Rankin had 16 carries for 47 yards, one rushing touchdown, and four catches for 61 yards, while Javon Leake had six carries for 58 yards and one catch for three yards.
Wide receiver Austin Mack made four catches for 58 yards, and Joshua Cephus made six catches for 55 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 37 tackles, two tackles for loss, three sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and two third-down stops for a total of six turnovers. J.J. Ross had himself an afternoon with four tackles, two interceptions, including an 81-yard pick-six touchdown, and one forced fumble.
Toronto’s offense had 287 yards (277 passing yards, 45 rushing yards, 35 yards lost), 12 first downs, 1 for 1 in the redzone, and the team was penalized five times for 60 yards. Quarterback Chad Kelly completed 21 of 31 passes (67.7%) for 265 yards, one interception, and two carries for 11 yards. Running back Isaiah Smith had four carries for 23 yards, and Samuel Hicks had five carries for 10 yards.
Wide receiver Kevin Mital made six catches for 89 yards, and Tyler Kahmann made four catches for 56 yards. The defense made 53 tackles, four tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery.
Next Friday, the Edmonton Elks host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at 9:30 pm on TSN, CBS Sports Network, and CFL+, while the Toronto Argonauts host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday at 7 pm on TSN, CBS Sports Network, and CFL+.
