The Edmonton Elks (9-3) visited McMahon Stadium on Monday night to conclude the OK Tire Labour Day Weekend against the Calgary Stampeders (5-7) in the first of two meetings this season.
In the first quarter, both teams went two-and-out twice. On third down, Calgary punter Mark Vassett punted the ball 72 yards. The ball rolled into the endzone, where returner ShunDerrick Powell conceded the rouge. The Stampeders led 1-0 with 7:11 left. Late in the first quarter, Calgary kicker Rene Paredes made a 36-yard field goal for a 4-0 lead with 52 seconds left.
The Elks had the ball on the 40-yard line. Justin Rankin rushed for two yards and caught a one-yard pass to the 43-yard field goal. Calgary got the ball on the six-yard line to start the second quarter. Calgary’s offense had 38 yards, and Edmonton’s offense had 15 yards. Calgary went 2 for 4 on second down, and Edmonton went 0 for 4 on second down.
In the second quarter, Calgary defensive lineman Clarence Hicks sacked Fajardo for a five-yard loss, causing a fumble, and it was recovered by Marquel Lee on the 50-yard line. Running back Dedrick Mills rushed for four yards, followed by Vernon Adams Jr. throwing a 17-yard pass to Dejon Brissett to the 39-yard line. Two plays later, Edmonton blitzed Adams Jr. He had enough time to throw the ball to a wide-open Jalen Philpot for the touchdown. The Stampeders led 11-0 with 7:27 left on a four-play drive for 60 yards.
Late in the second quarter, Edmonton had the ball on the 28-yard line. Edmonton moved the ball to the six-yard line before Cody Fajardo threw a touchdown pass to Kaion Julien-Grant. The Elks trailed the Stampeders 11-7 with 2:33 left on an 11-play drive for 82 yards.
After Calgary moved the ball to the 54-yard line before punting the ball back to Edmonton. Their defense got the ball back when Cody Fajardo’s pass intended for Austin Mack was intercepted by Anthony Johnson Jr. at the 32-yard line. The Stampeders moved the ball to the one-yard line before Quincy Vaughn scored the touchdown for an 18-7 lead at halftime on a seven-play drive for 32 yards. The Stampeders scored 14 points off turnovers.
Calgary’s offense had 145 yards. Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. went 9 of 16 for 100 yards, one touchdown, and four carries for 33 yards. Running back Dedrick Mills had six carries for 20 yards. Wide receiver Jalen Philpot made five catches for 58 yards and one touchdown, while Erik Brooks made two catches for 20 yards. They were seven of 14 on second down. The defense had one interception, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Edmonton’s offense had 108 yards. Quarterback Cody Fajardo went 9 of 16 for 99 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and three carries for 15 yards. Running back Rankin had one carry for -1 yard, and three catches for seven yards. Wide receiver Austin Mack made one catch for 26 yards, while Kaion Julien-Grant made two catches for 25 yards and one touchdown. The Elks went three for eight on second down.
Calgary got the ball to start the third quarter at the 35-yard line. Wide receiver Jalen Philpot rushed for two yards before Vernon Adams Jr. threw two passes for 37 yards to the 36-yard line. After Calgary was penalized for too many men on the field, losing five yards, Adams Jr. threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Clark Barnes for a 25-7 lead with 12:07 left on a five-play drive for 75 yards.
Midway through the third quarter, Edmonton had the ball on the 20-yard line. Running back ShunDerrick Powell had four carries for 28 yards, helping the Elks move the ball to the seven-yard line. Then, Cody Fajardo threw a touchdown pass to Austin Mack. The Elks trailed the Stampeders 25-14 with 2:52 left on a 10-play drive for 90 yards.
After Calgary went two-and-out, Edmonton had the ball for the rest of the third quarter. Cody Fajardo rushed for six yards, followed by throwing a seven-yard pass to Kaion Julien-Grant to the 19-yard line to end the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Edmonton’s drive stalled. Calgary returner Tyreik McAllister returned a 56-yard punt for 43 yards to the 33-yard line. Calgary lost a couple of yards before kicker Rene Paredes made a 42-yard field goal for a 28-14 lead with 12:15 left.
Edmonton had the ball on the 40-yard line. Running back ShunDerrick Powell had two carries for seven yards, and Cody Fajardo threw three passes for 60 yards to the three-yard line. ShunDerrick Powell broke three tackles to score the touchdown. It was now 28-21 with 8:25 left on a six-play drive for 70 yards.
Edmonton’s defense would quickly get the ball back. The Stampeders had the ball on the 25-yard line when Vernon Adams Jr. completed a pass to Clark Barnes. Defensive back Kordell Jackson smacked the ball out, and it was recovered by Noah Taylor at the 50-yard line. Edmonton went two-and-out before kicker Vincent Blanchard made a 52-yard field goal. The Elks trailed the Stampeders 28-24 with 6:14 left in the game.
For the third straight series, Calgary’s offense went two-and-out. ShunDerrick Powell returned a 41-yard punt for 35 yards to the 50-yard line. Cody Fajardo handed the ball to Justin Rankin. He made plenty of Calgary players miss him on his way to scoring a 50-yard touchdown to give the Elks a 31-28 lead with 4:05 left.
Late in the game, Calgary had the ball with 1:23 left from the 12-yard line. On the second play, Noah Taylor sacked Adams Jr. for a nine-yard loss to bring up third down from the three-yard line. Vernon Adams Jr.’s pass intended for Jalen Philpot was incomplete, turning the ball over to Edmonton with 55 seconds left. It took five plays before Cole Snyder scored a one-yard touchdown for a 38-28 win over the Stampeders.
Edmonton’s offense had 339 yards (181 passing yards, 163 rushing yards, 5 yards lost), 24 first downs, 4 for 4 in the redzone, and the team was penalized eight times for 70 yards. Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 17 of 31 passes (55%) for 181 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and seven carries for 76 yards. Running back Justin Rankin had five carries for 48 yards and one touchdown, while ShunDerrick Powell had seven carries for 38 yards and one touchdown.
Wide receiver Joe Robustelli made three catches for 53 yards, while Kaion Julien-Grant made four catches for 42 yards and one touchdown, and Austin Mack made two catches for 33 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 37 tackles, one tackle for loss, four sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Calgary’s offense had 279 yards (214 passing yards, 90 rushing yards, 25 yards lost), 13 first downs, 1 for 1 in the redzone, and the team was penalized 13 times for 93 yards. Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. completed 15 of 29 passes (51.7%) for 214 yards, two touchdowns, and four carries for 33 yards. Running back Dedrick Mills had 11 carries for 49 yards and one catch for six yards.
Wide receiver Clark Barnes made three catches for 75 yards and one touchdown, while Jalen Philpot made six catches for 63 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 35 tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
The teams will meet in a rematch in Edmonton next Saturday at 7 pm on TSN and CFL+.
