The Edmonton Elks (11-4) hosted the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (4-11) on Saturday night in their first of two meetings this season.
In the first quarter, Hamilton had the ball on the 54-yard line. Quarterback Harrison Frost threw three passes for 18 yards to the 22-yard line. Kicker Marc Liegghio made a 30-yard field goal to give the Tiger-Cats a 3-0 lead with 9:08 left. Edmonton came back to tie the game 3-3 when kicker Vincent Blanchard made a 40-yard field goal.
Hamilton had the ball on the 40-yard line. The Tiger-Cats moved the ball to the 39-yard line. On the next play, Frost handed the ball to Larry Rountree III, who got a good block from his linemen on his way to scoring a touchdown to give the Tiger-Cats a 10-3 lead with 2:38 left on a five-play drive for 70 yards.
Edmonton had the ball for the rest of the first quarter. Running back ShunDerrick Powell had two carries for 48 yards as Edmonton’s offense moved the ball to the 29-yard line to end the first quarter. Edmonton’s offense had 107 yards, and Hamilton’s offense had 104 yards.
In the second quarter, Edmonton kicker Vincent Blanchard made a 37-yard field goal. The Elks trailed the Tiger-Cats 10-6 with 14:53 left. Edmonton went two-and-out, but they caught a break when Myron Mitchell could not catch a 53-yard punt by Jake Julien. Royce Metchie fell on the ball at the 12-yard line.
Despite the good field position, Edmonton could not score a touchdown. Instead, kicker Vincent Blanchard made a 22-yard field goal. The Elks trailed the Tiger-Cats 10-9 with 9:34 left. Late in the second quarter, Edmonton kicker Vincent Blanchard made his fourth field goal for 54 yards to give the Elks a 12-10 lead with 2:58 left.
On the second play, Edmonton’s defense put pressure on Harrison Frost. Frost’s pass intended for Tyler Ternowski was intercepted by J.J. Ross at the 40-yard line. The Elks would go two-and-out. Just before halftime, Edmonton kicker Vincent Blanchard made a 25-yard field goal for a 15-10 lead at halftime.
Edmonton’s offense had 217 yards, 11 first downs, and 5 of 14 on second downs. Quarterback Cody Fajardo went 15 of 21 for 136 yards and four carries for 24 yards. Running back ShunDerrick Powell had two carries for 48 yards. Wide receiver Zach Mathis made three catches for 48 yards, and Austin Mack made three catches for 30 yards.
Hamilton’s offense had 112 yards, five first downs, and 3 for 8 on second downs. Quarterback Harrison Frost went 6 of 11 for 45 yards and one interception. Running back Larry Rountree III had six carries for 68 yards and one rushing touchdown. Wide receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr. made two catches for 23 yards, and Myron Mitchell made one catch for 14 yards.
Edmonton got the ball to start the third quarter at the 20-yard line. Running back ShunDerrick Powell had two carries for seven yards, and Cody Fajardo threw an 11-yard pass to Brendan O’Leary-Orange to the 39-yard line. On the next play, Fajardo threw a 15-yard pass to Zach Mathis. Hamilton defensive back Destin Talbert stripped the ball just before Mathis went down and recovered it on the 45-yard line. Hamilton went two-and-out.
Edmonton had the ball on the 27-yard line. Cody Fajardo threw a short pass to Justin Rankin for 25 yards to the 52-yard line. Justin Rankin also had two carries for 25 yards to the 33-yard line before kicker Vincent Blanchard made a 40-yard field goal for an 18-10 lead with 8:05 left.
Hamilton had the ball on the 40-yard line. Larry Rountree III rushed for one yard before Harrison Frost threw two passes for 35 yards to the 34-yard line. On the next play, Hamilton went with a screen play as Frost threw the ball to Kurleigh Gittens Jr. He had blockers in front of him on his way to scoring the touchdown. They tried a two-point conversion, but Tyrell Ford intercepted the ball. The Tiger-Cats trailed the Elks 18-16 with 5:14 left on a four-play drive for 70 yards.
The Elks had the ball on the 55-yard line. Cody Fajardo threw two passes for 20 yards, and Justin Rankin rushed for 34 yards to the one-yard line. Cody Fajardo scored the touchdown to give the Elks a 25-16 lead with 2:54 left on a four-play drive for 55 yards.
Hamilton had the ball on the 51-yard line. The Tiger-Cats moved the ball to the 31-yard line before Harrison Frost threw a touchdown pass to Tyler Ternowski. It was now 25-22 with 14:47 left on a six-play drive for 59 yards. Edmonton had the ball on the 29-yard line. Cody Fajardo threw 33 yards to the 54-yard line. Punter Jake Julian punted the ball 62 yards into the endzone, where returner Isaiah Wooden Sr. conceded the single point. The Elks led 26-23 with 10:48 left.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio made a 47-yard field goal to tie the game 26-26 with 6:26 left. Late in the game, Hamilton had a chance to take the lead, but kicker Marc Liegghio missed a 51-yard field goal wide right. The Elks had the ball on the 21-yard line. Hamilton’s defense stepped up when Reggie Stubblefield picked off Cody Fajardo at the 29-yard line. The Tiger-Cats moved the ball to the 14-yard line before Marc Liegghio made a 22-yard field goal for a 29-26 lead with 52 seconds left.
Edmonton quickly moved the ball before kicker Vincent Blanchard made a 27-yard field goal, tying the game 29-29 to send the game to overtime. In overtime, Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio made a 42-yard field goal for a 32-29 lead. Edmonton kicker Vincent Blanchard made a 37-yard field goal, tying the game 32-32. It was his eighth field goal of the night.
Blanchard would set a CFL record with nine field goals for a 35-32 lead. Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio made a 12-yard field goal, tying the game 35-35. With the game still tied, the teams now had to go for two-point conversions. Hamilton did not get the two-point conversion. Edmonton ended the game when Cody Fajardo threw the ball to Joshua Cephus for two points to end the game. The Elks beat the Tiger-Cats 37-35. Hamilton is officially eliminated from playoff contention.
Edmonton’s offense had 448 yards (298 passing yards, 154 rushing yards, 4 yards lost), 23 first downs, 10 of 27 on second downs, 1 for 4 in the redzone, and the team was penalized nine times for 83 yards. Quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 32 of 47 passes (68%) for 298 yards, one interception, six carries for 28 yards, and one rushing touchdown.
Running back Justin Rankin had 11 carries for 74 yards and four catches for 42 yards. Wide receiver Zach Mathis made five catches for 75 yards, and Austin Mack made seven catches for 62 yards. The defense made 33 tackles, two interceptions, and one fumble recovery.
Hamilton’s offense had 312 yards (214 passing yards, 103 rushing yards, 5 yards lost), 16 first downs, 6 of 20 on second downs, 0 for 2 in the redzone, and the team was penalized six times for 35 yards. Quarterback Harrison Frost completed 17 of 34 passes (50%) for 214 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and one carry for five yards. Running back Larry Rountree III had 13 carries for 91 yards, one rushing touchdown, and one catch for five yards.
Wide receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr. made four catches for 62 yards and one touchdown, while Kenny Lawler made four catches for 50 yards, and Tyler Ternowski made two catches for 45 yards and one touchdown. The defense made 54 tackles, four tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
Next Friday, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats visit the Ottawa Redblacks at 7 pm on TSN and CFL+. The Edmonton Elks are on a bye week.
