Edmonton Elks run their way to first, clinch home West Final (& seven other thoughts)

Photo courtesy: Edmonton Elks

Another Elks game, another first in a long while.

The last playoff game in Edmonton was eleven years ago. On Friday night, the Green and Gold turned that “x” into a “y” to not only host a playoff game, but the West Final as well. As has become normal for this team, they walked away in the fourth quarter of a tight game to beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 35-27.

Here are my thoughts on the game.

THE drive

A dramatic fourth quarter is not uncommon for the 2026 version of the Elks. The difference in this final frame was one spectacular drive.

Edmonton had a 28-24 lead after a 52-yard Vincent Blanchard field goal. An unnecessary roughness penalty moved Winnipeg up to the 55-yard line to start the next drive. Long-time fans started to have a moment of worry as they have seen Zach Collaros act out this kind of script before. Three plays later, Nick Anderson comes out of nowhere to grab an interception at the Elks ‘ 15-yard line. What might be the drive of the year for Edmonton started there.

Justin Rankin was held to only 21 yards on the ground last week against Hamilton. With the clock at just under seven minutes left in the game, the “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Like It University” product took over. After a short pass to Joe Robustelli, the following eight plays all went to the third-year back. Winnipeg had to know it was coming, but there was no way to stop the five-foot-10 powerhouse. One pass to Joshua Cephus to keep things honest and then back to Rank. The five-minute and seventeen-second drive had the Oberlin, Ohio native wrack up 69 of the 95 yards needed for the touchdown. It was a statement drive to lock in the West Final.

“Today my number was being called,” Rankin said. “They let me know that before I went out. We have to run the ball. I’m not shying away from that. I’m okay that the guys believe in me to be able to do that and finish the game. At one point I’m looking to the sideline, and I’m tired as all get out and (Jordan Maksymic) is like, ‘You ain’t quitting on me.’ I think that’s why this team is so successful is because we believe in each other more than anything.”

“I saw championship football,” head coach Mark Kilam said. “I saw an offence that had struggled at times find ways to make plays at a critical time in the game. That’s what good teams do.”

Leading the charge

Not often does a quarterback throw for a total of 120 yards and still get singled out as a star in the game. Cody Fajardo deserves that praise this week.

There were some early struggles, with throws going just over the head or just behind his intended targets. Contrary to what has been the trend, though, only seventeen passes were attempted in the entire game. For perspective, that is less than half of his average attempts in the last three games. Instead, the veteran turned back the clock again and ran eight times for 72 yards. There were two other runs that got erased by penalties.

Most of all, when it mattered most on the last drive, he managed the clock, took what the defence gave him, and led the team to success. Twice, he lined up at the Bomber one-yard line and stretched out to get the major. The Nevada product continues to play with a chip on his shoulder, and it brings out the best in him.

“There’s some things that happened in the offseason,” Fajardo said. “Getting snubbed off the Top 50 in the CFL. People not taking us serious. Having the biggest Grey Cup odds. There’s a lot of things that I take personal. This is very near to my 2023 season in Montreal. I don’t think people get it. I just want to win football games, and I win football games. Thanks for all the extra motivation to all the media and critics out there.”

I have been one of those critics at times, but this will not be one of those occasions. By my rough count, Cody has led this team back in the final frame 10 times this season. That is incredible leadership under stress. I was excited about his leadership last year, and the 34-year-old has taken this team from a decade of frustration back to the West Final.

Bold move

The recent struggles for the Elks in the red zone have been well documented. Vincent Blanchard has a CFL record to back it up. That did not stop a great call late in the first half from Mark Kilam.

Winnipeg had just driven for a touchdown and had a 21-10 lead. A 65-yard return from rookie Montrell Washington had the Elks start at the Bombers’ 27-yard line with 44 ticks on the clock. A pass to Joe Robustelli earned 20 yards and entered the red zone. After two plays failed to connect, the decision was there: do you go for it on third-and-goal from the four-yard line or take the chip-shot field goal?

Kilam picked the former, and Fajardo found a wide-open Austin Mack to close the gap to four points at halftime. A bold gamble that paid all the right dividends.

“I give Kilam a lot of credit,” said Fajardo. “Having us stay out there right before half, that’s a huge momentum swing. If we get stopped there, we go into halftime feeling bad about ourselves. Caught a double move in that situation. Credit to Austin Mack as he ran the best route all week and catches an easy one in the corner.”

Defence is made for the second half

Winnipeg was fighting for its playoff lives, and you could tell early on. Some of the incredible passes coming from Zach Collaros, especially at weird arm angles, showed flashes of what this Bombers team has been over the last decade. The prime target was Ontaria Wilson, who led all receivers by catching all 11 targets for 120 yards and a touchdown. The Elks secondary seemed to have little answer for the speedy Wilson.

Giving up touchdowns is not the norm for J.C. Sherritt’s crew. Having three on the board before half was far from what we have come to expect. The halftime adjustments, though, came shining through once again, as only six points were allowed in the final two quarters. What they were not going to do was let Brady Oliveira control this game as he has done to the Green and Gold in the past. Wilson and newcomer Dorian Singer finished with 120 and 85 yards respectively, but the dominant back had 37 yards rushing and 18 receiving. They put the focus where it needed to be, and that put the team in a position to win.

Interceptions by Kenny Logan Jr. and Nick Anderson stopped promising Bomber drives. Noah Taylor found a way through the perennially good Winnipeg offensive line to add another sack to his total. Rookie Terez Reid had four tackles on the night in front of his parents, who came to see their first game with him playing live. It comes from different guys each week.

The biggest turnaround for me has been the play of this defence in the second half of games. They do hold the team in early in some games, but closing the door in the latter stages is the latest calling card. Sherritt continues to put them in positions of success with his adjustments.

Red-zone efficiency returns

I have mentioned red-zone efficiency a lot more than I would have liked this season. This game will shut me up — at least on that front.

An early drive found Blanchard trotting out again to kick from the 18-yard line, but all four other trips inside the 20 turned into six points. As mentioned, Cody Fajardo jumped in twice from the one-yard line. There was one pass to Mack on the third-down gamble, and another to ShunDerrick Powell, completing the 80 percent conversion rate. Excellent play calls from offensive coordinator Jordan Maksymic all around.

Penalty fest

It was the third time in the regular season the Elks had seen Justin McInnes and his officiating crew. Even though Edmonton was in their full green uniforms, there was plenty of yellow fabric on the field. Eighteen penalties in total were called between the two teams. Nine calls each, and each at 100 yards. It definitely disrupted the flow of the game.

Both teams had questionable pass interference calls on passes that really weren’t catchable. Thanks to John Hodge for sending me the part of the rulebook I thought was being overlooked.

“If a player commits pass interference when a forward pass is deemed uncatchable, no penalty for pass interference shall be applied.”

I am not sure how this game will be scored on the ref’s card, but I am never a fan of someone 40 yards downfield making a call on a play. Frustrating for all involved.

Plans for the next two weeks

Now that the final has been secured, the planning starts for how to handle the last week of the regular season against Saskatchewan and the bye week in the first round of playoffs.

I am going to assume there will be some players resting in the final regular-season game, although having two weeks off isn’t ideal either. Possibly a combination of starters beginning the game to get some flow and then seeing more backups hit the field to get reps.

“We have a lot of guys banged up, myself included,” Fajardo said. “I’ve been on both sides of it; I’ve played in semis and in finals. Sometimes you just have to take that week as a work week. It’s not like a true bye week. The other team will come out with some more momentum because they have a game before us. We will be the healthier team, so that’s a good thing. I’m going to lean on my experience to help some of our young guys understand how important that week is. Playing in front of your home fans in that West Final, you are one game away from the Grey Cup.”

With three full weeks to promote that final game, there is an excellent opportunity to have all the support needed to provide energy. Let the preparations begin for the return of playoff football to the Concrete Castle of the North.