Castle defended: Edmonton Elks repel Lions to earn Grey Cup berth (& six other thoughts)

Photo courtesy: Edmonton Elks

Edmonton fans turned out and turned up the volume to help push the Elks to their first Grey Cup appearance in 11 years. In trademark Green and Gold style, they earned a gritty and physical 28-16 win over the B.C. Lions in the West Final on Saturday night.

Here are my thoughts on the game.

The leader steps up

Cody Fajardo continues to play with a chip on his shoulder, and it brings the best out in him. The veteran doesn’t need to be flashy, but he is more than effective with only five incompletions on thirty attempts — two of those being throwaways. Add to that 84 yards rushing and a touchdown. Fajardo continues to take this team on his back and drive them to victories, especially in the final frame of games.

Sacked three times, there was cause to think it may be too much for the Brea, Cal., native but he keeps getting up to prove people wrong. I have used many superlatives for the starting quarterback this year, but this time I will say he was masterful. He had complete control of the offence and, especially in the second half, controlled the clock with good drives and excellent decisions. He is back in “f*** you, just watch” mode.

“Nobody expected us to win this game,” Fajardo said. “Nobody expected us to even be here. That’s what our MO is, at least that is what my MO has been as a quarterback my whole career. I thrive on when people doubt me. I think I’m having the most fun I’ve ever had playing football. An organization that believed in me when nobody else wanted me last year. This organization traded for me, even though they had Tre Ford as a starting quarterback; they saw something in me.”

It has been a great investment.

As a side note, despite the physicality of the game, Fajardo and his wife were rinkside at the Oiler game on Saturday night after the final whistle. The 34-year-old has embraced not only being the leader of the Elks but being a bigger part of the community. That is the Green and Gold way.

Defence once again

The ability for the B.C. Lions to score in bunches has been well documented. Even with the number-one-rated team defence, I knew the Elks would be in tough against Nathan Rourke. The Canadian quarterback has been a form of kryptonite fr Edmonton the last few years. The only win the double E have had against Rourke was earlier this year when the 28-year-old was injured on the second play of the game. This time, though, they were ready.

Rourke was still able to pass for 328 yards, but the Elks’ pressure came from all angles to keep him in check. The front four found a way to limit his ability to get out of the pocket. When the Ohio product did get time, coverage downfield was staunch, especially in the red zone. Limiting the Lions to one touchdown is a feat in itself, but two field goals and one turnover on downs inside the red zone epitomized the bend-don’t-break defence.

I would say that the turning point of the game came with five minutes left. After both teams traded touchdowns, B.C. was marching and connected on a pass to Justin McInnis on third down at the Edmonton 38-yard line. Joel Dublanko arrived a second later with a crushing hit that separated both ball and likely soul from man. The fumble was picked up by J.J. Ross and returned 62 yards to the Lions’ 10-yard line — a swing that the all-white jerseys could not recover from.

Malik Carney was a force off the side. The stats will only show two tackles, with one sack, but he gave Kory Woodruff and Tyran Walker-Hunt all they could handle. The 2026 free-agent signee was crucial in helping close the outside of the pocket on Rourke. The combination of Carney and Noah Taylor has become one of the most challenging combos to face in the league. This marked back-to-back wins in the West Final for the North Carolina product.

All the players mentioned how electric it was to have the home crowd helping them along. At least two penalties were generated just by being loud when the B.C. offence was on the field. Kenny Logan Jr. was one of the most active in hyping up the crowd with each play. The second-year linebacker felt that thirteenth player on the field.

“That gives us a boost,” Logan said. “That’s like our thirteenth defender. We have them; we are ready to face anybody. I brought that from college that I feed off that kind of energy. Being able to be connected to the crowd was having that extra defender out there, and we needed them.”

Kickers keep producing

Jake Julien finished the season with a 50.2-yard punting average; one of, if not the most consistent punters in the league. The Canadian had an average of 50 yards in this game too, but there were a couple of things that stood out to me.

His punt from his own endzone, measured at 64 yards, took the Elks out of a troublesome field position and had the Leos starting on their own side of half. The second is what the fourth-year punter has been known for but seemingly perfected in this game: the towering height of his kicks. The Barrie, Ont., native had such good position and height that the Lions could only muster an 11-yard average return on four punts. That is field position flipping at its best.

Vincent Blanchard also continued his stellar season, going five-for-five on field goals. In his third year, the Laval product led the league in both field goals made and accuracy percentage. Saturday night was no different as he hit a long of 48 yards and added one from each of the 21, 27, 35 and 46. The consistency of a leg like that cannot be understated, especially when we see the Sean Whyte miss from 50 yards early in this game. Knowing Blanchard has a range of more than 60 is a great confidence boost to the team.

I know that returners get a lot of the love in the special teams player awards, but Blanchard will be on that board at some point. At only 28 years old, he has a long time to keep up such great kicking.

Full Mack attack

In the days leading up to the West Final, Austin Mack jokingly said that he asked Jordan Maksymic for more plays to go his way. Although he said it was going to be evenly distributed, and it was, there is no doubt that the Ohio State product is the go-to guy. Six receptions on seven targets for 85 yards and a touchdown had the 29-year-old lead the team. Two of those catches were of an acrobatic nature, including the major score.

There was never any doubt there was a connection between Fajardo and Mack from their days in Montreal. Now the pair are headed back to the championship game to face those Alouettes.

“Rush of emotions right now, ” Mack said. “A lot of work that’s gone into this to get us to this moment. Lot of people doubted us. Think we had +2200 odds to get to the Grey Cup, let alone win it. Can’t even speak right now. This city is a blue-collar, hard-working town that has to put in 9-5 hours all damn day, and that’s the type of team and atmosphere we try to live by. I’m so freaking excited though and can’t wait to get down to Calgary.”

Starts at the top

The hug shared between Mark Kilam and Ed Hervey at the end of this game was so powerful. They knew their work was paying off, and the largest crowd of the CFL this season was there to enjoy it. Bringing winning and community culture back is what drew 40,183 people to cheer them on.

As much as it is the players who execute to bring the wins, it has been a remarkable two-year turnaround for the leadership of this team. I will start with Larry Thompson purchasing the club in 2024. A lifelong fan who wanted to return this team to the community status it had when he grew up, he was passionate about the success on and off the field. Putting in Chris Morris as president was one of, if not the best, choices he made. His sudden passing in 2025 left a moment of worry for fans, but his wife, Deb, has continued full support of the Green and Gold success. It was truly fitting to have bobbleheads of Larry handed out at the first home playoff game since 2015.

Chris Morris has been a tireless promoter of the club and made further decisions to keep the team accessible and affordable. The former offensive lineman brought back his teammate, Hervey, to look after football operations. He brought in people who understood the “why” of the club. As a former player, the 58-year-old has found an excellent bridge between the past and the now. Regularly visiting the tailgate, he has connected with fans both young and old to bring back what was missing in the passion for the Elks.

Hervey has had success here before. Many scorned the day he was let go the first time. This second time may be even better. Putting the right people in place and not holding back on why people should be here has brought back the culture fans are used to. Definitely helps that his scouting team has found unbelievable young talents. Depth, mindset, community and accountability are Hervey’s MO.

Finally, there is Coach Killer. In my mind, a slam dunk for Coach of the Year. I can see how players want to perform for him. The 47-year-old wears his passion on his sleeve for his players and their success. It was obvious post-game how much this group means to him, and yet he keeps himself humble after the success.

“I first want to give a shout-out to Edmonton,” Kilam said. “I got emotional when we first took the field. That place was unbelievable tonight. I wanted it so bad for the guys, and I wanted it so bad for the city of Edmonton. I know we got one more. Job is not done, but I felt a good sense of pride for the guys.”

Now he gets to go back to the place he worked for 20 years and attempt to win a championship with his new club. A true leader of men.

Stage is set

The 113th Grey Cup will have the Edmonton Elks versus the Montreal Alouettes, a matchup that is not unfamiliar in the championship game. Edmonton has come out on top in eight of the teams’ eleven previous Grey Cup meetings. The last time these two met, it was a thrilling overtime win for the Green and Gold. It featured the current GM and head coach of the Alouettes as player and coach on the Edmonton side.

The storylines abound: Kilam going back to Calgary as Edmonton’s head coach; Fajardo and Mack playing against the team they last won the Grey Cup with; the Alouettes having the Most Outstanding Player and the Most Outstanding Canadian against the top defence in the league; Montreal going to their third Grey Cup in four years; and Kilam making his debut as head coach in the big game. The lead-up and the game promise to be breathtaking.

With Calgary only three hours away, I wonder if more Elks fans will make the trip and try to swing it into more of a home game feel. Either way, the Elks make their first trip to the title match under the new name, and there is little to deny that the history has helped to bring them there.