Elks finally win at home, can they do it again?

By Lethbridge Herald on August 31, 2023.

Graham Kelly

Inside the CFL

The bells at St. Joseph’s Basilica rang out more joyously than the day of Wayne Gretzky’s wedding. Delirious fans danced in Churchill Square before carrying Chris Jones into city hall to make him mayor. The longest home losing streak in professional sports history was over. After 22 straight defeats, stretching back to October 2019, the Edmonton Elks downed the Ottawa Redblacks 30-20.

In the process a new CFL star was born – a Canadian to boot. Quarterback Tre Ford was sensational. Will he take the CFL by storm the way B.C.’s Nathan Rourke did last year? Time will tell but he’s off to a great start with two consecutive wins, the first under the Elks banner.

When Jones chose the Waterloo star in the first round of the 2022 Canadian College Draft, he said Ford was the best he had ever seen at the prospect combines on either side of the border. But when he didn’t immediately light a fire under the team last year or this and was injured to boot, the Niagara Falls native was nailed to the bench. Only when Taylor Cornelius and Jarret Doege continued firing blanks was the 25-year-old handed the ball. Against Ottawa he completed 15 of 18 passes for 317 yards, one TD, no interceptions. He ran for an additional 74. After the win, Jones said, “Tre’s given us a spark…”

Cynics will say, “So what? It was only Ottawa.” But a win is a win in a week where the downtrodden rose up to smite their tormentors.

First, Saskatchewan downed B.C. 34-29 at Mosaic Stadium. Not one of the CFL’s panel gave Hamilton a chance in the Lions den but they clawed their way to a 30-13 win. It was the second time in a week the vaunted Leo defence was beaten by a third-string quarterback, first Jake Dolegala and then Taylor Powell. Always insightful, always honest, B.C. boss Rick Campbell explained, “I think we just got stuck. When it didn’t go our way, we never fought our way out of it.”

They play in Montreal on Saturday.

Although Calgary (3-7) lost to the 8-1 Argos in Toronto, 39-31, Stampeder quarterback Jake Maier temporarily silenced his critics. After going four games without a TD, he threw four of them in the losing cause and had no interceptions. He clicked on 25 of 42 for 387 yards. For once the Stamp offence was great, but the secondary took the night off and the special teams surrendered a punt return touchdown. That was “a back breaker,” said Dave Dickenson. “The team fights and won’t give up. But it’s tough to keep losing those games.”

For once the Battle of Alberta, round one in Calgary Monday at 5:00 p.m., will mean something. If the Elks can sweep the Stamps and follow that up with a win in Regina, they could be tied for third – that is, assuming the Roughriders lose both Labour Day week contests to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Calgary’s loss in Toronto is typical of a struggling team. Get one facet of the game fixed, and problems break out elsewhere. It is time the red and white played 60 minutes of solid football.

Next week could determine how the last third of the season plays out. Jake Maier has had only two solid outings. Will he revert to form or will he and his team finally break out and fulfil their promise? I sense a lack of leadership in the Calgary dressing room. If Maier isn’t going to get it done, Cameron Judge and the defence have to step up and say, “We’ll carry this team to the play-offs.”

The offensive line led by centre Sean McEwen must resolve to get the running game back on track, no matter how the quarterback performs. If they sweep Edmonton, the Elks’ playoff hopes are gone.

Have the Elks finally got their act together? While two games does not a season make, Ford has certainly given them a lift. However, the Ti-Cats and Redblacks aren’t very good. Before singing “Happy days are here again” at Tim Horton’s Field, let’s see how Hamilton does against Toronto on Monday.

No one will be surprised if Edmonton loses a few more games, nor if the Riders fall to Winnipeg. All the pressure’s on Calgary. They must win on Labour Day.