Rankin, Ford lead Elks to first win with 39-33 decision over Redblacks

By Canadian Press on July 6, 2025.

EDMONTON — Justin Rankin scored a pair of touchdowns as the Edmonton Elks finally captured their first win of the season, coming up big to defeat the Ottawa Redblacks 39-33 on Sunday.

Edmonton (1-3) snapped a three-game losing skid to start the CFL campaign.

Ottawa, despite the return of quarterback Dru Brown, dropped to 1-4 with its second straight loss.

The Elks had a strong start to the contest, scoring on their opening drive. Quarterback Tre Ford lofted a pass to Rankin and he shrugged off a defender and scampered for a 45-yard touchdown. Edmonton added a single on the ensuing kickoff.

Ottawa responded with a 42-yard field goal from Lewis Ward.

Edmonton kept it coming on its second possession with another long drive, capped off when Ford pitched it to Kurleigh Gittens Jr. and he scrambled eight yards into the end zone.

The Elks got a rare punt return touchdown five minutes into the second quarter when Javon Leake broke free and went 94 yards to score despite almost letting up too soon and getting caught. It was Edmonton’s first punt return TD since Aug. 28, 2015.

Ottawa finally got it going late in the second with a solid drive finished off by a six-yard TD pass from Brown to Eugene Lewis.

The Redblacks got a dramatic punt return touchdown of their own with less than two minutes to play in the first half as Kalil Pimpleton bobbed and weaved his way 97 yards into the end zone to cut Edmonton’s lead to 22-17 at halftime.

After having a fumble return TD overturned on a penalty, Ottawa got a 42-yard field goal from Ward to open the third quarter.

The Elks responded with a 21-yard field goal by Vincent Blanchard.

Rankin came up big again with 3:36 left in the third, finding a seam up the middle and blazing 74 yards into the end zone for the major.

Ward booted a 43-yard field goal to close out the half and added another from 28 yards out four minutes into the fourth to cut Edmonton’s lead to six points.

Blanchard countered with a 35-yard three-pointer.

Ottawa gambled on a third and three with three minutes left in the game but was denied, leading to another 35-yard field goal from Blanchard, who added a single on the following kickoff.

The Redblacks fought to the end, adding a 14-yard TD pass to Andre Miller.

BROWN COMES UP SHORT

Brown returned from missing the last three games with a hip injury looking to pass for more than 400 yards for his fourth consecutive game. Only Warren Moon, Kent Austin and Doug Flutie had also done it three times in a row in CFL history. Unfortunately, Brown only managed 316 yards passing on Sunday.

NOTES

Ottawa swept the season series 2-0 in 2024 with back-to-back wins in Week’s 6 and 7. … Edmonton had struggled mightily at home since the pandemic, coming into the contest with a dreadful 5-30 home record in that span, which included a record 22-game losing streak at one point.

UP NEXT

Redblacks: Visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Saturday, July 12.

Elks: Host the B.C. Lions on Sunday, July 13.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2025.

Shane Jones, The Canadian Press