The Edmonton Elks faced their toughest challenge yet in taking on the 2023 Grey Cup Champions, the Montréal Alouettes, at Commonwealth Stadium on Friday night, and while the final result wasn't exactly what the Green and Gold faithful wanted, the Elks still proved a point or two against the heavy-hitting Als.

TAILGATE REPORT

Despite a tornado warning and thunderstorms looming overhead, the Tailgate Party was busier than we've seen at past games. We arrived 3 hours before kickoff to serve fans Maple Chicken Bacon kebabs, a favourite from last year's menu. During the tailgate we were fortunate to see many of our fellow fans, former player Scotty Cloman and even current player Dean Faithfull, making the pre-game event that much more memorable. Once we handed out all of the kebabs, we shut down our stall and prepared for the David and Goliath contest on the turf.

GAME RECAP

THE FAN SIDE

Considering that the Alouettes won the Grey Cup laat year, it shouldn't come as a shock that the Elks would fall to 0-2 after this contest. What was shocking, however, was the fact that the Elks stood tall against a very successful club.

The Elks opened up with a stalled drive, Montréal breaking down Edmonton's offensive line early for a sack. The Als then capitalized by scoring on their ensuing drive, putting the hurt on the Elks early in the game. Not long after the Elks would get a touchdown of their own, with some help from running back Kevin Brown and a final punch over the line by short-yardage quarterback Dakota Prukop.

Als quarterback Cody Fajardo would bounce right back, finding reciever Cole Spieker for another big play to get the Als within field goal range, resulting in another 3 points for the Alouettes. The Elks answered back with a field goal of their own before former EE Walter Fletcher ran through the many players on the field for an Alouettes touchdown on the next drive, an event that stung for fans that watched Fletcher during his time in Edmonton. The Elks would answer with another field goal to end the half.

While last year's Edmonton Elks struggled in the 3rd quarter, this year's team is showing the opposite. The defensive line stepped up against Montréal's offense, delivering sacks and stops to keep the score 17-13 throughout the whole quarter. We were hoping to see the Elks capitalize on the defensive stops, but the Elks struggled to find their footing against the juggernaut Als.

Elks quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson tried to make the magic happen in the 4th Quarter, but the constantly-collapsing pocket forced him to throw the ball quickly which makes it hard to read the defense in those moments. MBT almost connected with reciever Dillon Mitchell on a wide-open play, but Mitchell wasn't able to make the catch, a moment considered to be the turning point of the game. Edmonton also had a chance to keep the ball moving on a third down play with Prukop in at short-yardage, but Montreal's momentum saw Prukop pushed way back for a turnover on downs, a frustrating play to witness. With a field goal and another big touchdown from Fletcher, the Alouettes seemed unstoppable near the end of the fourth quarter. The Elks would score one last touchdown before the end of the quarter and with a failed onside kick, the game finished with a score of 23-20 for the Alouettes.

I don't know if any Elks fans actually expected the team to defeat the Alouettes, but I do know that fans expect the home team to be competitive. This game proved that the Elks are indeed competitive, their games being lost on untimely penalties, turnovers and dropped balls. The Elks could have had a return touchdown in this game but a penalty negated the valiant effort. MBT could have had two great pass connections if not for the collapsing pocket around him, interceptions being the result. The Edmonton Elks could have won this game, but once again they failed due to mistakes at critical times.

Montréal's defense did a great job of covering the Elks recievers and preventing any major rushing plays by Brown. Edmonton's offensive line struggled throughout the night, failing to create holes or keep the pocket intact.

THE POSITIVE SIDE

After a night or two of digesting the loss, fans hold mixed yet mostly positive opinion on the team. While another loss does sting, the team has shown visible improvement on the turf. Holding Montréal to 23 points while scoring 20 of their own is a reversal of the performance we saw at the end of last year.

For statistics, the Elks had more passing yards but less rushing yards against the Alouettes, 357-371 NET offensive yards being the result. Less penalties were a welcome sight with only 4, the critical timing of the penalties being a factor in this game. The Elks also had 18 1st Down conversions to Montréal's 10, meaning the team was able to keep the ball moving down the field. On paper this team once again shows that they should have won the game, the most negative stats being 1 fumble and 2 interceptions.

NEXT UP: EDMONTON ELKS @ TORONTO ARGONAUTS

The Edmonton Elks will travel to Toronto to face the surging Argonauts, and while Elks fans may be doubtful of an EE win in Toronto, the improvement shown may be enough to capture the elusive win.

Buckle Up!