On a beauiful Saturday afternoon, the Edmonton Elks and their faithful fans wanted a win to end the season at Commonwealth Stadium. Unfortunately for Elks fans in attendance, the team fell apart at an unexpected time.

GAME DAY VIBES

   The Elks Herd prepared for Saturday's Tailgate Party with smoked bacon-style pork belly for the menu item of the day at our Herdy's Pop-up, Breakfast Sandwich Sliders. Once the meat was smoked, we packed all of our gear into the truck and once we made it half-way to the stadium, we discovered that we had forgotten the meat at home. After a quick detour and a heavy foot, we made it to the Lot A only minutes behind. The next 2 hours were spent serving our fellow fans food, and celebrating our last Tailgate for the season. After awarding the Chili Cook-Off prizes and serving the last of our sliders, we made our way into Commonwealth with horns and hopes in hand.

GAME TIME

   The Edmonton Elks started hot but fizzled early. The first quarter saw a drive that used the legs of both QB Tre Ford and RB Kevin Brown drive the ball down ti the red zone. From there, WR Kyran Moore swept his way into the endzone off of a pass from Ford. 7-0 Elks with the PAT. The Alouettes would answer back with a field goal to make the game 7-3. Not long after, Ford found WR Gavin Cobb for another great gain, setting up a Taylor Cornelius run-in touchdown on a 2nd-and-1 scenario in the red zone, 14-3 with the PAT.
   After some great defensive play from the Elks, the Als handed the ball back to Tre Ford and company early in the second quarter. Utilizing star WR Eugene Lewis, and with some help from an offside Alouette, Ford pulled a replay and found Moore for another touchdown, making the game a 21-3 affair. Montreal QB Cody Fajardo immediately went to work, pushing the ball down the field with help from WR Cole Spieker, however, WR Tyson Philpot would be the player to punch the ball into the endzone, making the game 21-10.

   From here, the game started to slip away from the Elks. Ford lost a ball to a blind-side tackle, resulting in an Alouettes touchdown to cut the lead at 21-17. Minute later, WR CJ Sims failed to hold onto the ball on a return, giving the Alouettes instant field position that resulted in a field goal and a 21-20 score. With hopes and tension high, the Elks pushed the ball down to field goal position only to witness disaster; a missed Dean Faithfull field goal resulted in an Alouettes return touchdown.

   With air deflated from Commonwealth, wind removed from the EE sails, hopes drained from the crowd and all fans awaiting the inevitable, Montreal stormed out of the locker room to put on a clinic. The Elks defense couldn't stop the likes of Fajardo, Spieker and WR Austin Mack as the Green and Gold team continued to allow Montreal into their end without an answer. With Tre Ford's scramble solved and OC Jarious Jackson's offense figured out, the Alouettes added on points to finish the score at 35-21, a rather disappointing finish to what was supposed to be a night that showed improvement to a hungry fanbase in Edmonton.

FOR FANS FROM FANS

   While a loss wasn't wanted or expectated, it's hard to say what we should expect anymore. The EE offense under Ford has looked better for the second half of the season but as we've discussed on The Elks Call, a reason for this was the lack of film on Ford under OC Jarious Jackson. Now that film has been circulated and watched, the Elks offense has become predictable and stale once again, proving the need for more creativity and potentially talent. As well, Montreal did a great job containing Ford in the second half, preventing any major running plays for the Elks. Without sustained drives, the Edmonton offense didn't give their defense a chance to rest and return, they opened up the floodgates for the Alouettes.

   After the game, Kathy and I were fortunate to thank the players for the season as they walked to their locker room. While this team is at risk of having the same record of 4 wins for 3 years in-a-row, this fanbase still has a reason to cheer, especially after two much-needed wins at home. Even though everyone in Edmonton expected the CFL team to have at least a few more wins, Tre Ford has given this city a reason to believe that 2024 will be better.

ON TAP: EDMONTON ELKS @ WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS

   The Edmonton Elks are heading to Winnipeg to finish their season against the Grey Cup contenders, the Blue Bombers. Kickoff will be at 5:00 PM Mountain on Saturday, October 21st, with the Elks looking for an upset win in hostile territory. While all expectations should be checked for Elks fans, a win in Winnipeg would send the Green and Gold faithful into the off-season with even more reason to be excited for next year. Buckle up, Edmonton!