When it's 27 degrees Celsius in May, we start to crave football in Edmonton. Today we finally got what we wanted and we were not disappointed. From 8 AM until the time we're publishing this article, we have embraced the Edmonton CFL tradition known as Game Day at Home. In today's edition of "The Turnover", we're going to bring you through the first preseason home game for the Edmonton Elks in 2023, from our eyes to yours!
GAME DAY VIBES
Today was an absolute scramble for The Elks Herd. We woke up and gathered belongings from two households to make one Tailgate load out. Naturally, I forgot the Game Day Bandana in the west end of Edmonton so I had to turn around and scramble harder to make today's festivities possible. Katherine, aka #DoYouEvenElks and I made it down to the Tailgate at around 12:05PM. From there our Tailgate family from last year, Glenn and Sheryl Poliak, managed to get us into a stall closer to theirs, which is the first Tailgate Trade of the season! Once we got unloaded and set up, CFL fans that visited our stall were offered hot dogs, Tailgate Trivia for keychains and stickers, and a photo booth or video on our new Game Day platform called SpEEker's Corner. Stay tuned to our socials and YouTube at Shotgun Sports Network Ltd to find our latest media!
On the fan side, it was amazing to see our CFL family once again. We had some new visitors in Len and Paige, some new (or old) colours on Jamie, and some new boozy cupcakes from Jenelle. While the preseason home game generally has a lower concentration of fans and activity, we've created a tailgate hub alongside The Turf District, The Korte Crew and many of our other friends. We didn't stop talking for two hours and we wouldn't have it any other way.

GAME TIME
We scrambled in on the first drive and made our way to Section X after a beverage stop. Once we settled in, we watched the defence put on one heck of a performance in stopping the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Not long after that, Kevin Brown shot down the field for a long run and the Elks started rolling with quarterback Taylor Cornelius at pivot. Kicker Dean Faithfull was able to kick the ball through the uprights to make it a 3-0 lead early in the game. Faithfull finished the day 3 for 5 on field goals.
Unfortunately for Edmonton, former Elks wide reciever Kenny Lawler would catch a long ball from Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros which resulted in a touchdown and a score of 7-3. The Edmonton Elks would charge back with a long drive consisting of five first downs, however the excitement would end with a missed field goal by Faithfull, resulting in a 7-4 score.
The Elks defence looked great in the first quarter, stopping the Bombers on their first plays in 3 out of 4 attempts. The defence, despite the Lawler play and some others, held their ground relatively well today, especially when you look at how many starters the Bombers brought to Edmonton today.
Enter Tre Ford, and apparently enter the penalty problems. After Ford went two-and-out, the Bombers offense came back out and so did the penalty flags. With 2 costly penalties the Elks put the Bombers into scoring position, resulting in a quarterback sneak by Tyrell Pigrome. 14-4, bad blue guys.
Besides a failed drive by the Elks, the two teams would trade field goals to bring the game to a 17-7 affair.

SECOND HALF
Tre Ford and the players that are trying for a roster spot took over in the third quarter. From there, Tre Ford would put his running talents to the turf, resulting in an Edmonton Elks touchdown and a 17-14 score. Quarterback Kai Locksley would tag in not long after to construct a drive that would get Faithfull in range once again, and a successful kick tied the game at 17-17.
In the fourth quarter, Bombers quaterback Pigrome took matters into his own hands with a long rushing touchdown to push the Bombers ahead to a 24-17 score.
After a Winnipeg single point off a punt,
the Edmonton Elks would push back with a drive that was successful thanks to wide receiver Danny Vandervoort and a Raphael Leonard touchdown to set up a comeback with 1:54, and a score of 25-23. With the two-point conversation being crucial, the Locksley to Cobb connection was not strong enough and the ball hit the turf before Gavin Cobb's hands, putting the Elks into 3 down mode if they got the ball back.
The Elks defense would rise to the occasion and get the ball back to the offense. As the crowd watched in silence, and the atmosphere quieted for just one drive, the unthinkable happened... the unthinkable for football fans, anyways. A blocked kick, followed by a Bombers penalty, followed by an Elks penalty, would suddenly end the game. 25-23 for the bad guys.
THREE THOUGHTS
1. Shannon Brooks has a job in Edmonton. This guy has been outstanding in the two games he's played, and he has a unique play style that forces the opposition to change their strategy. This guy is the second punch to Kevin Brown's first.
2. That was one of the most exciting games in 2 years, and it's only preseason. If the Edmonton Elks look like that against a year-in year-out contender, we can't wait for the Home Opener.
3. What the heck happened at the end?

ON TAP - JUNE 11TH HOME OPENER
The Edmonton Elks kick off their season on Sunday, June 11th 2023 at Commonwealth Stadium against the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Expect a fair amount of watermelons and a lot of green jerseys in the Tailgate Party and around the stadium. The Edmonton Elks haven't won a home game since 2019 and while we are all sick of the reminder and the narrative, one thing remains true... this rebuilding team has improved greatly from 2022 and they're charging into 2023. The elusive Home Win is finally in sight.