Edmonton Elks beat B.C. Lions to advance to first Grey Cup since 2015

EDMONTON · The Edmonton Elks are headed to the Grey Cup for the first time since 2015 after defeating the B.C. Lions 28-16 in the CFL West Final on Saturday. The Elks will play the Montreal Alouettes next Sunday at McMahon Stadium in Calgary. A crowd of 40,182 at Commonwealth Stadium, the largest in the CFL this season, witnessed the victory that marks a dramatic turnaround for a franchise that missed the playoffs for six consecutive seasons. Quarterback Cody Fajardo and head coach Mark Kilam dedicated the win to the city and its fans.

"I want to give a shout-out to Edmonton because I got emotional when we first took the field; that place was unbelievable," Kilam said. Fajardo echoed the sentiment, saying the fans were the difference in the game. "Hats off to the city, 40,000 is incredible," said Fajardo. "From where it was to where it is now, for us, that drove us to wanting to win that game more than anything else."

The Elks' offence broke through in the second half after a defensive struggle in the first two quarters. The Lions led 9-6 at halftime on three field goals from Sean Whyte, while Vincent Blanchard kicked two for Edmonton. The Elks outscored B.C. 22-7 after the break, with Fajardo engineering two key fourth-quarter touchdowns. He scored on a five-yard run and later connected with Austin Mack on a 23-yard touchdown pass to put Edmonton up 25-16.

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Fajardo was instrumental, completing 25 of 30 passes for 274 yards and one touchdown while rushing 10 times for a game-high 84 yards and another score. Two of his runs drew rough play penalties against the Lions, which led to 10 Edmonton points. "Whatever it takes, that's the mentality of this team," Fajardo said. Kilam said the team's identity is built on second-half performance. "We're a second-half team, this is what we do, we want to take over the game," he said.

B.C. head coach Buck Pierce said his team could not sustain enough offence against a tough Edmonton defence. "There are certain instances in games where you have opportunities to capture momentum, and we just weren't able to get over that hump," Pierce said. Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke completed 23 of 39 passes for 328 yards and ran for a touchdown. The Elks' defence pressured Rourke throughout the game, limiting big plays.

The victory sets up a Grey Cup matchup with personal stakes for Fajardo, who led the Montreal Alouettes to a championship in 2023 before being released. "What a hell of a story, eh? That's the CFL," Fajardo said. "To tell you the truth, when I saw them win the game (East Final over Winnipeg Blue Bombers), that's when I knew we were going to win. God has this funny thing about giving second chances, and he gave me a second chance." He added he has great respect for the Alouettes and their quarterback, Davis Alexander. The Elks' resurgence follows a period of steep decline that included a 22-game home losing streak and plummeting attendance. The franchise's turnaround began with its sale to Larry and Deb Thompson, the hiring of Chris Morris as president, Ed Hervey as general manager and Kilam as head coach. Edmonton finished the regular season in first place in the West Division with a 13-5 record, the greatest year-over-year improvement in team history.

With files from The Canadian Press, Global News and CBC News