One win was good but the Edmonton Elks want more. They will look for their first win streak of the 2024 CFL season when they welcome the B.C. Lions to Commonwealth Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Elks defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders 42-31 last week with the strength of 515 yards of offence, 276 of which were rushing yards.
Javon Leake rushed for a career-high 169 yards and three touchdowns. Quarterback Tre Ford passed for 252 yards and threw two touchdown passes to Tevin Jones who recorded 123 yards in his first start of the season.
Elks interim head coach Jarious Jackson says it was a nice change for the coaches and the players to watch film following their first win last week against the Riders
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In the last five quarters since Ford took the reins of the offence, he has thrown for five touchdown passes and has engineered eight touchdown drives and 62 points scored.
Ford now has a 6-8 record as a starter and has the benefit of learning from a veteran quarterback in McLeod Bethel-Thompson who started the first seven games of the season. Ford says he feels more comfortable as a CFL quarterback in his third season.
“I do think the game is a little bit slower which is obviously important for the quarterback position,” Ford said. “I don’t feel like there’s a huge improvement, I just feel like I’ve been doing what I’ve been doing on a day-to-day basis.”
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Elks quarterback Tre Ford says the Lions defence will pose a tough challenge for the offence but feels the reserve is also true
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The downside of last week’s win is that the Elks suffered several injuries. Fullback Tanner Green injured an ankle, fullback/defensive lineman Jacob Plamondon hurt his elbow, and linebacker Josiah Schakel suffered a groin injury. All three players have been placed on the six-game injured list leaving the Elks without a true fullback on offence and without three key players on special teams. Enter Global linebacker Les Mauro – the Japanese-born linebacker with four CFL seasons under his belt will help fill the void on special teams. And receiver Zach Mathis will dress for his first CFL game; the Elks selected Mathis in the supplemental draft in early July.
Meanwhile, offensive lineman Hunter Steward will return after missing the last three games with a head injury. Defensive lineman DeMarcus Christmas will play his first game for the Elks after spending his first two seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Defensive lineman Romeo McKnight has been placed on the one-game injured list with an ankle injury.
The following are the projected offensive and defensive starters for the Elks:
Offence
Quarterback: Tre Ford
Running back: Javon Leake
Offensive line: Martez Ivey, David Foucault, Mark Korte, Shane Richards, Brett Boyko
Receivers: Eugene Lewis, Kurleigh Gittens Jr., Hergy Mayala, Tevin Jones, Dillon Mitchell
Defence
Defensive line: Noah Taylor, Noah Curtis, Shawn Oakman, Elliott Brown
Linebackers: Nick Anderson, Nyles Morgan, Derrick Moncrief
Defensive backs: Kai Gray, Darrius Bratton, Loucheiz Purifoy, Kordell Jackson, Devodric Bymun
You can hear Sunday’s game between the Elks and Lions on 630 CHED starting with Countdown to Kick-off with Courtney Theriault at 3:30 p.m. The opening kickoff from Commonwealth Stadium will be at 5 p.m. with Morley Scott and Dave Campbell calling all the live action. Hear analysis from former Edmonton Football Team offensive lineman and two-time Grey Cup champion Blake Dermott. Former EE offensive lineman Gord Hinse will provide analysis from the Elks’ sidelines.