Wins were rare for the Edmonton Elks – and even rarer at home.
Boris Bede made three field goals on Sunday as the Elks won their second straight game, and second of the season, beating the BC Lions 33-16.
“It’s great to win and you can tell there’s a vibe in the locker room right now,” said Elks quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who filled in for starter Tre Ford when he left with what appears to be a rib injury. in the first half. “We were so close for so many weeks.”
The Elks are now 2-7. It was their first win at home this season, and only the third in their last 31 matches dating back to October 26, 2019.
“The guys are ecstatic right now,” Elks head coach Jarious Jackson said. “The locker room is crazy, there’s water everywhere. I’m sure they’ll have a hard time cleaning up afterward. It was good, and that’s how it should be.
“You can definitely feel the momentum growing. These guys have done their very best to get where we are. It’s two wins in a row and they played against the two best teams in the West.”
The Lions go the opposite direction of the Elks, losing their third straight game, dropping to 5-4.
“It was sloppy. We didn’t execute the way we needed to,” Lions quarterback Jake Dolegala said. “We have to stay on the field and help our defense. They just can’t be outside all the time.
“We’ve got to convert some of these second downs and when we get down there we’ve got to put the ball in the end zone, it’s as simple as that.”
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Lions head coach Rick Campbell realized his team has been in turmoil lately.
“We have reached a difficult point,” he said. “I love our coaches, I love our players, but we’re not playing well enough as a team right now. We have shown that we can be a good football team. So we have to put our players back in good positions so that they can play and we can be on the right side of the scoreboard.”
The Lions made quick work of it, scoring a touchdown on their opening drive. In place of usual starting quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., who suffered a knee injury last week against Winnipeg, Dolegala marched the team downfield before David Mackie drove the ball in from one.
Edmonton responded with a single on a missed 38-yard field goal attempt by Bede.
BC got a 43-yard field goal from Sean Whyte on its second possession.
Running back Javon Leake picked up where he left off last week for the Elks early in the second quarter, scoring a 12-yard rushing TD.
Ford produced another strong drive to put Edmonton ahead 15-10, capped by a one-yard plunge by backup Dakota Prukop. At the subsequent kick-off they added another single.
Edmonton ended the first half with a 51-yard field goal by Bede.
Whyte kicked his 44th consecutive field goal early in the third, a 43-yarder.
Ford took a big hit late in the second and was replaced at the pivot for the remainder of the game by Bethel-Thompson, who had a good drive before being picked off in the end zone by Ciante Evans.
Dolegala marched the Lions all the way into the Edmonton red zone, but they had to settle for an 18-yard field goal from Whyte to remain three points behind.
The Elks started the fourth quarter with a 34-yard field goal by Bede.
Edmonton extended the lead with 6:37 left when Bethel-Thompson dumped the lead to Justin Rankin for a 17-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion pass to Dillon Mitchell was successful.
Bede scored his third field goal of the night from 30 yards out to give Edmonton an extra cushion.
NOTES
It was the second meeting of the season between the two teams. The Lions won the first game 24-21 in Vancouver in Week 4 on a last-second field goal. … Not only did Elks running back Leake have the game of his life with three touchdowns in Edmonton’s first win of the season last week, a 42-31 win at Saskatchewan, he rushed for 169 yards. That’s just three yards fewer than in all 32 previous games of his CFL career combined. … In last week’s 25-0 loss to Winnipeg, the Lions recorded just four first downs, the fewest in franchise history. … The Lions welcomed back several key players to the lineup, including linebacker Manny Rugamba who missed the past two weeks with a knee injury, receiver Jevon Cottoy, who missed three games with a rib injury, and linebacker Tibo Debaillie, who was out the same amount of time with a chest injury.
NEXT
Lions: Host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (3-6) on Sunday, August 18.
Elks: Visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-7) on Saturday.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
