Elks Beat Lions 28-16: Edmonton Ends Its 11-Year Grey Cup Wait and Heads to Calgary

Photo: Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, by Quintin Soloviev, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0). File photo of the stadium, not from Saturday's game.

Eleven years. That is how long Edmonton waited to play in a Grey Cup again. On Saturday night, in front of more than 40,000 fans at Commonwealth Stadium — the biggest crowd in the CFL all season — the Elks finally ended the wait, beating the B.C. Lions 28-16 in the West Division final to book a place in the 113th Grey Cup next Sunday in Calgary.

The final score makes it look comfortable. It was anything but. The Lions tied the game at 16-16 early in the fourth quarter, and for a while it felt like Edmonton's dream season might slip away. Then Cody Fajardo did what he has done all year: he made the plays that mattered, with his arm and with his legs, and the Elks pulled away.

Edmonton will meet the Montreal Alouettes at McMahon Stadium on Sunday, November 15, at 6:00 p.m. ET. Montreal earned its spot earlier on Saturday with a 33-23 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the East final. It will be the 12th Grey Cup meeting between the two franchises — a CFL record — and the first since the 2005 overtime thriller.

Fajardo delivers when it counts

Fajardo finished 25-of-30 passing for 274 yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions. He also ran 10 times for 84 yards and a touchdown, leading the Elks on the ground. The numbers are strong. The timing was better.

The first half was a field-goal clinic, and the Lions took a 9-6 lead into halftime. Fajardo's 29-yard scramble in the third quarter was the turning point, according to Sportsnet. He followed it with another 15-yard run, then finished the drive himself with a five-yard rushing touchdown for a 16-9 lead.

B.C. answered. The Lions tied it at 16 early in the fourth, and Commonwealth Stadium went quiet. That is when Fajardo took over again.

First, Vincent Blanchard hit a 46-yard field goal at 3:15 of the fourth to make it 19-16 — set up by an unnecessary roughness penalty on B.C. defensive back Deontai Williams after another Fajardo run. Then Fajardo guided Edmonton on a six-play, 83-yard drive and found Austin Mack for a 23-yard touchdown, restoring a two-score lead at 25-16.

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The final blow came from the defence. Joel Dublanko forced a fumble late in the fourth quarter, and J.J. Ross returned it 62 yards into the red zone, setting up Blanchard's third field goal of the night to push the lead to 28-16 with three minutes left. The crowd started chanting, "We want the Cup."

A worst-to-first season nobody saw coming

What makes this run remarkable is where Edmonton started. A year ago, the Elks finished last in the West Division. This season they went 13-5-0, finished first in the West for the first time since 2015, and staged what The Canadian Press called the greatest year-over-year turnaround in franchise history. Saturday was their first home playoff game in 11 years.

The announced crowd of more than 40,000 was the CFL's largest of the year, and the noise followed the Elks all night.

The Lions, for their part, will be left to wonder about their discipline. B.C. defensive end Mathieu Betts drew an unnecessary roughness penalty in the third quarter for a late hit on Fajardo, moving Edmonton from the B.C. 33-yard line to the 18 and leading directly to the touchdown that made it 16-9. Williams' late hit in the fourth set up the go-ahead field goal. Two flags, two scores, one season ended.

Nathan Rourke threw for 328 yards on 23-of-39 passing, with no touchdowns and no interceptions, and added a rushing touchdown of his own. But B.C.'s Grey Cup absence — which dates back to 2011 — goes on for at least another year.

A familiar foe, and a familiar face on the other side

The Grey Cup matchup carries a twist. Fajardo and Mack both helped Montreal win the 2023 Grey Cup. Next Sunday, they will try to beat the Alouettes and bring the championship back to Edmonton.

For head coach Mark Kilam, the win caps a first season that nobody in Edmonton will forget. The Elks were the league's worst team a year ago. On November 15, they play for a championship.

The last time Edmonton and B.C. met in the playoffs was the 2011 West Final, which the Lions won. Edmonton now holds a 9-4 edge in post-season meetings with B.C. The Lions are gone. The Elks are going to Calgary.