The Edmonton Elks defeated the B.C. Lions 28-16 in the West Division final and will play the Montreal Alouettes in the Grey Cup in Calgary next Sunday.
The Story
The Edmonton Elks will face the Montreal Alouettes in the Grey Cup in Calgary next Sunday after posting a 28-16 win over the B.C. Lions in the West Division final on Saturday.
Cody Fajardo used both his legs and his arm to engineer two fourth-quarter touchdowns. Two key second-down runs of 11 and 14 yards ended with rough play penalties against B.C., and Edmonton capitalized on both occasions.
Fajardo scored on a five-yard run to extend the Elks’ lead and later hit Austin Mack with a 23-yard touchdown pass, putting Edmonton ahead 25-16. Justin McInnis fumbled after a pass reception, and Edmonton’s JJ Ross returned the ball to the B.C. 20.
Three plays later, Vincent Blanchard kicked his third field goal of the night to give Edmonton a 28-16 lead with three minutes left.
Montreal earned its Grey Cup spot earlier on Saturday with a 33-23 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The first time either team started a drive in the opponent’s side of midfield came midway through the third quarter.
In that game, Montrell Washington returned a punt 35 yards to the B.C. 54 before two straight penalties moved the Elks back to their own 49. Fajardo then ran for 15 yards and a rough play penalty put Edmonton on the B.C. 18-yard line, setting up a 13-yard pass to Mack.
Edmonton also scored first major on Fajardo’s run for a 16-9 lead, but B.C. responded with a drive featuring four straight successful passes and a 33-yard completion to James Butler that left the Lions second and two on the Edmonton eight.
Nathan Rourke broke loose over the left side to score 37 seconds into the fourth quarter. A second Fajardo run, for 15 yards, and another rough play penalty set up Blanchard’s 46-yard field goal, restoring Edmonton’s advantage to 19-16 at 3:15.
Both offences struggled through the first 30 minutes, with B.C. up 9-6 on the strength of three Sean Whyte field goals. Blanchard kicked a pair of field goals for Edmonton.
The Elks opened the game with a 10-play, 42-yard drive that ended with Blanchard’s first field goal from 21 yards. Blanchard added a 48-yard field goal at 11:36 to make it 6-0, while B.C. responded with three second-quarter field goals from Whyte of 13, 29 and 42 yards.
NOTES from the game included that Edmonton went from last in the West Division in 2025 to first place in 2026, the greatest year-over-year turnaround in franchise history. The last time Edmonton and B.C. met in the playoffs was the 2011 West Final, which B.C. won, and Edmonton held a 9-4 edge in post-season meetings with B.C., including a 3-1 advantage at home in West Finals against the Lions.
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