The Edmonton Elks are looking to notch their first season win as they host the defending Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes.
Game Details
Game: Montreal Vs. Edmonton
Kickoff: Friday June 14 at 7:00 PM MT/9:00 PM ET
Where: Commonwealth Stadium
Watch: TSN
Listen: CISN-FM
Weather: 17 Degrees Celsius with 60% chance of thunderstorms
Elks looking to rebound from tough loss
The Edmonton Elks are looking to reverse their fortunes after a rough finish at last week’s home opener.
In the fourth quarter last week against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the Edmonton Elks led 21-8 before allowing the Riders to score 21 unanswered points, 14 off two Edmonton fumbles, in the final 10:35 to lose 29-21.
Despite the heartbreaker, there were a couple of positive signs. The first notable was the play of Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who didn’t show any rust in his official return to the CFL last week. Bethel-Thompson threw for 336 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
The other notable effort was the Elks’ defence. The young unit forced three Saskatchewan turnovers, sacked quarterback Trevor Harris twice, and limited star free agent acquisition A.J. Ouellette to only 32 rushing yards on 18 carries.
For the Elks to come away with the win, they have to slow down the Montreal squad who shut down the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 27-12, with the defence allowed only 12 points and 285 total yards of offence. Furthermore, the Elks running game needs to be more productive. Running back Kevin Brown was grounded by the Roughriders defensive line, rushing for just 21 yards on seven carries.
Three Elks players on the PFF Week 1 list
Pro Football Focus unveiled their CFL week one Team of the Week awards, and three members of the Elks roster received the honours for their performances on opening week.
Hunter Steward earned a spot as the best right tackle in the league. In contrast, Nyles Morgan’s nine-tackle performance earned top linebacker honours (alongside Wynton McManis of the Argos), and Jake Julien earned the honour of top punter for his excellent showing with a punting average of 54.4 yards per punt.