The Edmonton Elks lost 12-11 to the Saskatchewan Roughriders at Mosaic Stadium on Thursday.
Saskatchewan scored nine points in the final moments of the game, rallying from an 11-3 deficit late in the fourth quarter.
“That’s a tough one because the kids played extremely hard tonight on both sides of the ball,” Elks coach Chris Jones said during a post-game interview on 630 CHED, radio flagship of the Green and Gold.
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Elks quarterback Taylor Cornelius completed 17 passes for 226 yards, and carried the ball 11 times for 58 yards with one rushing touchdown. Kevin Brown led the Elks with 91 yards total offence, with 65 yards from 14 rushes and catching two passes for 26 yards. Steven Dunbar and Kyran Moore were Edmonton’s top pass-catchers, with three receptions for 49 yards and five receptions for 47 yards, respectively.
Edmonton’s defence had another strong effort, forcing three Roughriders turnovers, including an interception for Marcus Lewis and a fumble recovery by Mark McLaurin, both firsts in each player’s CFL career. The Elks held Saskatchewan to just one-for-four in the redzone, including forcing a turnover on downs from their three yard line in the first quarter. AC Leonard was responsible for three of Edmonton’s four sacks of Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris.
That @GoElks defence is standing pat!#CFLGameday | @GoElks pic.twitter.com/g8cfbXCzL5
— CFL (@CFL) July 7, 2023
The game was tied 3-3 at halftime, after three Elks’ singles and a field goal by Saskatchewan kicker Brett Lauther. Jake Julien’s third rouge of the game gave Edmonton a 4-3 lead early in the third quarter, before Cornelius completed a nine-play, 95-yard drive by punching the ball into the endzone from the Roughriders’ one yard line, giving Edmonton an 11-3 lead in the third quarter.
Saskatchewan tied the score 11-11 with 1:04 remaining when Trevor Harris completed a four-yard pass to Mitchell Picton for a touchdown, followed by a successful two-point conversion toss to wide receiver Kendall Watson. The ensuing kickoff from Lauther went into the endzone for a touchback single, putting the Roughriders ahead by single point, and the Riders secured victory when Nick Marshall intercepted Cornelius at the Saskatchewan 43 yard line.
“You lead the whole game and for it to end like that just sucks,” Cornelius said on 630 CHED. “I hate it for the guys. We end it on an interception when we’re so close to getting into field goal range. We’ve just got to finish.”
The Elks outgained Saskatchewan 369-355 on net offence, and held the ball for nearly 35 minutes. Edmonton had 20 first downs to 16 for the Roughriders.
Edmonton drops to 0-5, losing its first five games for only the second time in team history and first since 1965. Saskatchewan improves to 3-1 and wins at home for the first time in 2023. The Elks return to action on July 13, when they host the Hamilton Ti-Cats at Commonwealth Stadium.
Be there Thursday, July 13 at Commonwealth Stadium when the Edmonton Elks host the Hamilton Ti-Cats for the Salute to Service game. Being part of the action has never been more affordable, with tickets starting at just $15. Click here to get your tickets now and be part of the tradition.
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