EDMONTON – The Edmonton Elks are excited to be back in action so quickly after Saturday’s Home Opener.
When the Elks take the field at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night against the Montreal Alouettes, they are looking to correct the mistakes and build off the positives from the Home Opener.
As much as the loss was a bitter pill to swallow, there were plenty of reasons to be optimistic for the season. The Elks receiving core stepped up big in the absence of Kyran Moore, who will miss significant time with a knee injury. Dillon Mitchell carried over the momentum from a solid preseason debut in B.C., leading the Green and Gold in receiving with 93 yards on seven receptions. Geno Lewis finished the game with 85 yards, Kurleigh Gittens Jr. caught nine passes, and Hergy Mayala scored two touchdowns as five different Elks players caught at least four passes.
The Elks will need their weapons to show out in the face of the defending Grey Cup Champion Alouettes whose defence suffocated the Blue Bombers offence to 301 total yards and three turnovers.
“I watched the Montreal football team this morning,” Head Coach Chris Jones said after day 1 practice. “It’s going to be a real test. I mean, they’re a really good football team in all phases. They’ve got really good players. They figured out how to win and I look forward to seeing where we stack up against them.”
GAME NECESSITIES
- Theme: 90’s Night
- Gates Open: 6:00 p.m.
- Game Time: 7:00 p.m.
- Depth Chart
- Media Availabilities
- Tickets
McLEOD MOVES IT
Another bright side from the Elks season opener was the passing game’s ability to move the ball down the field, starting with quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson.
The pivot completed 34 of 42 passes for 336 yards and two touchdowns on the day. It was the first 300-yard passing performance with two touchdowns for the Elks since Taylor Cornelius accomplished the feat on November 5, 2021, also against the Roughriders.
McLeod Bethel Thompson was 33 /42 for 336 yards and 2 TDs in the loss to Saskatchewan. To put that in perspective – it has been 46 games and over two years since an #Elks QB threw for 300 with 2 TDs in a game. Nov 5 2021 (Cornelius vs Sask)
— Morley Scott (@Morley_Scott) June 12, 2024
The veteran QB was brought in to stabilize the Elks aerial attack and through one game Bethel-Thompson has certainly done that. However, the 36-year-old felt there was still more that was left out on field as he works to build chemistry with his stellar stable of wideouts.
“I mean, that’s my standard though. I wasn’t happy with that game,” Bethel-Thompson said. “There were three to four plays where I was disappointed.”
Bethel-Thompson’s performance wasn’t flawless. A pair of turnovers in the game’s final two minutes — a fumble caused by backside pressure and an interception on a pass that slipped through the QB’s fingers — halted any semblance of a comeback for the home side. Although the turnovers came as the Green and Gold were pressing for a comeback, it’s still something the veteran believes is not acceptable moving forward.
“I have a really high expectation for myself and I’m always chasing that,” Bethel-Thompson said. “So that comes from internally and that comes from a deep, deep desire and a deep burning to be the best I possibly can. No one can hold me to a higher standard than I do myself.”
Football can be a fickle game. In most contests, it’s a few plays here or there in either direction that can determine the outcome and the Elks late mistakes pushed the scales in Saskatchewan’s favour last week.
FIX THE MISTAKES
The focus this week in early film sessions and on field was on how to fix the mistakes that cost the Elks the two points. Turnovers were certainly a problem, with three in total during the Home Opener, but they were not the only issue needing to be cleaned up by Head Coach Chris Jones and his staff.
“We’ve got to fix our penalty issue. We had eleven penalties to their six,” Jones said. “We doubled up their penalties, which that alone would have probably won the game for us. If we hang on to the football, there’s another opportunity to win the football game.”
Dwelling on the issues certainly wont help rectify them, but attention was certainly paid on being more disciplined during the week.
“We had a reset, a refocus,” Nyles Morgan said. “We had our meetings. We met as an offensive and defensive unit and we corrected ourselves. We took the coaching, and we’re going to get better from it.”
For quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson, he wants to help instill a sense of urgency inside the locker room. In the Canadian Football League there are no easy outs, so greater emphasis must be spent on finishing off teams once the Elks have a lead like they did last Saturday.
“I think that you didn’t feel that sense of urgency necessarily on Saturday to close out that game,” Bethel Thompson said. “We had them on the ropes 21-8 in the fourth, and that’s when you step on someone’s neck.”
“I think so we have to build pillars or characteristics that make us who we are,” he added. “A sense of urgency needs to be this week now. We need to fix the mistakes we made last week and move forward and play the best possible game we can.”
LINEUP NOTES
- The most significant change for the Elks will be the return of veteran defensive back Lucheiz Purifoy, who will slot in as safety against the Alouettes
- The move pushes rookie Kordell Jackson to starting halfback, while Devodric Bynum sits.
- For the Alouettes, former CFL Draft first-overall pick LB Tyrell Richards will miss the game with a leg injury