EDMONTON – It has been a while since the Elks have seen an offensive explosion like the one they exhibited on Saturday in Saskatchewan.
Over 500 yards of total offence and over 40 points dropped on one of the Canadian Football League’s premier defensive units is about as impressive a performance as you can ask for – especially since it’s been nearly five years since either of those thresholds were topped by the Green and Gold.
You’d have to flash back to a two-game stretch in August of 2019 since the Double E were able rack up the points and yardage they did in Regina. On Aug. 16, 2019, in a 41-26 victory over the Argonauts, QB Trevor Harris diced the Double Blue for 420 yards and three touchdowns through the air, while the ground game was able to add another 89 yards and two touchdowns of their own. The following game, Harris and co. once again dropped 500+ yards on the Blue Bombers in a 34-28 defeat to Winnipeg on Aug. 23.
Now, 1,807 days later, Tre Ford and company accomplished the feat once again. It was an offensive performance fans have been waiting for, but in the moment, it didn’t feel like the Elks were doing anything above what they are capable of or expected to do.
Tre Ford was on 🎯 on Saturday. #GoElks pic.twitter.com/J3bvMtNsj9
— Edmonton Elks (@GoElks) August 7, 2024
“I mean, when you say it like that, I would probably say no. I feel like it was just another game,” Ford said about 500-plus yard performance. “I thought we did execute at a high level, but I didn’t think it was a once every five-year kind of game or whatever. Hopefully we can just go and keep doing what we’re doing.”
For Interim Head Coach Jarious Jackson, it wasn’t the sum of the yards that impressed him the most – it was how his team rose up to the physical challenge in front of them.
“Sitting back looking at the numbers because it was pretty tight game up until probably the last eight-to-ten plays of the game,” Jackson said. “More than anything, I was just proud the way you saw it in the first 45-50 minutes of the game, because we were the more physical bunch. That’s what I love to watch — when our guys are out there, imposing their will on people.”
On the ground is where Edmonton was able to do the most of their damage. Javon Leake put in a superstar performance with 169 yards rushing and three touchdowns on only 12 carries. The 26-year-old was a game changer, breaking TD runs of 61 yards and a 51-yard run in which he recorded the fastest speed by a ball carrier in pro football this year.
Rookie Justin Rankin, who was making his CFL debut, was no slouch either — churning up 60 yards on a six-yards per carry average. Ford was sensational from the pocket, but still used his trademark escapability to add another 46 yards to the Elks totals. All the success came against a Roughriders defence that was allowing less than 50-yards a game to opponents prior to Saturday.
“I think it’s huge for us, and I think it also sets the tone, especially with how our offense did,” Ford said about the team’s run game. “Our offensive line was able to dominate the front and we ran for 270 something yards. It’s phenomenal when you can do that. And it makes my job really easy.”
“I just think it’s nice that we can finally state who we are and we we’re able to go out there and show people that we can be a run first team if we want to, It also shows we can make those big plays down the field. I feel like offensively, we showed a lot, and I’m just looking forward to this week coming up.”