MONTREAL – The Edmonton Elks came up just short in a bid to win their fourth straight game, Sunday night at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.
After trailing 17-6 at halftime, the host Montreal Alouettes scored 15 unanswered points in the second half to defeat Edmonton 21-17. The EE were held without a point in the third quarter for a fourth consecutive game.
“We recognize for the past few games here, we’ve had a lull in the third quarter, we’ve got to be better,” Elks head coach Jarious Jackson said. “We can’t expect to win games against a good team like Montreal if we leave our defense out there for an extended period of time.”
The Elks had two potential game-winning drives end in the redzone during the final two minutes. Edmonton turned the ball over on downs at the Montreal six-yard line with 1:28 remaining and ran out of time after Edmonton quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson’s pass to Kurleigh Gittens Jr. went incomplete in the endzone on the game’s final play.
Bethel-Thompson finished 21/33 passing for 200 yards with two touchdown tosses, to receivers Geno Lewis and Gittens Jr., and no interceptions. Boris Bede kicked a 19-yard field goal for the Elks. Tevin Jones led the EE with 67 yards receiving, while Edmonton’s Kevin Brown rushed for 105 yards on 16 caries.
Montreal quarterback Cody Fajardo connected with Cole Spieker for a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter, while Alouettes kicker Jose Maltos booted three field goals. The defending Grey Cup champion Alouettes have now won 18 of their last 19 games in the regular season and playoffs combined.
With the loss, Edmonton falls to 3-8 and remains two points behind the Calgary Stampeders for fourth place in the West Division. The EE’s next two games are against the Stamps, first at McMahon Stadium on Labour Day followed by the rematch at Commonwealth Stadium five days later on Sept. 7.
Sunday’s game was the first time back at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium for Lewis since he left the Alouettes to sign with Edmonton on Feb. 14, 2023.
The 31-year-old receiver played five seasons in Montreal, where he spent a lot of time in the endzone. In 67 regular season games with the Alouettes, scored 28 touchdowns.
Lewis took little time on Sunday making himself at home in his old haunts. Just over 10 minutes into the game, Lewis caught a six-yard touchdown pass from Bethel-Thompson to give Edmonton an early lead.
Elks strike first ‼️ Geno Lewis hauls it in for the Green and Gold.#CFLGameday: LIVE on TSN, RDS, CBSSN
📲: Stream on CFL+ pic.twitter.com/z0ZOfopyR9— CFL (@CFL) August 25, 2024
After missing Edmonton’s last three games, all wins, with an injury, Brown expressed during practice this week how anxious he was to get back into action. He wasn’t kidding.
Brown’s effort was his first 100-yard rushing performance of 2024, and he led all players on both teams Sunday in yards on the ground. The 27-year-old running back had 87 rushing yards in the first two quarters alone when he helped Edmonton build an 11-point halftime lead.
“At the start of the game I was nervous, but once I started to get the flow of things, I came back to my regular self, said Brown, who now has five 100-yard rushing games in his CFL career.
Welcome back KB!
RB Kevin Brown putting on a show in the first act 🎬#GoElks #CFL pic.twitter.com/nTBAvB1c1F
— Edmonton Elks (@GoElks) August 26, 2024
Kevin Brown on Edmonton’s third quarter struggles:
“We can’t have that. We have to put up points to be able to win games and in the second half we also have to be able to finish.”
McLeod Bethel-Thompson on Kevin Brown’s performance:
“It was awesome to see him work and tote the rock. Everyone was excited to for him to get out there, and he definitely showed up. The run game did not disappoint, we’ve just got to be better in the second half.”
Jarious Jackson on Edmonton’s focus for next week:
“We’re going to take it one game at a time. We’ve got Calgary coming up next and that’s the only thing I care about.”