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October 24, 2024

GAME PREVIEW | Elks at Argonauts

EDMONTON – The final game of any season is a bittersweet moment. It’s the culmination of months of hard work and building a camaraderie and family feel inside of a locker room of nearly 100 players, coaches, and staff.

Unfortunately for the Elks, the playoffs are out of reach but the signs of building something special are there. A victory on Friday against the Argonauts will propel Edmonton to a 7-4 record over their final 11 games, while likely finishing 2024 with the CFL’s top attack (27.4 offensive points per game). There is a solid foundation for a team whose season appeared to be over a little more than a third of the way into the year. Just watching the Green and Gold practice this week, you’d be hard pressed to believe that this was a team playing for nothing more than pride and personal accolades.

“You saw it today, man. These guys fight for one another,” Interim Head Coach Jarious Jackson said after a spirited Monday practice this week. “They’re out here having fun.”

“It could be at the other end of the spectrum, and we could be pulling teeth to get guys to come out here and compete and get ready to try and go win a football game. The guys were enthusiastic, they were engaged, they were having fun. They were talking crap to one another, but at the same time, competitive and doing things the right way.”

There is plenty for those on the Elks to play for on Friday. For some, it’s a chance to put their best foot forward heading into next season. There will be an opportunity for certain players to see an expanded role against the Argonauts. Edmonton has elevated wide receiver Jerminic Smith from the practice roster. The 29-year-old caught seven passes for 38 yards in two games over the preseason and has been biding his time on the team’s practice roster.

Rookie kicker Vincent Blanchard also gets his first career start. Edmonton’s fourth-round pick (31st overall) in the 2024 CFL draft spent some time in rookie camp with the New England Patriots, before joining the Elks for training camp this May. The Laval product has a strong leg and could find himself in the mix for the Elks kicking role in 2025.

At quarterback, Tre Ford will get the chance to show he can continue to win games for the Green and Gold. The Canadian will start the game, but expect backup Jarret Doege to see some reps as the staff aims to see what the 26-year-old pivot can do in a game situation.

“Tre gets to start,” Jackson said. “I’m going to make sure I do get Doege some reps. I’ll probably rotate Jerminic in a little bit as well. Get as many guys in as we can, but at the end of the day, you can’t go wholesale due to cap reasons or what have, but guys that we can get up and get in, we will.”

SETTING RECORDS

As much as finishing the season with a victory is at the front of mind for the players in the locker room, a chance to set some team and personal records is also in the cards for several on the roster:

  • Geno Lewis enters Friday’s game on a seven-game touchdown streak. His streak is the longest by a receiver in franchise history and is one game behind Blake Marshall’s franchise record of eight set in 1991.
  • Lewis needs three consecutive games with a touchdown to surpass former Stampeders WR Terry Evanshen’s CFL record of 10 consecutive games with a touchdown set from Sep. 1967 to Aug. 1968.
  • Jake Julien is currently on pace to surpass the CFL record for punt average (54.1 yards vs 50.6 yards). He was unanimously named the Elks Most Outstanding Special Teams Player
  • Linebacker Nick Anderson currently holds the EE rookie record for tackles in a season with 106 total tackles (101 on defence, five on special teams).
  • Anderson needs 11 total tackles to surpass Barrin Simpson’s CFL rookie record of 116 (115 on defence, one on special teams) set back in 2001.
  • Anderson needs 13 defensive tackles to finish the 2024 season inside the top five all-time single seasons by an EE defender (Willie Pless holds the fifth spot with 113 tackles in 1994. JC Sherritt holds the franchise record with 130 in 2012)