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EDMONTON – Thursday night’s Home Opener gives the Elks their first chance to bring back the fear of playing at Commonwealth stadium.
The now Play Alberta Field had a reputation of being a fortress, feared by visiting teams, with the Green and Gold holding a lifetime 402-233-7 record at home. This year’s iteration of the Double E wants to reset that tone from the start.
“Obviously, we want to give our fans something that they’re proud of,” offensive lineman Brett Boyko said. “We want the support. We hope Edmonton is all out ready to support us and we’re excited to put on a show for them.”
The Elks are going to be given a tough task from the outset with the 2-0 Montreal Alouettes coming to town. Former Edmonton HC Jason Maas is 23-12-1 since taking over the reigns of the Alouettes, with his newly appointed starting quarterback Davis Alexander sporting a perfect 6-0 record.
The Maas’ protégé comes armed with a similar skill set to the Elks Week 1 opponent Nathan Rourke, with underrated movement skills to go along with his career 70.0 per cent completion percentage. The upstart quarterback and the Al’s dominant defence will be a tough test for the revamped Elks, but its not one they are shying away from.
“We’re definitely not underestimating his athleticism,” Elks All-CFL linebacker Nick Anderson said of Alexander. “They (Montreal) give you a lot of different looks, but they do what they do. Alexander just extends plays with his legs. They like to take shots. Overall, they’re just a powerhouse offense, got a great defense, so it’s going to be a great matchup. But, that’s what we want.”
After the Week 1 setback in BC, the message inside the Elks locker room was pretty clear: get on the same page. Edmonton has seen an incredible amount of turnover since last season, and installing a brand-new offence and defence can take some time. With a bye week and more time to prepare for Montreal, it’s an expectation that the Elks will put together a more cohesive performance for the Home Opener.
“The main message is just focus on us and clean up the details,” wide receiver Arkell Smith said. “Just make it simple for us and go out there and execute. The good thing about the bye week, we had a lot of time to study the film and make those corrections, we took that time to get those details cleaned up.”
The Elks showed signs of what this team can be against the Lions, with the defence dominating the first half and holding BC to just three points midway through the game. However, the time of possession game took its toll, with BC controlling the clock for over 32 minutes. Edmonton also struggled on first down, averaging just 3.4 yards a play. Getting the 2024 CFL leading rushing attack on track could be a key to success against Montreal.
“Honestly, it just comes down to us. It comes down to execution offensively,” Boyko said. “We have got to keep our defense off the field and sustain some drives, and that starts on first down. So our goal is to be productive on first down and give ourselves a chance to keep the ball moving.”
The Elks ground game was adequate in BC, averaging 4.6 yards per carry on 19 rushes (87 yards), but much of that was boosted by the elusive Tre Ford and his 54 yards. With a Double E backfield that features the bruising Justin Rankin (7.8 yards per carry in 2024) and dynamic Javon Leake (6.5 yards per carry in 2024), the expectations are much higher than what the team showed in Game 1.
“We want to be able to run the football. I think every team in the CFL will say that,” Head coach Mark Kilam said. “It’s not one person that’s responsible for that. It’s a group working together, making sure we’re getting a hat on a hat and we can get some movement up front.”