EDMONTON – With the Elks in need of a win, it will be quarterback Cody Fajardo who needs to stick it to his former team the Montreal Alouettes.
The familiar foes from Grey Cups past will go head-to-head at Percival Molson Stadium on Friday night, but what has most CFL fans talking is Fajardo’s return to the city he brought Grey Cup glory.
The Als had struggled for years to find the next one to franchise legend Anthony Calvillo, and for a short time, Fajardo was the guy. The Nevada native ended a 13-year championship drought for the Als, winning the 2023 the CFL’s top prize in 2023 while being named the game’s Most Outstanding Player in the process.
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It’s almost surreal to think that just over a year later it was a complete unknown where the quarterback would be playing and if he would even be the top choice behind centre. It was a fact noted by last week’s foe in Hamilton’s Bo Levi Mitchell while speaking to TSN post-game.
“(Cody is) one of, probably the most disrespected quarterbacks in the last couple of years that I know of,” Mitchell said. “He balled out; the entire team did. It was a hard-fought battle, man.”
A December trade to the Elks in exchange for Friday’s rival pivot in McLeod Bethel-Thompson, answered the question of where Fajardo would play.
Still, the 33-year-old had to be the good soldier and bide his time for an opportunity and in the Elks last two games he has received one. Since Fajardo has been handed the reigns, it’s safe to say he has delivered.
In his first start, the veteran put forth a season high 346 yards passing against the league’s top ranked Saskatchewan Roughriders. He followed it up with another excellent showing against Hamilton where he started the contest with 17 straight completions. However, the one thing Fajardo hasn’t been able to escape with is a victory. For the Elks, there would be no better time and place than Friday night at Montreal, against the very team who turned their back on him.
“I would be lying to you if I said some games don’t mean a little bit more and this game means a little bit more. I’m not afraid or shy to say it,” Fajardo said. “Anytime you face your former club, you want to go out and perform well. We’re in a bit of desperation. We’ve got to win now, so it doesn’t matter who it was. I want to get my first win as a start quarterback for the Elks and no better opponent than a really tough Montreal team.”
Fajardo is a pro, and he understands the business of football better than most. There would be a completely reasonable and understandable explanation for bad blood between the two parties, but he just doesn’t see it that way.
The now Elks starter has fond memories and a reverence for the city that took him from a popular pivot on the prairies, to a bonafide champion in la belle province.
“I think Montreal did more for me in my career than I ever did for Montreal,” Fajardo said. “Giving me the opportunity to be a starter in this league again, giving me opportunity to win a Grey Cup with a talented team, and last year being the best team in the CFL and going to the East Final. They validated some things in my career, and I wouldn’t be able to call myself a Grey Cup champion if it wasn’t for my journey with the Alouettes.”
“So, there’s no hard feelings. It was business in the off season, which I totally understand. But as an athlete, you always get excited about playing opportunities from where you kind of got shipped out. I’m excited for the opportunity. Does that mean I’m going to try any harder to win a football game? Absolutely not. I’m going to do everything I just did last week to try and win a football game.”
A win is what the Elks sorely need more than any personal retribution, and Fajardo understands that. The Green and Gold have been a much more familiar place to those behind the scenes with the Double E, but the results need to start showing on the field. The moral victories of taking the top two teams in each conference to the limit only serve as a reminder of what could be.
The belief is that this team will come together through the adversity they are currently facing. The personality and will that exist inside the Elks locker room is professional and resolute, but a win against a tough team in Montreal will only further that resolve.
“It’s a process through pain, I think is what we’re going through right now and learning through pain,” Fajardo said. “We’re kind of at a fork in the road right now. We can either go one way, stay positive, keep grinding, and know we’re close. Or we can just go the other way and say the season’s out of reach.”
“I’m not getting any of that second part in that locker room,” he added. “Energy was high. I think the guys know we’re turning a corner. I think the guys know, including myself, we feel really good.”