VANCOUVER – The Edmonton Elks were officially eliminated from playoff contention with a 37-24 loss to the BC Lions at BC Place Stadium on Friday night.
Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo was 19 of 34 passing for 230 yards with a touchdown completion to Binjimen Victor. The veteran QB additionally ran for a team-leading 38 yards and scored a rushing touchdown, but threw a season-high three interceptions including a pick-six.
“Ultimately we just didn’t have enough tonight,” Elks coach Mark Kilam said during a post-game interview on 880 CHED. “Turnovers hurt us, big plays hurt us. That had been our M.O. for winning but obviously it went against us tonight.”
Edmonton running back Javon Leake also rushed for a major. Kurleigh Gittens Jr. was Edmonton’s top receiver, hauling in 6 passes for 96 yards.
James Butler, Robert Carter Jr., Keon Hatcher and Nathan Rourke each had a touchdown for the Lions, who scored 25 unanswered points spanning the second and second third quarter to take control of the game.
Edmonton was leading 10-2 late in the first half on the strength of a six-yard touchdown run from Leake and a 44-yard field goal from Vincent Blanchard, before Butler scored a rushing touchdown and added ran for a two-point conversion to tie the score at 10-10 with just 20 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Fajardo finds Victor in the endzone for six! 🎯#GoElks pic.twitter.com/DZxSlgfiId
— Edmonton Elks (@GoElks) October 18, 2025
BC erupted for 17 points to start the third quarter, capitalizing on an interception and a turnover on downs on third-and-12 from the BC 45, before Edmonton finally stopped the Lions’ run with Fajardo and Victor hooking up for a 12-yard passing TD at the end of the quarter. Blanchard added an extra point to make the score 27-17 in favour of BC with 15 minutes remaining.
Hatcher found the endzone on a pass from Rourke, and BC kicker Sean Whyte added a field goal to extend BC’s lead to 37-17, effectively putting the game out reach with just under five minutes to play, but the Green and Gold battled to the finish, with Fajardo escaping Lions defenders to run for a 15-yard touchdown on third down with 52 seconds left. Edmonton tried to keep its late rally alive with an ensuing kick, but the Lions recovered and ran out the clock.
“Nobody quit,” Kilam said about his team’s effort in the fourth quarter. “We’re not going to quit, that’s not who we are, but ultimately we just didn’t make enough plays, that’s what it came down to.”
The Elks wrap up their season on Oct. 24 when the Green and Gold host the Calgary Stampeders at Play Alberta Field at Commonwealth Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available now.
THEY SAID
Fajardo on Elks’ decision to go for it on third-and-12:
“We were going to be aggressive. Third and 12 was a very aggressive call, but we loved it, offensively. Unfortunately I got hit the and ball came out and it was a big turnover, but talking with coach Kilam and (offensive coordinator Jordan) Maksymic before the game, we said, ‘look, we’re going to empty the chamber, we’re going to be very aggressive, we’re going to take our shots down the field and we’re going to go for it on third down when we were in (offensive territory) so that’s just a big part of the reason why they found a way tonight. They made more plays than us, they seemed to be the healthier, more energized group tonight, coming off a bye, just a little difficult on us and it showed on the scoreboard.”
Linebacker Joel Dublanko on the team’s approach for their season finale:
“Our season isn’t done yet. We’ve got one more game and we’re going to go and attack it. We fought to the very end of this game. There wasn’t a moment that we didn’t believe that we could turn this thing around. Even go out there for the onside (kick), I was fully expecting to get it and that we were going to even house it, and have that unwavering faith in our guys. And so we’re going to go out with the same mentality, we’re going to practice hard, we’re going to have a good time and we’re going to make the most of this. We get to play in front of our home crowd. I don’t like to talk about home winning streaks, but we’ve got stuff to play for and we’re excited for the opportunity.”