EDMONTON – The Edmonton Elks came up just short, falling by a score of 28-26 to the defending Grey Cup champion Saskatchewan Roughriders in CFL Week 9 action at Play Alberta Field at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday (Aug. 1)
More than 30,000 fans brought the energy as the top two teams in the CFL’s West Division squared off in a back-and-forth battle that saw Saskatchewan out-gain Edmonton by the narrowest of margins, 319-318, in net offence yardage.
“These are good games for us to learn from, especially our young guys, to be in that atmosphere with a lot of fans, and all the buildup, all the pressure, everything that was going on all throughout the week, this is only going to make it us better,” said veteran Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo. “I’m proud of the way the guys fought, it just wasn’t in the cards for us tonight to win the football game.”
TJ Luther caught a touchdown pass from Fajardo and Justin Rankin had a rushing touchdown for the Green and Gold. Elks kicker Vincent Blanchard made all four of his field goal attempts.
Tommy Stevens scored a trio of touchdowns for the visitors, while KeeSean Johnson hauled in a touchdown pass from Roughriders quarterback Trevor Harris.
Fajardo completed 22 of 28 pass attempts for 286 yards. Edmonton’s Austin Mack hauled in four passes for a game-high 77 yards, while Brendan O’Leary-Orange led all players in the game with 5 receptions, totalling 32 yards.
Harris totalled 239 yards on 19-of-24 passing, but also threw an interception, picked off by Edmonton defensive back Tyrell Ford.
This was the second of back-to-back games between the prairie rivals, following a 36-34 victory for the Green and Gold in Regina on July 23. The Elks and Roughriders will meet again in their regular season finale, on Oct. 24 at Mosaic Stadium.
“Both games came down to one possession, so those are good things,” Elks coach Mark Kilam said. “To go on the road, beat them at their place was a big game. They felt the same way coming back here. We’re going to see them last week of the season, hopefully we see them at the end of the year as well.”
Opening drive. Opening TD for RANKIN! 💪#GoElks pic.twitter.com/msFT2nvzvE
— Edmonton Elks (@GoElks) August 1, 2026
Edmonton opened the scoring on a 3-yard rushing touchdown from Rankin on the game’s first drive. The Roughriders responded on the ensuing possession when Tommy Stevens carried the ball into the end zone on a QB sneak.
The Elks regained their lead, going ahead 10-7 early in the second quarter on a 24-yard field goal by Blanchard. Saskatchewan again answered with a touchdown from Stevens, scoring on a one-yard rush as his team took a 14-10 lead. Blanchard’s second field goal of the game, from 44 yards out, made the score 14-13 before the teams headed into the halftime break.
The game was delayed for more than an hour during halftime because of lightning. Once action resumed, Edmonton reclaimed the lead, going in front 16-14 with a 13-yard field goal by Blanchard. The third quarter concluded with Stevens rushing one yard for a touchdown, before a failed two-point convert, leaving the score 20-16 in favour of Saskatchewan entering the final quarter.
Early in the fourth, Blanchard split the uprights with a 22-yard field goal, cutting Saskatchewan’s lead to one. The Roughriders then scored a touchdown on a four-yard pass from Harris to Johnson. Harris then connected with Johnson for a two-point conversion to extend Saskatchewan’s lead to 28-19 with just over six minutes remain.
Edmonton quickly responded, driving 72 yards in three plays, culminating in a four-yard touchdown pass to Luther from Fajardo. That would be as close as the Elks would get, however, as the Roughriders were able to run out the clock on the game’s final possession.
Despite the loss, Edmonton remains atop the West Division standings with a record of 6-2, while Saskatchewan sits in second place at 5-2.
The Elks will be back in action on Aug. 8 when they visit the Montreal Alouettes at 1 p.m. MT, in a battle of the teams with the two best records in the CFL.
Edmonton’s next home game is August 15 against the Toronto Argonauts, 1 p.m. at Play Alberta Field at Commonwealth Stadium. Tickets are available now.