Photo courtesy: CFL.ca

Edmonton did something no other team in the West Division has been able to do this year: beat the Calgary Stampeders. Amazing performances from all three phases, and a stellar evening from Justin Rankin, gave the Elks a 31-19 win and put them back in the playoff conversation.

Here are my thoughts on the game.

Rankin up

The biggest crowd of the season bore witness to a special night from Justin Rankin. Usually known for his combination of rushing and receiving, this game was all about the run. With 204 yards on the ground, the sophomore back was 21 yards off the team record for single-game rushing. He also launched himself into the league lead in yards from scrimmage.

Five minutes into the second quarter, Dustin Nielson said on the TSN broadcast that Edmonton had “not so much on the ground so far.” The Northwest Missouri State product changed that in one play. Running through the hole created by linemen David Beard and Mark Korte and making Calgary DB Jaydon Grant miss, he burst for the 90-yard score. His top speed was 25 km/hr as he pulled away from all chasers.

The Ohio native wasn’t done there. His second touchdown came with a bounce out of his backfield and a brilliant spin move to open up the field. Dragging Stamps DB Sheldon Arnold II for four yards, he stretched the lead to nine with five minutes left in the half. When the TSN camera came to him on the bench, he said, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” With 141 yards on the ground in the first half, that was hard to believe, but he found 63 more. It was by far the best running game for the Elks in 25 years.

“I had front row tickets to the best show on turf,” Cody Fajardo said. “That was probably one of the best running back performances I’ve ever been a part of, and I’ve played with some talented running backs.”

Started up front

Last week, head coach Mark Kilam said that the guys up front knew they had to have a better game. This game, they surely did.

Rankin’s performance doesn’t happen without some excellent holes being opened up. The communication must be getting better, as there was much more stability up the middle. I already mentioned Beard and Korte, and want to add Gregor MacKellar for his efforts in the run game. The three really cleared space for both Rankin and Fajardo.

Calgary was missing defensive tackle Jaylon Hutchings, but Edmonton’s pass blocking was also up to the task against the rest of the Stampeders’ line. Brett Boyko kept the right side clean. Martez Ivey did have a couple of tough moments on the left, which is unlike his usual command on that corner. The line held the Pop Shoppe Gang to only two sacks, which is a feat with how good they have been.

Defence stands tall

There were lots of questions coming into this game with the loss of Jake Ceresna and Nyles Morgan in the Labour Day Classic. Adding that to a defence that was already down Robbie Smith, Nick Anderson, Noah Curtis, and Devodric Bynum seemed like quite the hurdle. And yet, this was the most aggressive and powerful we have seen this defence play.

The front four put pressure on all game. Jonathan Kongbo had his best game in green in gold with two sacks. Noah Taylor continued his increasingly great play with three tackles. Brandon Barlow also got in on the action with a sack of his own. The back-to-back sacks from Taylor and Konbo in the final minutes drove Vernon Adams Jr. from the game. That was an odd decision from Calgary, done only to protect Adams from more hits.

The secondary and linebackers are starting to play with the fire their coach had when he was on the field. Joel Dublanko was all over the field with six tackles. Rookie Brock Mogensen stepped in for Nyles Morgan at middle linebacker and contributed four tackles. Chelen Garnes, the other rookie linebacker, had two tackles and the game-sealing interception.

A number of times, Edmonton went to a three-man front and dropped nine. The aggressiveness from Kobe Williams, Kordell Jackson, Tyrell Ford and Kenneth Logan Jr. was really great to see. There were a total of five knockdowns between that group, and a couple were very close to interceptions.

Kudos to J.C. Sherritt on finding ways to increase the intensity and hold off a good offence. Keeping VA off the board is no easy feat. Edmonton has four wins in five games, and the defence has held the opposition to 22 points or less in all the wins. Those are continued steps forward as this season has gone on.

There was passing too

In the shadow of the big rushing game was a balanced passing game. Cody Fajardo went to a lot of quick passes to get around the Stamps’ rush. The veteran continued his great accuracy with a 76 percent performance. Targets were spread out almost perfectly between all the receivers.

His ability to stand in the pocket and deliver was most evident on the touchdown pass to Kaion Julien-Grant. Fajardo knew the hit was coming, but dropped a beautiful pass for the score. It will be recorded as a 19-yard completion, but it was closer to 37 yards into the back of the end zone and came at a time that Calgary had just scored to get within three points. Cody’s leadership in finding the killer instinct at the end of games has been invaluable.

Odieu (OJ) Hiliare joined the team just before the Labour Day game and is already looking like another great addition from GM Ed Hervey. The Bowling Green State product led the team with 51 yards receiving and was heavily featured in the first half. He plays taller than his six-foot frame with great grabs and long strides. Being only two weeks into the system tells me there is even more room to grow.

I like that they went to Hiliare and Binjimen Victor early to try and open up things for Julien-Grant and Kurleigh Gittens Jr. The move paid off with Julien-Grant catching all five of his targets, including the final touchdown. Gittens Jr. had a quieter game compared to his recent outings. Calgary may have been focused on him based on that recent play. The Elks didn’t need much passing this game, but they counted on it when they did.

Rough Ending

There were some sparks of the rivalry throughout the game, with both teams taking their share of (mostly offsetting) misconduct penalties. The final play, though, showed some poor sportsmanship. In victory formation, Calgary lineman Clarence Hicks thought pushing into centre David Beard was a good idea. As expected, the whole O-line reacted, and there was some pushing and shoving between both lines. Some will say it was “sending a message,” but I will say it is just being a sore loser. If that was my team doing that, I’d be disappointed in the lack of class.

Back to their winning ways, the Elks find themselves tied with B.C. in the standings on points. The Lions have the season series, so the upcoming weeks will see if Edmonton can stay in the playoff hunt.

First up is the Toronto Argonauts next week. A win there not only helps keep pace with B.C. but also pushes an East team down in the crossover race. After slowly finding their way out of the early hole, it’s suddenly not so strange to think the postseason might happen for Edmonton.