MONTREAL – The Edmonton Elks lost by a score of 48-30 to the Montreal Alouettes at Percival-Molson Memorial Stadium on Saturday (Aug. 8), in an explosive game that saw the teams combine for 10 touchdowns.

Edmonton quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 21 of 35 passes for 231 yards, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for another.

In his first game at Percival-Molson Stadium, former Alouettes receiver Austin Mack led the Elks with nine receptions for 110 yards, and caught a touchdown.

Elks rookie receiver Carter Kettyle scored his first CFL touchdown, and Joshua Cephus also caught a touchdown for the Green and Gold.

Running back Justin Rankin was Edmonton’s leading rusher, picking up 62 yards on seven carries.

Edmonton’s Tyrell Ford had two picks. The Elks defensive back now has five interceptions on the season, tied with Calgary defensive back Ben Labrosse for most in the CFL.

Montreal quarterback Davis Alexander was 22-of-28 passing for 352 yards, and threw four touchdowns, including three to Tyson Philpot.

The Alouettes out-gained Edmonton 481-407 in net offence yards, and held a 3-2 edge in turnovers. Montreal scored at least one touchdown in every quarter, while the Elks were shutout in both the first and third quarters.

“We learned that we’ve got to play for four quarters,” Fajardo said. “We’ve got to find ways to win football games when it’s not pretty and we’ve got to protect the football.”

The score was 7-0 in favour of Montreal after the first quarter, thanks to a 10-yard touchdown run by Alexander.

Montreal led 24-17 at halftime, following an back-and-forth second quarter that saw the teams trade scores, with each putting up 17 points: Philpot had two touchdown receptions and Jose Maltos kicked a field goal for the Alouettes; The Elks got touchdowns from Fajardo and Cephus, and a field goal from Vincent Blanchard. Edmonton and Montreal combined for 20 points in the final three minutes of the half.

The Alouettes accounted for all the scoring in the third quarter, stretching their lead to 34-17, with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Alexander to Tyler Snead and a field goal from Maltos.

First career TD for the rookie Carter Kettyle!#GoElks pic.twitter.com/W8QBRSZw6E

— Edmonton Elks (@GoElks) August 8, 2026

Each team scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter: Montreal’s majors came on a 56-yard reception by Philpot and one-yard rush from Terry Wilson, while Edmonton found the endzone on a 33-yard pass from Fajardo to Mack, and six-yard pass from Taylor Powell to Kettyle.

With the loss, Edmonton drops to 6-3 and is now second in the CFL West Division, just behind the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who have a 6-2 record. Montreal remains atop the East Division standings, improving its record to 8-1.

“We didn’t play our best ball,” said Elks head coach Mark Kilam. “Full credit to Montreal, they beat us tonight.”

The Elks now return home to take on the Toronto Argonauts on August 15 (1 p.m.) at Play Alberta Field at Commonwealth Stadium. Tickets are available now.