MONTREAL – The Edmonton Elks defeated the Montreal Alouettes by a score of 23-22 in CFL Week 10 action at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium on Friday night.

Cody Fajardo completed a touchdown pass to Kaion Julien-Grant with 15 seconds remaining, as the pair of ex-Alouettes propelled the Green and Gold to victory over their former team.

CODY AND KJG COME UP CLUTCH!

In their return to Montreal, the duo CONNECT TWICE! This one for the late lead!!!

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“I don’t know if you can draw up a better storybook than a game-winner against your old team to another teammate that also came from the same team, so I’ve got a lot of emotions running through me right now,” Fajardo said during a post-game interview on 880 CHED, radio flagship of the Green and Gold.

The Elks trailed for nearly the entire game, before rallying in the fourth quarter to snap their three-game winning streak and win on the road for the first time in 2025.

“All week we were talking about how close we were, and I kept telling the guys, ‘You know what losers say? They say ‘we’re close’ Let’s just finish it’,” Fajardo continued. “And I’m proud of this team, we found a way to finish versus a very good Montreal team in a tough atmosphere and hopefully this turns the tide for this team.”

Julien-Grant, who signed with the Elks as a free-agent in February, also caught a touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter. Elks defensive back Tyrell Ford scored a touchdown, picking off Montreal quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson for an 87-yard interception return late in the first half.

“Any time you’re playing pro football, it’s hard to win,” Ford said. “It definitely wasn’t pretty, a lot of corrections, but again, it’s hard to win, so I’m happy.”

Fajardo, who was traded to Edmonton from Montreal in exchange for Bethel-Thompson during the offseason, completed 27 of 38 passes for 289 yards to earn his first victory as a starter with the Green and Gold. Six different Elks hauled in at least four receptions, with Justin Rankin recording a team-leading 88 receiving yards.

Bethel-Thompson was 10-of-15 passing for 79 yards before being hurt late in the first half. Caleb Evans came on in relief and completed 14 of 18 passes for 113 yards. Travis Theis and Cole Spieker each scored a touchdown for the Als.

Edmonton got on the board first, with a single off a 54-yard punt from Cody Grace just over three minutes into the game. The Alouettes went in front midway through the first quarter when Jose Maltos knocked a 34-yard field goal through the uprights. Theis then returned a Grace punt 80 yards for a touchdown, and the Alouettes took a 10-1 lead into the second quarter.

Maltos and Edmonton’s Vincent Blanchard traded field goals in the latter stages of the second quarter, before Ford picked off Bethel-Thompson at the Elks 23-yard line and took it to the house, helping Edmonton trim the Als’ lead to 13-11 at the half.

“That was big right before the half, that was a momentum changing play right before the half,” Elks coach Mark Kilam said. “We were really kind of sputtering at that point, hadn’t really done anything, special teams were on their heels in the fist half, and that just gave the team life, and it felt different in the locker room at halftime …”

Evans led the Alouettes on a nine-play, 79-yard drive that culminated in a 19-yard touchdown reception for Spieker with 2:13 remaining in the third quarter. Maltos missed the extra point, leaving the Elks down by a score of 19-11 with one quarter to play.

Blanchard missed a 54-yard field goal attempt early in the fourth quarter, but Montreal’s Tyler Snead coughed up the ball on the return, and Elks defensive lineman Brandon Barlow recovered the fumble at the Alouettes eight-yard line, giving the Elks possession in a first-and-goal scenario. Two plays later, Fajardo connected with Julien-Grant for a touchdown, cutting Montreal’s lead to 19-17. Edmonton went for a two-point conversion to tie the game, but was unable to convert.

Montreal extended its lead to five points, 22-17, when Maltos drilled a 54-yard field goal with just 1:12 remaining, setting the stage for Fajardo’s heroics. The veteran QB marched Edmonton 63 yards in 58 seconds, finding Julien-Grant for the winning score with a 15-yard TD toss.

“Nothing comes easy for us, we’ve got to earn it every time, but I’m proud of the guys, it took all three phases late in the game to turn that one around,” Kilam said.

The Green and Gold return to action on Aug. 15 at 7 p.m., when they host the defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts at Play Alberta Field at Commonwealth Stadium. Tickets are available now.

THEY SAID

Kilam on Fajardo and Julien-Grant:

“They’re fighters, they’re pros, they always believe. I’m happy for them. There was questions around both; Cody coming home. There was times our offence was struggling a little bit, but they kept fighting, they kept chipping away, they kept reloading when they got on the sidelines, and obviously Kaion bouncing back from a week ago, I’m just really happy for them.”

Kilam on taking things one game at a time moving forward:

“It’s still going to be mindset. But we had one come down in the end, we’ve been in this position before where we didn’t make those plays, today we made them, hopefully we can turn the corner and use it to drive us forward.”