So much for the cruel joke of years past that the down-and-out Edmonton Elks, facing declining attendance, would have trouble even filling Clarke Park.<\/p>\n
With their regular home at Commonwealth Stadium getting a turf overhaul, the double-E held their pre-season finale against the Calgary Stampeders next door at Clarke Stadium (yup, it\u2019s considered a stadium in and of itself now that it has bleachers along both sides \u2014 eat your heart out, McMahon Stadium).<\/p>\n
And for the record, they had to expanded the seating from 5,100 to 10,000-plus, with fans bringing big-game energy despite wet weather and an hour-long delay in their pre-season finale Friday. The final score wasn\u2019t available at press time.<\/p>\n
With the punchline firmly out of the way, the Elks will now get to work on dispeling the setup to the joke and show they are no longer down and out. What that\u2019s going to take, of course, is a strong start out of the gates on the regular season, which is something fans haven\u2019t seen in four long, joke-filled years.<\/p>\n
The 2022 season began 1-4. Then 2023 somehow started out 0-9, with marginal improvement at 0-7 to begin 2024. The 2025 season saw them get off to a 1-6 start. And if they want to be taken seriously again, they can\u2019t afford to wait once they pare down to their 45-man active roster and the regular season kicks off Saturday, June 6 (5 p.m., TSN) with a visit to the Ottawa Redblacks.<\/p>\n
As far as Friday\u2019s trial run went, here\u2019s how it went down early on for the ones:<\/p>\n
\u2022 After going 2-for-6 for 27 yards in limited work during the pre-season opener, a 34-16 win over the B.C. Lions, Cody Fajardo threw nine of 11 for 96 yards Friday. His pre-season consisted of four series with no touchdowns. Read into that what you may, not that Fajardo has ever been the biggest believer in pre-season performances. Not so far as the stats sheet goes, anyway.<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0T.J. Luther caught all four passes thrown his way from Fajardo for 48 yards, 20 of which came after the catch.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Short-yardage QB Cole Snyder punched it in from the one yard-line for a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter, one snap after Fajardo hit Joshua Cephus on a third-and-long effort.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Edmonton\u2019s first-string defence ended their night after the opening quarter, but not before their lone oopsie, when Stampeders quarterback Josh Love hit Dante Wright for a 42-yard touchdown to tie the score 7-7 heading into the second quarter. Love finished seven of eight for 80 yards and the TD after a quarter and a half of work. Starting QB Vernon Adams Jr. did not play.<\/p>\n