Elks ride Blanchard’s leg, defence to 19-17 win as Lions lose Rourke to injury

EDMONTON — The Edmonton Elks are showing signs they may have finally gotten their act together.

Vincent Blanchard kicked four field goals as the Elks continued their superb start to the CFL season, holding on for a 19-17 victory over the B.C. Lions on Friday.

The Elks, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2019, moved back into sole possession of first place in the West Division at 5-1.

“I’m happy that the guys found a way, but that game felt really ugly to me. Sometimes you’ve got to find a way to win those games,” said Elks head coach Mark Kilam. “Our defence was outstanding. They’ve been carrying this team for a long time.”

Edmonton quarterback Cody Fajardo also credited the Elks defence, which recorded four interceptions.

“Everybody can talk what they want about our offence, but we’re a 5-1 football team,” Fajardo said. “This team can win in three different phases. Tonight it just happened to be our defence standing on their heads for us and being the ones to shine.

“But we did enough offensively in order to win the game. We had one turnover and won the turnover battle. I don’t want to sit here and ever apologize for a win because it is very difficult to win in this league.”

Fajardo threw for 282 yards, but the league’s leading running back Justin Rankin was held to just nine yards rushing after getting only 19 the other time they faced B.C.

The Lions remained last in the West, dropping to 1-4. B.C.’s lone win came against Edmonton, a 36-24 victory on July 4 in Kelowna, B.C.

“The guys fought all the way to the end,” said Lions head coach Buck Pierce. “It was one of those games where both sides of the ball played physical. We knew it was going to come down to the end.”

After Lions’ starting quarterback Nathan Rourke left the game following what appeared to be a shoulder injury when he was sacked on the opening drive, Edmonton’s defence came up big before the five-minute mark as B.C. backup Chase Brice had his arm clipped on a pass and the ball went up in the air before landing in the waiting arms of lineman Gavin Meyer, leading to a 38-yard field goal by Blanchard.

The Lions came roaring back as Keon Hatcher made a nice 40-yard catch to set up a one-yard TD plunge by Zander Horvath.

Edmonton reclaimed the lead midway through the second quarter after an interception by Tyrell Ford eventually set up a four-yard touchdown pass from Cody Fajardo to T.J. Luther.

The Elks extended their league on their next drive as a 54-yard passing play to Joshua Cephus led to a 26-yard Blanchard field goal.

Brice was picked off a third time by JJ Ross, leading to another Blanchard field goal to end the first half with Edmonton leading 16-7.

Blanchard kicked his fourth field goal from 16 yards out late in the third.

The Lions marched back early in the fourth quarter and got an 11-yard TD catch by Hatcher.

The B.C. defence then made a huge play as they forced a fumble that was recovered on the Edmonton 19 by Matt Spatny. Sean Whyte kicked a 19-yard field goal to cut the Elks’ lead to 19-17.

Edmonton had a huge defensive stand to turn the ball over on downs with 41 seconds left, allowing them to run out the clock.

“I thought we all played really hard and showed a lot of heart out there,” Brice said. “We just came up short. Definitely a lot of plays left out on the field and a lot of mistakes on my end. We’ve just got to look at the tape and see how we can fix it and move on.”

UP NEXT

Lions: Host the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday, July 25.

Elks: Visit the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 17, 2026.

Shane Jones, The Canadian Press