YEG Sentinel

The turning point last night came right befor the end of the 1st half. #Elks were 3rd and 4 from the Bombers 4. You kick a FG and it just seems like a let down. Mark Kilam wants more and knows his team needs a TD, Fajardo and Mack deliver. Elks down by 4 going into the half. I don't know why this offence struggles so much in the first half, it's an engine that takes a long time to rev up. The script holds up again last night, the Elks take the game over the 2nd half. 120 passing yards, not a Cody Fajardo type of game but he played clean and used his legs, part of 212 rushing yards. Oh, and geez Cody, slide please. What a gamer. Justin Rankin had 4 carries in the 1st half and finised with 23. 133 yards rushing and final TD drive was a display of dominance. 10 carries for 69 yards and 10 touches of out 13 plays of the drive. O-line took another hit with the loss of Carter O'Donnell and Brett Boyko fills in and was huge esp. on the that final drive. Might have been Mark Korte's best game in green and gold. The defense kept up the relentless pressure on the QB, Zach Collaros took some hits but he played well. It was a great back and forth battle. Secondary got gashed a few times but two picks giving the Elks a league-leading 51 takeaways leading to 14 points off turnovers. Brady Oliviera who had close to 200 yards rushing in the first two meetings didn't really get a sniff. Elks responded to the physicality the Bombers play with up front. Blanchard with a key 52-yard FG in the 4th qtr. was big turning a 1 point lead to a 4 point lead. Cover teams held Trey Vaval in check and Montrell Washington continues to be a solid contributor. Next week in Regina, I would expect to see likes of T.J. Luther, Jordan Murray, and Javon Leake in the lineup. There's going to be some tough roster decisions coming especially on offence for the playoffs. First place for the first time since 2015 and there were times it felt like we would never say those words. Crowd again was electric and can you imagine 30K, 35K, or even more pack Commonwealth on November 7. Edmonton, you have a football team and an organization you can be proud of again. Pack the Concrete Castle of the North. #CFL