Tre Ford to start Edmonton Elks regular season finale against Argonauts

Photo courtesy: Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca

The Edmonton Elks will start Canadian quarterback Tre Ford for their final game of the regular season on Friday night.

The native of Niagara Falls, Ont. has gone 3-1 as a starter this season, throwing for 812 yards, seven touchdowns, and five interceptions and rushing 15 times for 125 yards. The pending free agent has thrown for 3,332 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 16 picks over 37 career games as a member of the Elks since being taken in the first round of the 2022 CFL Draft out of the University of Waterloo.

McLeod Bethel-Thompson will not play against his old team as Jarret Doege and Dakota Prukop dress as Ford’s backups. The 36-year-old also didn’t dress for the club’s recent win over the Calgary Stampeders.

The Elks have made only one change to their starting lineup from two weeks ago as J-Min Pelley is back at defensive tackle, pushing Noah Curtis out to defensive end. Phillip Grohovac, a third-round pick out of Western University last year, will take over at fullback from Jakub Szott.

Edmonton can’t finish higher or lower than fourth in the West Division, missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year. The game also has no meaning for the Toronto Argonauts, who are locked into second place in the East Division, as they’ve elected to start Cameron Dukes at quarterback, giving franchise pivot Chad Kelly a break ahead of the East Semi-Final against the Ottawa Redblacks.

The Edmonton Elks (6-11) will host the Toronto Argonauts (10-7) on Friday, Oct. 25 with kickoff slated for 9:30 p.m. EDT.