The final game of 2025 for the Edmonton Elks found them on the wrong side of the score against the Calgary Stampeders.
With no hopes of making the playoffs, the game became a chance to evaluate a few new faces and reflect on the season that was. Even with the 20-10 loss, this year’s team won as many home games as the organization has had in the last four years combined.
Before we get to prepping for 2026, here are my thoughts on that last game.
Trainers too busy
Injuries can’t be used as an excuse but the sheer number of changes that happened before and during Friday’s game had to have had some effect.
There were six changes to the depth chart as anyone who had a lingering injury did not play. Brett Boyko, Jared Brinkman, Kurleigh Gittens Jr, Arkell Smith, and Robbie Smith were all out, while the fresh faces of receiver Jalon Calhoun and defensive back Jerrell Cummings made their CFL debuts.
By the end of the second quarter, Edmonton was also down Kordell Jackson, Joel Dublanko, and Martez Ivey — all big pieces of what was left of the starting group. The walking wounded list had 15 starters and added those three more.
The loss of Ivey was noticeable. The Elks surrendered three quarterback sacks and seven tackles for a loss to their provincial rival, punted on their last five drives, and managed only 10 points. Mark Evans II was brought in to cover Ivey’s left tackle spot and he took three of the nine Edmonton accepted penalties. It was a struggle for the line the rest of the way.
“We went deep on the roster,” head coach Mark Kilam said. “(We lost) our boundary half(back) on the first drive and we kind of spiralled. We lost Joel early and we didn’t have a ton of linebackers on the roster this week, but they all played. Guys battled. I’m not sure we protected very well on offence. Just too much to overcome.”
Defensive work
Despite all the injury difficulties, the defence mimicked their season. The beginning was shaky but the finish was strong. Some early yards given up on the ground to Dedrick Mills and a couple errors in the backfield to give Erik Brooks some space were locked up as the game went on. Other than the initial drive touchdown for Calgary, it was all field goals and a rouge to complete Calgary’s scoring.
Elks rookie of the year nominee, Chelen Garnes, racked up eight tackles. Kenneth Logan Jr., another rookie, collected two sacks with six total tackles. Second-year defensive back JJ Ross shined again with two knockdowns. The young guys were showing they want to continue to develop in this system next year.
Holding team KFC to just a field goal after a blocked punt placed them on the one-yard line was nothing short of stellar. For an “all hands on deck” situation, I feel the defence did what they could to keep this game within reach. The early stumbles just could not be overcome by the other phases of the game.
No run for you
At first glance, Cody Fajardo seemed to have a solid night with a 74 percent completion rate for 272 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. It was a decent performance other than being able to get first downs and put points on the board.
The Nevada product was running for his life and trying to find anyone open downfield. He had to go to his short routes more often than not, which got the completion but not enough to move the chains.
The veteran had 24 rushing yards to lead the ground attack Friday night, which was far from optimal. With all the changes to an offensive line that was already struggling to open rushing lanes, Justin Rankin ran into a pile every time he had the ball.
If not that, he was met by a player in red and white as the ball got in his hands. Calgary keyed on the speedy back and held him to one total rushing yard — not exactly a winning formula for this team.
If not for bad luck
Edmonton got into scoring range for the first time near the end of the first quarter. Vincent Blanchard lined up for the 33-yard field goal, though kick was blocked by Miles Brown and recovered by Calgary’s Jaydon Grant.
Blanchard then came streaking across and forced a fumble, only to have the loose ball recovered by Calgary’s Marquel Lee. Somehow, the officials ruled no yards on Mark Korte, although I thought it was a live ball. Regardless, not only did the Elks not recover the ball, they got an extra penalty to tack on. However, this wasn’t even the strangest play.
Rankin caught a screen pass at the Calgary 37-yard line and took off down the field. The juke he laid on Lance Robinson made the defender look silly.
As Rankin crossed the goal line, the ball was punched out by Bailey Devine-Scott. The sophomore back looked like he went to grab the ball but looked at the official signaling touchdown and stopped to celebrate with teammates.
The ball sat in the end zone and was then casually picked up by linebacker Jacob Roberts.
Cue the replay centre.
Head referee Andre Proulx had to explain the ball was knocked out and recovered by Calgary in the end zone and therefore not a touchdown, but a touchback for the Stamps.
Based on a previous game against the Blue Bombers — which included a Winnipeg fumble recovery being blown dead and a touchdown was taken off the board. In this situation, I was assuming that Edmonton would get the ball at the one-yard line because the play was whistled dead before the ball recovery.
I guess not. Six points came off the board for not jumping on a loose ball after a signalled touchdown and a turnover.
Silliness.
Rookie standouts
I have done a lot of talking about the production of rookie OJ Hiliare. Since he joined the team in mid-August, he has slowly become one of Fajardo’s favourite targets.
With Kurleigh Gittens Jr. out, the Bowling Green State product was targeted eight times and matched his season-high in a game with 86 total yards. If not for a very close call overturning a sideline catch, he would have set a new personal best.
Jalon Calhoun made his CFL debut and was quick to make an impression. Even at training camp, you could see that his speed would stand out.
The Duke product caught all four targets that came his way and added in his first CFL touchdown. Leading the receiving crew with 33 yards after catch is impressive for a first outing. For a team that’s in a transition spot for receivers, having some young guys standing up was great to see.
What the future holds
I think the foundation of a successful team has been laid in Edmonton. It was another tough year but as the season went on, the improvements were there.
The defence took massive strides forward, especially with all the youth in that group. Rankin became a league star. Vincent Blanchard had stretches of consistency and put up a long field goal of 52 yards. Fajardo took on the leadership role the team needed. There are a lot of things to raise the hope level in the Alberta capital.
What does need to be figured out is who is the starting quarterback for the Elks in 2026. Kilam stated he wanted Cody Fajardo under centre, though the veteran said he needs to talk with his family and make a decision on playing. If he returns, he wants to come back to Edmonton.
All three of Fajardo, Kilam and general manager Ed Hervey stated that maybe a “change of scenery” is the best step for Tre Ford to get to a starting position again, which sounds like changes coming behind Cody to me.
There will need to be some focus on the offensive line, receivers, and the defensive ends to help this team take another step. Although Rankin had some great moments, the O-line wasn’t consistently able to open more holes for the dynamic back. Carter O’Donnell added a bit of a mean streak that helped, but they will need more guys that move bodies next year, especially given what some of the current starters are being paid.
There are some solid young receivers that stepped up this year, though some veteran leadership in that corps would go a long way to lifting the group next year.
The defence came together more as the secondary solidified but there was still not enough pressure being applied to opposing quarterbacks. For all the money spent in free agency, the stats did not show the proper return on investment. Hervey did comment that those guys brought a lot to turning the locker room around. Now, I’d like to see more stats to back up that positivity.
I think the base is there for the Elks. The new foundation of a winning team is being built. Kilam and his coaches seem to be putting things on track. It will be an interesting offseason, even with less movement overall.
Thanks for following along with me this season. I look forward to being back talking more Elks in 2026.
