For the second time this season against Hamilton, the Elks had the go-ahead touchdown in the hands, in the endzone, and dropped it.
On August 2nd in Edmonton, the Elks were marching down the field and Cody Fajardo put the ball right into the hands of Kaion Julien-Grant, who was open in the endzone. He dropped the ball.
This past Saturday, Odieu Hiliare was three yards in the endzone when Fajardo tossed him the ball from the five-yard line and Hiliare caught it, but then dropped it when Stavros Katsatonis hit him. Hiliare has to hold onto that ball.
The Elks settled for a field goal and led 27-26. A touchdown would have put them up 31-26 and forced Hamilton to score a touchdown on their final possession. Instead, they marched the ball into field goal range and Marc Liegghio hit the game-winner from 41 yards and the Tiger Cats won 29-27.
Edmonton lost on a last-second field goal for the second consecutive week, and now they will need to win their final four games against Saskatchewan, Winnipeg, BC and Calgary to make the playoffs. Possible, but unlikely.
The Elks are 5-9 but could easily be 7-7 and right in the playoff mix. Right now, they find ways to lose, rather than win. Fajardo didn’t hide his disappointment after the loss.
“I’m dejected, so is everybody in that locker room,” he said. “It’s hard because we’re running out of time, and I think we’ve got to win out just to give ourselves a chance.”
Hard is an understatement. The defence has played very well the past few weeks, and has been especially solid in the two losses in Toronto and Hamilton. In Toronto, they created six turnovers, and in Hamilton, they created two more. The Elks have won the turnover battle 8-1 in the past two games, but lost them both.
It doesn’t make sense. That shouldn’t happen.
“The unfortunate thing is, if you look at our year on the entirety, we’ve given (away) too many games in the last two minutes, last three minutes of the game. This could have been a whole different season if we find a way to win those games, but we didn’t, and now we’re in a tough spot here,” Fajardo said.
“Feels like Groundhog Day. Just another East trip, another walk-off field goal. A lot of things I felt like I could have done better just to help the team out, but at the end of the day, players just need to make plays with the game on the line — me included,” continued Fajardo.
Hiliare needs to catch that ball in the endzone. There is no excuse for not securing it after he had it in his hand for a second. But the Elks’ offensive play-calling needs to be better.
After the Hilaire drop, the defence created a turnover on downs. The Elks got the ball on their own 50-yard line with 2:35 remaining. Get one first down and they could have killed a lot of time on the clock. But too often, they remain predictable.
Anyone watching the game knew they would run the ball on first down. And they are not a good power run team. This O-line is athletic, but they aren’t a power run group. They need play action, or slide blocks, and need to stop trying to run between the guards and centre. It isn’t working.
Rankin did get four yards on first down, which is okay, but on second and six, the Elks’ Julien-Grant ran a route that didn’t get him to the first-down marker. It was completed two yards shy and the EE punted it away. It was a great punt by Jake Julien as they pinned the Tiger Cats on their own 10-yard line.
But, for me, that offensive series outlines their offence. They don’t have a killer instinct in crunch time. They came up two yards shy of the first down and had to punt. Gain one first down and they could have taken another 45-55 seconds off the clock and pinned Hamilton deep.
The offence has cost them the past two games. Their red zone execution wasn’t good enough. They settled for field goals of 12, 21 and 29 yards. They had drives stalled at the five-, 14- and 17-yard line. Punch one of them in, and they likely win the game.
The Elks are a young team, with a young coaching staff, and they’ve learned some difficult, gut-wrenching lessons this season. You are what you record says, and the EE are 5-9. Should they be better, without question, but they aren’t because they’ve yet to find the consistency and focus needed to win.
They need to build a killer instinct. Capitalize on your chances. Hold onto the ball in the endzone. Make big throws and attack the defence and get first downs to kill the clock.
LOOKING AHEAD…
The good news for the Elks is that they are reconnecting with their fanbase. They had over 28,000 fans at the Labour Day rematch and this coming Saturday’s game they are trending to have 30K. Had they held on and won the game in Hamilton or Toronto, they could have pushed for a lower-bowl sellout, which is just over 33K.
President Chris Morris has been very open and honest about the organization. He admitted the previous regime(s) had made mistakes and alienated fans and sponsors. They are working hard to repair those relationships, and it is working. There is a bigger buzz in Edmonton about the Elks than we’ve seen since 2015, when they won the Grey Cup.
The players need to help the front office and win more games. They are close, but the next step will be the hardest. Winning consistently isn’t easy, but the EE have put pieces in place to win. Now they have to do it.
