Justin Rankin didn’t just flip the Labour Day rematch. He ran straight through it.
The Elks running back ripped a 90-yard touchdown against Calgary on Saturday, the longest rushing TD in the CFL since George Jones’ 98-yarder in 2000 and the longest by an Edmonton player since Jim Germany went 94 in 1977.
Rankin’s burst came early in the second quarter, when he hit a crease and simply outran everyone at Commonwealth. He later added a second major, finishing the game with a career-high 204 yards as the Elks beat the Stampeders 31-19 to avenge last week’s Labour Day loss in Calgary.
Rankin’s path to Edmonton began in Ohio. The Oberlin native starred at Elyria Catholic, then led Kent State in rushing in 2016 and 2017 before finishing his college career with a 1,050-yard, 13-TD season at Division II power Northwest Missouri State in 2019. He wasn’t selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, but carried on his football career in the Indoor Football League with Bismarck in 2021, Frisco in 2022 (where he led all RBs in rushing and made First-Team All-IFL), and Bay Area in 2023 (where he won a championship and piled up 38 rushing touchdowns).
The Elks brought Rankin to camp in 2024, re-signed him midseason, and he promptly led CFL rookies in rushing before inking an extension through 2025. His blend of vision, balance, and burst translates on the wider Canadian field, and his 90-yard sprint against Calgary showed the home-run gear that made him an indoor football star.
Now sitting 5-7 on the season, Edmonton will travel to Toronto for an important Saturday afternoon game with the 4-8 Argonauts. The Elks are tied with the B.C. Lions in the standings and both teams are vying for a crossover playoff spot in the CFL’s East Division.
