Elks' ground game surging as they prepare for limping Lions

Edmonton Elks players celebrate after running back Javon Leake (22) scores a touchdown against the Saskatchewan Roughriders during the second half of CFL football action in Regina, on Saturday, August 3, 2024. (Heywood Yu)

The B.C. Lions are 5-3, the Edmonton Elks are 1-7, owners of the worst record in the CFL.

But, the Elks could very well be considered the favourites when the two teams meet Sunday at Commonwealth Stadium.

The Lions are on a two-game losing streak, were shut out 25-0 by Winnipeg last week, and are without starting quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., who suffered a knee injury in that whitewash by the Bombers.

The Elks are coming off a win, a 42-point showing in Saskatchewan, with Canadian quarterback Tre Ford making his first start of the season. The Riders went into that game with the No. 1 rush defence in the CFL, but were shredded by the Elks, who put up a whopping 276 yards on the ground.

So, the Elks have the momentum, while the Lions will try and pull out of their nosedive with Jake Dolegala taking over as the starting quarterback.

Dolegala said this week that he's going to lean on his past experience as a starter — he was with Saskatchewan last season before making the move west to Vancouver. He started nine games in 2023 as the Roughriders shuffled through quarterbacks.

"Starting nine games is big in this league," said Dolegala. "I’ve just got to go out there and do my thing."

Lions coach Rick Campbell says the veteran has had a week's worth of practice taking starter's reps and hasn't looked out of place.

"You can tell he's been there, done that. He's not phased by this in any way," Campbell said Friday after practice. "He has command of the huddle, knows what he is doing. He's making all the reads and all those things."

Campbell said Adams remains on the team's active roster and will be on the sidelines Sunday, but will be wearing street clothes.

The Elks’ running attack, which had struggled through the first seven games of the season, came to life last week without regular No. 1 back Kevin Brown, who was out with a shoulder issue.

Elks coach Jarious Jackson said Brown is likely out again this week.

"I think he may be down again this week, but he’s getting healthier," said Jackson. "I think he’s close to 100 per cent being back. I don’t think he’ll ever be 100 per cent based on the AC joint the way it is. There’s a lot of banging that goes on at the running back position. We did pretty well last weekend, and we have the opportunity to let him fully get healthy."

"Did pretty well" is quite the understatement. Understudy Javon Leake had a breakout game, gaining 169 yards on the ground with three touchdowns. Had Brown been healthy, the Elks might have had a running back controversy on their hands this week.

"Me and the O-line, we’ve been a little frustrated the last couple of weeks, we couldn’t get the running game going, so to have a game like that, I know it takes the monkey off our back," said Leake. 'We’ve just got to keep going off that momentum.

"We won, it’s over now, the win is good for the record, it’s 1-7, whatever. But we’re looking past that now, and we’re going to focus on B.C. Good to have that win, but let’s forget about it and move on."

The strong running game takes some of the pressure off Ford, who supplanted off-season free-agent signing McLeod Bethel-Thompson as the Elks' starting quarterback last week.

"It sets the tone, especially with how our offence did," said Ford. "Our offensive line was able to dominate the front, and we ran for 270-something yards. It’s phenomenal when you can do that. It makes my job really easy. It’s fantastic for me. But I think it’s nice that we can finally state who we are, and go out there and show people we can be a run-first team if we want to."

Both Leake and Ford were quick to credit the offensive line, which has taken its fair share of criticism through the first half of the season.

STOPPABLE FORCE VS. THE MOVABLE OBJECT: While the B.C. offence was shut out last week, the Elks have surrendered an average of 30.9 points per game, the second-worst defensive mark in the league.

NEW QUARTERBACKS: Dolegala will make his first start of the season this week. Ford made his first start of 2024 last week in Saskatchewan. Last season, Dolegala tossed for 2,641 yards for the Roughriders over 13 appearances, while Ford threw for 2,069 yards and added 622 yards rushing in a half-season as the Elks starter.

BYE BYE, COMMONWEALTH: After Sunday’s game, the Elks won’t return home till they host the Stampeders on Sept. 7 in the Labour Day Classic Rematch. Concerts by Metallica and Pink will take up two weekend blocks later in August.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 10, 2024