The Edmonton Elks surrendered a three-touchdown lead Thursday night to a Winnipeg team led by its backup quarterback..The well-rested Elks, fresh off a bye week, started the game determined to win in front of 19,921 fans still willing to suffer alongside them..On their first offensive play, running back Kevin Brown ran up the middle untouched for a 65-yard touchdown. After kicking the convert, Dean Faithfull kicked the ball into the end zone for another point..Canadian Tre Ford, the Elks’ third starting passer this season, followed up with an eight-play 72-yard drive, capped off by an eight-yard run..Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros tossed a short desperation pass to avoid being sacked, but straight into the hands of an opponent..Lourhciez Purifoy made a 23-yard interception return and the convert gave Edmonton a 22-0 lead with 11:30 remaining in the half. Collaros suffered an upper-body injury from a late hit on the play that went unpenalized..Backup Dru Brown ably took over, quarterbacking a seven-play, 85-yard drive that wrapped up with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Schoen..Edmonton entered the second half with a 22-7 lead. Halfway through the third quarter, Ford found wide receiver Dillon Mitchell for a 53-yard pass that brought them to the Winnipeg 22. The cheering hadn’t stopped when Edmonton began the next play without a huddle. They lost possession on a Kevin Brown fumble..Winnipeg stormed back with an eight-play 83-yard drive that ended with a TD pass to Nic Demski in the back corner of the end zone. Edmonton responded with a 70-yard pass to wide receiver Kyran Moore and took a 29-17 lead..Then the wheels fell off the Edmonton cart..The Blue Bombers marched down the field in a five-play, 60-yard drive aided by two interference calls against the Elks. Bomber quarterback Dakota Prukop took the ball in from the one-yard line..In the fourth quarter, the Bombers' halfback Evan Holm intercepted a Ford pass. The ensuing three-play, 64-yard drive by Winnipeg ended with a 32-yard, one-handed catch by former Elk, Kenny Lawler. The convert gave Winnipeg a 31-29 lead they never surrendered..In the final four minutes, a 17-yard touchdown pass to running back Brady Olivera capped off an impressive 12-play 71-yard drive for Winnipeg..Jarious Jackson, the team’s new offensive co-ordinator, could not muster a response. Edmonton was trailing 38-29 and in field goal range when they failed the two yards needed on third down. Winnipeg got the ball with 2:15 left in the game..The disappointing loss kept the longest home losing streak in North American sports history intact at 22 games, two more than baseball’s 1953 St. Louis Browns. The loss dropped the team record to 0-9..It has been 1,399 days since Edmonton’s last home win Oct 12, 2019, when they were still called the Eskimos..The Elks’ last win was a 26-24 win in Regina, Sept. 16, 2022, now 329 days ago. Their 13 straight losses overall tie a team record..The Sports Network (TSN) panel was stunned at the Edmonton lead and captured their half-mocking, jaw-dropped expressions before the Elks’ inevitable collapse. Panelist and former Bombers receiver, Milt Stegall, said it was Edmonton’s most devastating loss yet..“You have to look in the mirror and say...can we win a game? It’s going to be tough to come back from this one,” he said..An anchor commented, “They’re finding new ways to make this a painful season for Edmonton.”.No timeline has been announced for Collaros to return to action. He was two-for-five with six yards passing and an interception, while Dru Brown was 17-for-24, passing for 307 yards, four TD’s and one interception..“I have a great teacher in Zach. Words can’t describe the things that he’s done for me in my growth as a player. This team has seen so much you’ve just got to come in and just try not to mess it up, for real,” Brown said, with a laugh..Ford was 12-for-16 for Edmonton, throwing for 189 yards, one TD, and one interception..“Ultimately I think the team really needed a win, so it’s really disappointing,” he said. “It’s not the outcome we wanted, but I did have fun when I was playing out there.”.Lawler was beyond confident in the post-game assessment of his circus catch..“The dude’s just holding my arm, but I tell you all the time, you do that, I’ll make a play…It was a routine catch, you know it,” he said. “Adversity builds character, so that’s just what we want to do…We didn’t fold.”.The 0-9 Elks continue their own character-building season Aug. 17 in Hamilton and return home to play Ottawa August 27.
The Edmonton Elks surrendered a three-touchdown lead Thursday night to a Winnipeg team led by its backup quarterback..The well-rested Elks, fresh off a bye week, started the game determined to win in front of 19,921 fans still willing to suffer alongside them..On their first offensive play, running back Kevin Brown ran up the middle untouched for a 65-yard touchdown. After kicking the convert, Dean Faithfull kicked the ball into the end zone for another point..Canadian Tre Ford, the Elks’ third starting passer this season, followed up with an eight-play 72-yard drive, capped off by an eight-yard run..Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros tossed a short desperation pass to avoid being sacked, but straight into the hands of an opponent..Lourhciez Purifoy made a 23-yard interception return and the convert gave Edmonton a 22-0 lead with 11:30 remaining in the half. Collaros suffered an upper-body injury from a late hit on the play that went unpenalized..Backup Dru Brown ably took over, quarterbacking a seven-play, 85-yard drive that wrapped up with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Schoen..Edmonton entered the second half with a 22-7 lead. Halfway through the third quarter, Ford found wide receiver Dillon Mitchell for a 53-yard pass that brought them to the Winnipeg 22. The cheering hadn’t stopped when Edmonton began the next play without a huddle. They lost possession on a Kevin Brown fumble..Winnipeg stormed back with an eight-play 83-yard drive that ended with a TD pass to Nic Demski in the back corner of the end zone. Edmonton responded with a 70-yard pass to wide receiver Kyran Moore and took a 29-17 lead..Then the wheels fell off the Edmonton cart..The Blue Bombers marched down the field in a five-play, 60-yard drive aided by two interference calls against the Elks. Bomber quarterback Dakota Prukop took the ball in from the one-yard line..In the fourth quarter, the Bombers' halfback Evan Holm intercepted a Ford pass. The ensuing three-play, 64-yard drive by Winnipeg ended with a 32-yard, one-handed catch by former Elk, Kenny Lawler. The convert gave Winnipeg a 31-29 lead they never surrendered..In the final four minutes, a 17-yard touchdown pass to running back Brady Olivera capped off an impressive 12-play 71-yard drive for Winnipeg..Jarious Jackson, the team’s new offensive co-ordinator, could not muster a response. Edmonton was trailing 38-29 and in field goal range when they failed the two yards needed on third down. Winnipeg got the ball with 2:15 left in the game..The disappointing loss kept the longest home losing streak in North American sports history intact at 22 games, two more than baseball’s 1953 St. Louis Browns. The loss dropped the team record to 0-9..It has been 1,399 days since Edmonton’s last home win Oct 12, 2019, when they were still called the Eskimos..The Elks’ last win was a 26-24 win in Regina, Sept. 16, 2022, now 329 days ago. Their 13 straight losses overall tie a team record..The Sports Network (TSN) panel was stunned at the Edmonton lead and captured their half-mocking, jaw-dropped expressions before the Elks’ inevitable collapse. Panelist and former Bombers receiver, Milt Stegall, said it was Edmonton’s most devastating loss yet..“You have to look in the mirror and say...can we win a game? It’s going to be tough to come back from this one,” he said..An anchor commented, “They’re finding new ways to make this a painful season for Edmonton.”.No timeline has been announced for Collaros to return to action. He was two-for-five with six yards passing and an interception, while Dru Brown was 17-for-24, passing for 307 yards, four TD’s and one interception..“I have a great teacher in Zach. Words can’t describe the things that he’s done for me in my growth as a player. This team has seen so much you’ve just got to come in and just try not to mess it up, for real,” Brown said, with a laugh..Ford was 12-for-16 for Edmonton, throwing for 189 yards, one TD, and one interception..“Ultimately I think the team really needed a win, so it’s really disappointing,” he said. “It’s not the outcome we wanted, but I did have fun when I was playing out there.”.Lawler was beyond confident in the post-game assessment of his circus catch..“The dude’s just holding my arm, but I tell you all the time, you do that, I’ll make a play…It was a routine catch, you know it,” he said. “Adversity builds character, so that’s just what we want to do…We didn’t fold.”.The 0-9 Elks continue their own character-building season Aug. 17 in Hamilton and return home to play Ottawa August 27.
