Canadian football news: the Elks Beat Lions 28-16 in front of 40,182 fans at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday, and Edmonton is going to the Grey Cup for the first time in 11 years.
By Maplestime Sports Desk | Edmonton, Alberta | November 8, 2026
Sources: TSN | 3DownNation | theScore | Last updated: November 8, 2026
Key Takeaways
- The Elks Beat Lions 28-16 in the CFL West Division final on Saturday, November 7, 2026, at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.
- Cody Fajardo completed 25 of 30 passes for 274 yards and a touchdown, ran 10 times for a game-high 84 yards and another score, and threw no interceptions.
- Edmonton trailed 9-6 at halftime and was tied 16-16 early in the fourth quarter before pulling away with 12 unanswered points.
- The Elks Beat Lions in the second half, outscoring B.C. 22-7 after the break.
- After the Elks Beat Lions, Edmonton will face the Montreal Alouettes in the 113th Grey Cup on Sunday, November 15, at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, with kickoff at 6:00 p.m. ET.
- The announced crowd of 40,182 was the largest in the CFL this season.
How the Elks Beat Lions in the Second Half
The first half was a kicking contest, and nobody in the building could have guessed how the Elks Beat Lions would eventually pull away. Vincent Blanchard opened the scoring for Edmonton with field goals of 21 and 48 yards, and B.C. kicker Sean Whyte answered with three of his own to send the Lions into halftime ahead 9-6. Neither offence could find the end zone in the first 30 minutes, and the biggest crowd of the CFL season had to wait for the real football to start.
It started after the break. Blanchard tied the game 9-9 with a 35-yard field goal, and then Cody Fajardo took over. A 13-yard pass to Austin Mack set up Fajardo’s five-yard touchdown run, the first major of the game, and Edmonton led 16-9 heading into the fourth quarter.
B.C. hit straight back. Nathan Rourke ran eight yards up the middle for a touchdown 37 seconds into the fourth quarter, and at 16-16 the game was anybody’s. That is when Fajardo did what he has done all season: he made the plays nobody else on the field could make. Another long run, another roughing penalty against the Lions, and Blanchard’s 46-yard field goal put Edmonton back ahead 19-16.
Then came the throw that sealed the night the Elks Beat Lions. Fajardo found Mack streaking toward the post for a 23-yard touchdown, a six-play, 83-yard drive that made it 25-16 even after Blanchard missed the point after. B.C. still had life, until it didn’t. Justin McInnis fumbled after a reception, Joel Dublanko forced it loose, and J.J. Ross returned it 62 yards to the B.C. 20. Three plays later, Blanchard’s 27-yard field goal made it 28-16 with about three minutes left, and Commonwealth Stadium started chanting, “We want the Cup.”
Fajardo’s Night, and the Chip on His Shoulder
Fajardo finished 25 of 30 for 274 yards and a touchdown through the air, plus 10 carries for 84 yards and a score on the ground. He led his team in rushing. He also led it in nerve. Twice in the second half, key Fajardo runs on second down drew roughing penalties from the Lions, and twice Edmonton turned those penalties into touchdowns.
He also had a point to prove, and he said so out loud after the game. “Well, Henoc Muamba said he trusted Nathan Rourke with the ball with the game on the line more than me, so that pissed me off,” Fajardo said, crediting the CFL on TSN panellist’s pre-game take for fuelling his performance. “A lot of people doubt me, and that’s the motivation I need. The guys in that locker room believe in me, and that’s all that matters.”
Head coach Mark Kilam was not surprised by any of it. “Say what you want about him, Cody puts the team on his back all the time,” Kilam said. “I don’t think his reads were 100 percent, but when they’re not, he pulls the ball and he plays behind his shoulder pads. He just adds an element to our offence. He did a great job.”
Rourke, for his part, finished 23 of 39 for 328 yards with a rushing touchdown, but no passing touchdowns, and no win in the game where the Elks Beat Lions ended his season. It is his third attempt at one with the Lions, and his third loss.
What the Win Means, and What Comes Next
The numbers tell the story of the turnaround, and of the night the Elks Beat Lions to end 11 years of waiting. Edmonton finished 13-5 and first in the West for the first time since 2015, the greatest year-over-year turnaround in franchise history after finishing last in the division in 2025. Saturday was the club’s first home playoff game in 11 years and its first post-season game of any kind since 2019. The Elks are the second-most successful franchise in CFL history, with 14 Grey Cup titles, and now they get to play for a 15th.
The opponent could not be more personal. Nobody in Edmonton will forget how the Elks Beat Lions on Saturday, but the Grey Cup is a different test entirely. Montreal beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 33-23 in the East Final earlier on Saturday to book the other Grey Cup spot. Fajardo and Mack helped the Alouettes win the 2023 Grey Cup, and then each was cast aside by the organization in the years that followed. “We’re Grey Cup crashers. Everyone had their perfect Grey Cup set, and we had a different thought. I’m so proud of this team,” Fajardo said. Mack was just as direct: “That team let go of us, and we’re going to be excited to go see them next week.”
The 113th Grey Cup kicks off Sunday, November 15, at McMahon Stadium in Calgary at 6:00 p.m. ET. Edmonton went from last place to the Grey Cup in one season, in front of the biggest crowd in the league this year, with a quarterback who plays best when people doubt him. The Elks Beat Lions on Saturday. Now they get a week to prepare for the team that let them go, carrying the momentum of the night the Elks Beat Lions into Calgary.
Maplestime will provide updates from the 113th Grey Cup and the Edmonton Elks as announcements are made.
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Can Fajardo and the Elks actually finish the job against the team that let them go, or is Montreal about to remind Edmonton what 11 years of waiting feels like? Tell us in the comments. And share this with every Canadian counting down to Grey Cup Sunday.
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