EDMONTON – Maybe those nine minutes and 43 seconds were the spark the Elks need.
Edmonton dropped to 0-7 on the season after a 44-28 defeat to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday night. Despite another addition to the loss column, the last 10-or-so of the game definitely sparked a sense of optimism towards where this team can go moving forward.
Down 44-14, interim Head Coach Jarious Jackson tapped the shoulder of Tre Ford and let the young Canadian quarterback go to work — and he certainly did not disappoint. Ford completed 10 of 15 passes for 121 yards, three touchdowns, and a near perfect 157.9 passer rating in his limited action. It was a long awaited return to action for the young gunslinger, but it was worth the wait for Ford.
“It was just fun again,” Ford said. “I haven’t played football in a long time, so it was fun just to go out there and play again and kind of try to gel with the guys on the go.”
The cameo appearance will give fans of the Green and Gold a reason to get excited, but the expectations moving forward should be tempered — at least by a little bit according to Ford. The situation of the game allowed for a more cavalier approach to the offence as the Elks just didn’t have anything to lose.
“I feel like we were kind of in good situations, right?,” Ford said. “I mean, the one we started on like 25-yard line. Not that everything’s 100 per cent (a lock to score) when you start that close, but it definitely makes the job a lot easier. We were able to have those two drives where we did drive the field a little bit and were able to just execute at a high level, but again, still have that backyard football kind of feel where we kind of figure things out on the go.”
A little bit of magic from @treford_1 #GoElks
pic.twitter.com/tyrlGvqVmr
— Edmonton Elks (@GoElks) July 29, 2024
Moments like the one with 2:50 remaining in the game however, are the intangible moments that make Ford such a tantalizing prospect for fans. The Elks QB eluded a litany of Ti-Cats defenders before swiveling his hips at the sideline and launching a ball downfield to a wide open Javon Leake. It’s the type of backyard football that brings fans to their feet and defensive coordinators to their knees.
“That’s a credit to him,” Jackson said. “Everybody knows he’s a great athlete and, you know, he can use his legs and get out of trouble pretty easily. That’s what he was able to do a few times. He was able to get out there and extend some plays and find some guys down the field and push the ball down the field.”
The Elks now head on the road next Saturday to go and take on the 5-2 Saskatchewan Roughriders before returning home to Commonwealth Stadium on Aug 11 in a Week 4 rematch against the B.C. Lions.
The Elks were well within the game through the first 23 minutes, but it all unraveled before the end of the second quarter.
Edmonton found themselves reeling, first after a blocked Jake Julien field goal led to a Jevoni Robinson 12-yard touchdown reception and a 14-8 lead second quarter lead. On the Green and Gold’s next opportunity to answer, it was a Jamal Peters interceptions on McLeod Bethel-Thompson that would precede the next batch of Tiger-Cats points.
Unfortunately for the Elks, Luther Hakunavanhu didn’t mean no worries for the defence. Mitchell found the Canadian receiver for the quick slant that the four-year CFL veteran turned into an explosive 66 yard touchdown for the tabbies. The explosion play coughed up on defence gave Hamilton a 21-8 halftime advantage.
Hamilton continued to pile on early and often in the second half, with Mitchell connecting with Tim White twice for touchdowns and Kiondre Smith for a 59 yard score.
“Hamilton did a great job coming out in the second half and I think they were able to drive the ball right down the field on us,” Jackson said. “We got our position a couple times and they split one on us and had a very big play for a touchdown. We’ve got to be better at finishing on offense and helping keep the defense off the field.”
THEY SAIDTre Ford on his scrambling ability:
“Every time I’m scrambling, I’m trying to keep my eyes down the field. I mean, sometimes there’s a lot of bodies going around left and right, so I tried my best to do it, and I was able to find Leake there for a big one. Just keeping the drive alive, and I think that was one of the most important things we had in the fourth quarter.”
Ford on his confidence level:
“Good. But I don’t think my confidence ever gets too high an it never gets too low. Even though I didn’t play for those six weeks, I never thought I was bad. That’s the thing I feel like is one of the most important things for quarterback, staying level headed to the highs and lows.”
Jackson on things to build on from Sunday:
“Tre gave us a spark. We’re trying to build on the good things that we did do tonight. We only had, I think four penalties tonight, so that was definitely a positive. Boris was able to make his kicks, we didn’t do well on those onside kicks, but he was able to make his field goal kicks. Offensively, we’ll come back and look at it tomorrow and see where we decide to go.”
