Roughriders fall to Elks 42-31 as Edmonton picks up first win of ...

The Edmonton Elks ran over the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Saturday night.

In front of 29,655 fans inside Mosaic Stadium in Regina, the Elks rushed for 276 yards as they defeated the Riders 42-31 for their first win of the year in Week 9 of the CFL season.

While Elks’ quarterback Tre Ford — who was making his first start of season — had 46 rushing yards, 252 passing yards and two touchdowns, it was running back Javon Leake — also making his first start of the season — who stole the show.

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Leake put up 169 yards along the ground on 12 carries with three touchdowns to help Edmonton improve to 1-7 on the year.

“Our approach coming into the game was just be physical; don’t let them intimidate us,” Leake told TSN’s Brit Dort after the game. “They’re a great defence.

“They’re physical, they fly to the ball, they strip for the ball, so our main focus was just match their physicality and just work.”

Edmonton Elks quarterback Tre Ford (2) runs the ball beside Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive lineman Micah Johnson (4) during the first half of CFL action at Mosaic Stadium on Saturday, August 3, 2024 in Regina. Photo by KAYLE NEIS /Regina Leader-Post

Former Riders’ receiver Tevin Jones also had a big night for the Elks, catching three passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns. For Saskatchewan, five different receivers had 40-plus yard games.

After the game, Riders’ head coach Corey Mace took blame for the loss, as his team suffered its second straight defeat to fall to 5-3.

“We did not look like ourselves; that’s solely on me,” Mace told reporters. “We were not ready to play tonight; I have to do a better job in sending a message to get us ready to play a football game.

“For the first time this year, I did not think we looked like ourselves and that is on my shoulders.”

After giving up an average of just 48 rushing yards per game this year, the Riders had no answer for Ford, Leake and company along the ground on Saturday.

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“They had some things schemed up for us and it worked for them,” said veteran defensive lineman Micah Johnson. “Sometimes it was the perfect play call for the worst situation for us.”

“It was embarrassing. Somewhat of a wake-up call.

“It’s one of those types of games where everybody has to look in the mirror and know we’ve got to be better across the board.

“When you lose like that, it’s not just one player, one person, one reason; it’s multiple reasons across the board.”

The head coach agreed.

“It didn’t look like us,” added Mace, who also serves as defensive coordinator. “There was a couple things that I thought mentally we could have been a little bit better.

“And calls for myself, I could have put them in some compromising positions but it just didn’t look like us and I’ve got to do a better job of getting these guys prepared to play.”

And while Mace took the blame in a few of his post-game responses, several players objected that thought.

“He’s a great leader,” said returner Mario Alford, who returned the game’s opening kickoff 101 yards. “But that loss is not on him even though he said it was.

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“It’s on us as a team.”

“That is not on Coach Mace,” added Johnson, who was playing his 150th career CFL regular season game. “That ain’t on our staff.

“That’s on the players. We were prepared. We felt like we were prepared coming into the game.

“I feel like it’s on the players. That’s on us. We’ve got to look in the mirror.

“In my opinion, we let the staff down in a lot of ways today.”

Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Shea Patterson (5) runs the ball during the first half of CFL action at Mosaic Stadium on Saturday, August 3, 2024 in Regina. Photo by KAYLE NEIS Kayle Neis /Regina Leader-Post

Offensively, Saskatchewan generated just one first down in the first quarter before quarterback Shea Patterson got the offence rolling in the second quarter.

Overall, the offence put up 392 yards with Patterson completing 22-of-38 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns, while also throwing an interception.

“Just not us,” said Patterson, who also had 30 rushing yards and a touchdown along the ground. “That’s not who we show up and be every single day.

“Just frustrating but just like we always do, we’re going to bounce back.”

Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback Shea Patterson (5) runs the ball during the first half of CFL action at Mosaic Stadium on Saturday, August 3, 2024 in Regina. Photo by KAYLE NEIS /Regina Leader-Post

And while Saskatchewan has lost three of their last four games, the Riders still sit in a tie for first place in the West Division standings, which doesn’t have the team panicking.

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“It’s absolutely not trending in the wrong direction,” said Patterson. “What we want to do is learn from our mistakes; grow each and every single day.

“I think losses like that can bring a team closer together and we can just be more accountable as a whole and just really look ourselves in the mirror and prepare like we know how to prepare and come out ready to go.”

Saskatchewan will get a chance to bounce back on Thursday as they get set to visit the Ottawa Redblacks on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in Week 10 of the season.

“We’ve got to just get to work, period,” said Mace. “That’s on me.

“These guys didn’t look like in totality that we were ready to play a football game.

“We’ve got to chop some heavy wood here. Just back to the grind.”

Scoring summary

The game started with a bang as Alford returned the opening kickoff 101 yards to put the Riders up just 14 seconds into the game.

After the Elks responded with a 25-yard field goal on their opening drive to make it 7-3, Riders’ kicker Brett Lauther missed a 42-yard field goal on Saskatchewan’s first offensive drive of the game as the Elks conceded the single point to make it 8-3.

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On the next series, after Ford connected with receiver Eugene Lewis for a 35-yard gain, Boris Bede made his second field goal of the night for Edmonton from 37 yards out to make it 8-6.

After a two-and-out by Saskatchewan, Ford hit Jones for a 93-yard touchdown pass as the former Riders’ receiver beat Saskatchewan defensive back DaMarcus Fields on the route. With the convert, Edmonton took the 13-8 lead after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Ford and the Elks marched it down to the Saskatchewan’s eight-yard line before coming on to attempt a field goal. However, Riders’ linebacker C.J. Reavis jumped offside, giving Edmonton a fresh set of downs.

And on the next play, the Elks made them pay for that as Leake punched it in from four yards out to make it 20-8 Edmonton with the convert.

On Saskatchewan’s fifth drive of the game, Patterson engineered a 10-play, 83-yard drive, with six first downs, capped off by the quarterback plunging into the end zone from one yard out to make it 20-15 with the convert.

In the second half, after a 46-yard punt return from Alford, Patterson connected with KeeSean Johnson for a 26-yard gain before hitting Ajou Ajou for a 26-yard touchdown just two plays later to put the Riders up 21-20, as the two-point convert attempt was unsuccessful.

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Early in the fourth quarter, the Elks took back the lead as Leake sprang into the end zone untouched from 51 yards out. A successful two-point convert gave Edmonton the 28-21 lead.

Looking to respond, Patterson marched the Riders down the field before going back to Ajou in the end zone. The big receiver made the catch but was ruled out of bounds. Saskatchewan challenged the call, but the play stood, as the Riders came away with a field goal to cut the lead to 28-24 with 6:36 remaining.

With 2:20 left in the game, Edmonton went up by two scores as Leake broke free and ran 61 yards into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game to put the Elks up 35-24 with the convert.

On Saskatchewan’s next possession, Patterson was intercepted by Kordell Jackson, putting the Elks back in scoring range.

Two plays later, Ford hit Jones over the middle for his second touchdown of the night as Edmonton took a 42-24 lead with the convert.

Saskatchewan added a late touchdown as Patterson hit Mitch Picton in the end zone to make it a 42-31 final with the convert.

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