A career night from quarterback Cody Fajardo and a clutch field goal from Vincent Blanchard has put the Edmonton Elks into the driver’s seat of the CFL’s West Division.
Fajardo had his best game as a pro on Thursday, throwing for 510 yards and four touchdowns, while Blanchard nailed a 57-yard field goal on the final play of the game to give the Elks a 36-34 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders in a roller-coaster contest before 28,513 fans at Mosaic Stadium.
The West Division-leading Elks improved to 6-1 and are off to their best start since 2017 when they were 7-0. The Riders, second in the West, slipped to 4-2 on an emotional night for the hosts.
In a game that featured seven lead changes, the Elks used two explosive plays from Fajardo and receiver Austin Mack to put the Elks in position to win. The pair connected on a 57-yard touchdown late in the third quarter to give the Elks a 27-21 lead, but when the Riders scored on their next possession to regain the lead, Fajardo and Mack responded immediately with an 81-yard touchdown to put the Elks back on top 33-28.
The pair were teammates for two seasons in Montreal (2023 and 2024) and when Mack became a free agent after the 2025 season, Fajardo did a hard sell on convincing him to head to Edmonton.
“He’s the guy. He’s the reason why I called him every day in the off-season to get him here because this is what I knew he can do from what he did in 2023 with me in Montreal and in 2024,” said Fajardo.
Elks head coach Mark Kilam couldn’t say enough about Fajardo’s effort.
“Cody’s a warrior. I thought that the key drive was in the third quarter when we were backed up. He scrambled a bit. We hit someone for a pass. He got blasted on a play, got up, went back to the huddle, and I think that was awesome. That’s Cody Fajardo,” said Kilam.
“That guy just lays it out there, leaves his heart on the field every time he plays. That’s why I’ll ride with that guy forever.”
Kilam was thrilled how his team fought through adversity to win the game.
“We found a way. Found a way to win. There’s no quit in this football team. They play with heart. They play for each other. They play tough. Some bad (stuff) happened there at the end of the game, and we found a way to overcome it.
“And full credit to Saskatchewan. That’s a good football team. That was two heavyweights going at it, and you know we were fortunate to make the plays.”
Its a rematch on August 1 when the Elks host the Roughriders on Saturday, Aug. 1 at Commonwealth Stadium.
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