Edmonton Elks beat BC Lions 28-16 to reach Grey Cup
Edmonton's first Grey Cup trip since 2015 came after a 12-point fourth quarter; the Lions lost their fourth straight Western Final.
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The Edmonton Elks beat the BC Lions 28-16 in the West Final at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 8, and will play the Montreal Alouettes in the Grey Cup at McMahon Stadium in Calgary on Sunday, Nov. 15. The Lions lost their fourth straight Western Final.
The game was tied 16-16 before Edmonton scored 12 unanswered fourth-quarter points. Quarterback Cody Fajardo threw for 274 yards and a touchdown on 25 of 30 passing, ran for 84 yards, and scored on a third-quarter run. Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke threw for 328 yards without a touchdown.
The last time Edmonton played for the Grey Cup, in 2015, it beat Ottawa 26-20 for its most recent title. A win on the 15th would be the franchise's 15th Grey Cup.
Fajardo credited the crowd of 40,182, the first playoff crowd at Commonwealth in 11 years, as "the difference." "40,000 in the stands, you could hear them; they were the difference tonight," he said. Elks head coach Mark Kilam said, "We're a second-half team, this is what we do, we want to take over the game."
Lions head coach Buck Pierce said, "There are certain instances in games where you have opportunities to capture momentum, and we just weren't able to get over that hump." The Lions led 9-6 at halftime and were outscored 22-7 in the second half.
