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EDMONTON — The Edmonton Elks continued their strong start to the season on Thursday night, defeating the Ottawa REDBLACKS 40-17 at Commonwealth Stadium.
Justin Rankin scored three touchdowns, Cody Fajardo threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns and the Elks’ defence forced four interceptions as Edmonton improved to 4-1 on the season.
FROM STATS TO IMPACT
» Rankin, Elks defence lead Edmonton past Ottawa on Thursday
» Depth Charts: OTT | EDM
» Game Tracker: REDBLACKS at Elks by the numbers
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565 – TOTAL YARDS OF OFFENCE
Jordan Maksymic’s offence was clicking from start to finish on Thursday night.
The Elks piled up 555 yards of offence, including 340 through the air and 215 on the ground, as they improved to 4-1. Fajardo completed 19 of 24 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns, while Justin Rankin scored three majors of his own.
After the game, Fajardo made sure to seek out his offensive coordinator.
“I went to give him his flowers, we had (555) yards of offence,” Fajardo told TSN’s Tom Gazzola after the game. “I just wanted to tell him he called a great game. He did a tremendous job on a short week.”
3 – TOUCHDOWNS BY JUSTIN RANKIN
Another week, another outstanding performance from Justin Rankin.
The running back opened the scoring with a 19-yard rushing touchdown before taking over in the fourth quarter. He caught a short pass from Cody Fajardo, made the first defender miss and raced 33 yards to the end zone before adding a 31-yard rushing touchdown later in the frame.
Overall, Rankin finished with 14 rushes for 107 yards and two touchdowns, adding 43 more yards and a major as a pass-catcher. Whether he’s running between the tackles, catching passes out of the backfield or creating explosive plays in space, Rankin continues to be one of the CFL’s most dynamic offensive weapons.
4 – INTERCEPTIONS BY THE ELKS’ DEFENCE
It all starts with the defence.
The Elks picked off Jake Maier four times on Thursday night, with Kordell Jackson recording two interceptions while Tyrell Ford and Chelen Garnes each added one. Two of those takeaways came at pivotal moments, with Ford’s interception helping Edmonton extend its halftime lead and Garnes’ fourth-quarter pick setting up Justin Rankin’s third touchdown of the game.
When Ottawa threatened to make things interesting, Edmonton’s defence consistently came up with the game’s biggest plays.
