Category: Canadian Football League (CFL)

The Edmonton Elks aim to start the season right by ending their CFL-record 17-game home losing streak Sunday when they face the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The Elks have not won at home since Oct. 12, 2019.

“Definitely, it’s a big game,” Elks defensive lineman Jake Ceresna said. “I mean, it’s not do-or-die, but it’s the first game of the year and coming from us, we just want to set the tone from the first game. Like, hey, we’re a different team, we’re not who we were last year and we’re here to get back to the old … way of winning games and winning Grey Cups.”

The Elks were 4-14-0 in 2022, last in the West Division. The Roughriders were 6-12-0, one place above Edmonton in fourth place in the West.

“I feel like we’ve got a new team and I feel like Saskatchewan is definitely something that will be a good test for us to show how good we are,” Elks receiver Dillon Mitchell said. “And I feel like if we can get our first win, it will be a snowball effect.”

Roughriders receiver Derel Walker would like to extend the Elks’ home losing streak when he returns to play his former team.

“I look forward to going out there and doing what I do,” he said. “Be productive, help our team win, go out there and have fun and enjoy it.”

Walker played for Edmonton from 2015-18 and won a Grey Cup championship. He also was a two-time CFL All-Star and three-time West Division All-Star. After a season with the Toronto Argonauts, the receiver returned to the Elks from 2021-22.

“I’m very familiar with the turf in that field,” Walker said. “I was there for a while. So, you know, definitely the juices are stirring. Just looking forward to getting out there and running that first route, catching my first ball, putting some good stuff on film.”

Walker signed with Saskatchewan in March after, he said, the Elks showed no interest in having him return.

“(The Elks) decided to go another way. I didn’t have any contact with them prior to the season,” Walker said.

Defensive back Aaron Grymes (knee) and linebacker Eli Mencer (shoulder) sat out of practice all week for the Elks and were ruled out for Sunday.

Saskatchewan wide receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker (hip) was ruled out for Sunday as was linebacker Derrick Moncrief (shoulder).

–Field Level Media

As the shampoo commercial once informed viewers, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Quarterback Cody Fajardo knows that as well as anyone, which is why he said the Montreal Alouettes’ season opener against the visiting Ottawa Redblacks on Saturday is important for him and the team.

“I think Week 1, with that home opener, is when the real first impression comes,” Fajardo said. “You have your full offensive playbook in; you’re not running your vanilla stuff. You get to play the whole game and that’s when it starts counting.

“There’s a lot of things in preseason you try to see if you can get away with. It’s not always pretty. You’re just trying to test some things you wouldn’t normally do. Go out there, execute the offense and try to make sure we stay on the field and score some points.”

Fajardo played the last three seasons in Saskatchewan, falling out of favor with the team last year when he tossed 13 interceptions as the Roughriders limped to a 6-12 record. But he has a fresh start in Montreal along with a new head coach — Jason Maas, his former offensive coordinator with Saskatchewan.

As for Ottawa, it also has a new head coach in Bob Dyce. It also has a plethora of injuries from the preseason that will have it missing four starters for the opener, including veteran quarterback Jeremiah Masoli (leg) and All-CFL cornerback Money Hunter (torn pectoral muscle).

Dyce is tasked with changing the culture of a roster and franchise that has won just 10 games over the past three seasons. To that end, not only have there been player moves, there’s also been locker room changes. Instead of having position groups dress together, Dyce mixed them up in an attempt to build team chemistry.

“Everybody needs to get to know everybody,” Dyce said. “These guys spend a lot of their position meetings together. Not that things get cliquish but you see the same guys all the time. We just felt it was a great way to help build our team culture.”

Nick Arbuckle, who played in 12 games last year after Masoli was injured in Week 4, will start the season opener.

–Field Level Media