HAMILTON — The Edmonton Elks took an early lead and never relinquished in a 47-22 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats Saturday night.
The victory was the first for quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson as a starter for the Green and Gold, and marked the club’s first three-game win streak since 2018.
Edmonton was buoyed by four touchdowns in the first half, two scored by rookie running back Justin Rankin who added his third in the fourth quarter. The Elks finished the night with six majors.
While Hamilton came out strong in the second half with 13 unanswered points, turnovers and penalties plagued the Ticats. The team also suffered multiple injuries, including receiver Luther Hakunavanhu who was injured on the first play from scrimmage.
Here are CFL.ca’s three key stats from the Elks win over the Tiger-Cats in Week 11.
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3 – RANKIN TOUCHDOWNS
Rankin was a revelation for the Elks on Saturday night.
The 27-year-old from Oberlin, Ohio had 17 of the Elks’ 23 carries for 108 yards and three touchdowns in his third-ever CFL game. His longest carry of the night was a massive 40-yard rush, which isn’t even his longest of the season (45).
Overall, Rankin contributed all but 14 of Edmonton’s 122 rushing yards. Hamilton finished with 112 rushing yards. Greg Bell led the Tabbies with 12 carries for 85 yards and one touchdown.
4 – TURNOVERS
Edmonton’s defence delivered with four turnovers — two interceptions, two fumble recoveries — that led to three touchdown drives.
Darrius Bratton and Joel Dublanko each recorded forced fumbles, while Nick Anderson and Kordell Jackson recovered the ball respectively. Jackson also added an interception, along with former Saskatchewan Roughrider Derrick Moncrief.
Bo Levi Mitchell, who played the most of Hamilton’s three quarterbacks in this game, had two interceptions on the night. He finished with 23-of-34 completions for 294 yards and one touchdown.
11-4 – PENALITES
Penalties plagued the Ticats who got off to a lopsided start with seven penalties for 62 yads compared to none by the Elks in the first half.
Hamilton finished the game with 11 penalties for 100 yards, compared to the Elks’ four for 53 yards.
Edmonton’s first penalty helped extend Hamilton’s first touchdown drive of the game in the third quarter.