The B.C. Lions (6-1) visited Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday night against the Edmonton Elks (0-8) in their second meeting of the season. In their first meeting, the Lions shut out the Elks 22-0 in Week 2. In this latest matchup, the Lions pitched another shutout.
In the first quarter, Lions kicker Sean Whyte kicked a 26-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead with 8:35 left, and a 16-yard field goal for a 6-0 lead with 40 seconds left. The Lions led 6-0 after one quarter.
In the second quarter, Edmonton’s defense sacked Dane Evans twice to force a third down. However, B.C. punter Stefan Flintoft punted the ball for 59 yards but an unnecessary roughness penalty on Edmonton gave the Lions a new set of downs.
Four plays later, quarterback Dane Evans scrambled to his right side before throwing the ball in the air which was caught by Justin McInnis that made it 13-0 with 4:58 left. Just before halftime, B.C. kicker Sean Whyte made a 44-yard field goal for a 16-0 lead at halftime.
B.C. had 244 yards on offense. Quarterback Dane Evans completed 15 of 20 passes (75%) for 212 yards, one touchdown, and one carry for two yards. Running back Taquan Mizzell had eight carries for 50 yards and one catch for seven yards, and Alexander Hollins had three catches for 73 yards. The Lions had ten first downs, and three penalties for 30 yards.
Edmonton had a rough first half. They had 120 yards on offense and quarterback Taylor Cornelius completed 10 of 13 passes (77%) for 118 yards, and led the rushers with three carries for eight yards. Wide receiver Kyron Moore had four catches for 61 yards.
The Elks were undisciplined in the first half with ten penalties for 139 yards, and the defense sacked Evans four times.
In the third quarter, B.C. quarterback Dane Evans threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Taquan Mizzell which made it 23-0 with 10:30 left. With 5:24 left, Lions punter Sean Flintoft punted the ball 64 yards into the endzone for a single point. It was now 24-0 Lions. Edmonton’s offense only had two first downs in the third quarter and the Lions led 23-0 after three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, Edmonton’s offense put together their best drive of the game. Shannon Brooks had a carry for 18 yards. Edmonton reached the Lions’ 41-yard line to set up a 48-yard field goal. Unfortunately, Dean Faithfull missed it with 8:54 left.
In the next two Edmonton possessions, Taylor Cornelius threw two interceptions. Late in the game, B.C. kicker Sean Whyte kicked a 30-yard field goal for a 27-0 lead with 20 seconds left. Edmonton ran two rushing plays to end the game.
The stadium rained in boos from the Edmonton fans as the Lions shut out the Elks by the final score of 27-0. For the first time in CFL history, a team has shut out the same team twice in one season. In addition, the Elks’ home losing streak reached 21 games. They now hold the new record for the most home losses in North American sports history.
B.C. had 425 yards on offense. Quarterback Dane Evans had a good game completing 25 of 32 passes (78.1%) for 330 yards, two touchdowns, and one carry for two yards. Running back Taquan Mizzell had 22 carries for 117 yards, two catches for 30 yards, and one touchdown.
Wide receivers Alexander Hollins, Keon Hatcher, and Lucky Whitehead combined with 16 catches logging 235 yards. B.C.’s defense had 29 tackles, three sacks, two interceptions, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. The Lions overall played a good game but they will need to be better next week against Winnipeg.
Edmonton’s offense had 219 yards. Quarterback Taylor Cornelius completed (53.3%) for 187 yards, two interceptions, and five carries for 22 yards. Cornelius made a lot of bad choices in the second half. He has problems seeing the field and had several guys wide open but did not throw to them. Instead, he tried to force the football into coverage which led to the interceptions.
Running back Shannon Brown had one carry for 18 yards, and wide receiver Dillon Mitchell had three catches for 64 yards. Edmonton’s defense had 55 tackles and five sacks.
It’s time for Edmonton to make changes during their bye week. This team is a mess. Their body language of them signaled they have quit on Chris Jones, quit on each other, and quit on the fans. The Elks need to start Tre Ford at quarterback to see what he can do. You have to give the fanbase something to look forward to in a loss season.
The defense was out there more than the offense and you could tell in the game they were ticked off at the offense and rightfully so. Chris Jones has lost control of the team and there needs to be some serious talk from the front office about replacing him. They gave him power to construct the roster and it is not working. Usually, head coaches who are also General Managers don’t mix well and the Elks need to find someone else to run the team.
For the Edmonton players, there were a few who played their hearts out but the rest either get traded or released. At this point, the Elks should start trading what good players they have for draft picks to build for the future with a new person in charge.
Next Thursday, the B.C. Lions battle the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at 8:30 pm on CBS Sports Network. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
