The Edmonton Elks (1-9) visited Tim Hortons Field on Thursday night to start Week 11 against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (3-6) for the second time this year. The two teams met in Week 6 in Hamilton with the Ticats winning the game 37-29.
A lot has changed since their first meeting. Edmonton changed coordinators and started a new quarterback, while Hamilton is in survival mode with a third-string quarterback in Taylor Powell. Edmonton put together a good game plan and the results went their way.
Hamilton got the ball to start the game. On the second play, quarterback Taylor Powell threw a short pass to Duke Williams for a 21-yard gain. Two plays later, Edmonton linebacker Nyles Morgan sacked Powell to force third down. Kicker Marc Liegghio attempted a 49-yard field goal but missed it and Edmonton took over on their 41-yard line.
On Edmonton’s next drive, Taylor Cornelius, Kyron Moore, and Kevin Brown combined with four carries for 12 yards to get to the Ticats’ 29-yard line. On the next play, quarterback Tre Ford was set in a shotgun position while Hamilton was set to blitz him.
Ford snapped the ball and waited for a receiver to get open. Steven Dunbar Jr. blew by Stavros Katsantonis and Ford connected with him for a 29-yard touchdown as he absorb a hit by a Hamilton defender. The Elks led 7-0 with 58 seconds left.
Hamilton had the last possession of the first quarter. Taylor Powell threw a short pass to James Butler and he took off for 43 yards. The Ticats made it to the Elks’ two-yard line as the first quarter ended down 7-0.
On the first play of the second quarter, James Butler rushed up the middle for a two-yard touchdown. However, Marc Liegghio missed the extra point and the Ticats were down 7-6 with 14:22 left.
Two plays later, Edmonton faced second down. Backup quarterback Taylor Cornelius was lined up for a quarterback sneak. Instead, he snapped the ball to fake the sneak and threw it to defensive lineman A.C. Leonard, who played tight end in college and his early career in the CFL, he caught it one-handed for a 45-yard gain. Three plays later, Cornelius scored a one-yard touchdown with a quarterback sneak which made it 14-6 with 10:30 left.
Later in the second quarter, Edmonton quarterback Tre Ford threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Steven Dunbar Jr. which extended the Elks lead to 21-6 with 6:51 lead. Just before halftime, Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio converted a 20-yard field goal which made it 21-9 Edmonton at halftime.
Edmonton had 244 yards on offense. Quarterback Tre Ford completed (88.8%) for 127 yards, two touchdowns, and three carries for 28 yards.
Running back Kevin Brown had seven carries for 28 yards, and one catch for six yards, and Steven Dunbar Jr. had three catches for 83 yards and two touchdowns. Edmonton’s defense had three sacks, and the Elks committed two penalties for 12 yards.
Hamilton had 185 yards on offense. Quarterback Taylor Powell completed 13 of 14 passes (92.8%) for 125 yards while running back James Butler had seven carries for 69 yards, one touchdown, and three catches for 32 yards.
Wide receiver Tim White had six catches for 43 yards. Hamilton’s defense did not record a sack and the Ticats did not give up any penalties.
The game then went into a two-hour weather delay for lightning and did not resume until 10:35 pm. In the third quarter, Hamilton looked to be turning the corner when punt returner Tyreik McAllister got some great blocks in front of him and returned it for a 56-yard touchdown. However, the Ticats were called for two penalties that wiped out the touchdown.
Hamilton quarterback Taylor Powell threw a 10-yard pass to Anthony Johnson before Powell and James Butler combined with three carries for 21 yards. On second down, Powell was sacked by Jake Ceresna. Hamilton kicker Marc Liegghio attempted a 43-yard field goal but missed it and CJ Lewis returned it to prevent the single point.
After Edmonton went two-and-out, Hamilton had the ball. Quarterback Taylor Powell threw a short pass to Tim White for a gain of 26 yards. Then, Kai Locksley and James Butler combined with three carries for 17 yards to reach the Elks’ 53-yard line as the third quarter came to an end.
Hamilton continued to move the ball to start the fourth quarter. Taylor Powell completed a 17-yard pass to Tim White before Powell rushed for a gain of 11 yards to the Elks’ 25-yard line. After failing to get a first down, kicker Marc Liegghio missed a 32-yard field goal but the ball bounced into the endzone and out of bounds for a single point. It was now 21-10 with 12:56 left.
On Edmonton’s next possession, Tre Ford rushed for 14 yards. Three plays later, he completed a 20-yard pass to Emmanuel Arceneaux. After failing to get a first down, Edmonton kicker Dean Faithfull kicked an 18-yard field goal to make it 24-10 with 8:53 left.
Hamilton was unable to put together drives with Taylor Powell getting sacked three times and Edmonton went into victory formation. The Elks won their first game of the season by the final score of 24-10.
Edmonton made some great plays in the game and kept Hamilton’s defense guessing all night long. The Elks had 378 yards on offense. Quarterback Tre Ford completed 13 of 18 passes (72.2%) for 174 yards, two touchdowns, and five carries for 60 yards. I was impressed by Ford’s ability to make some deep throws and the offense looks different with him at quarterback.
Running back Kevin Brown had 16 carries for 89 yards, and wide receiver Steven Dunbar Jr. had four catches for 93 yards and two touchdowns. It was nice to see Dunbar get involved in the offense. He has not had many opportunities this year and to see him have a nice game is great. Ford and Dunbar are a good duo and the Elks should create more plays for the two of them.
Edmonton’s defense had 42 tackles, seven sacks (2 each by Nyles Morgan and Jake Ceresa), one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.
For Hamilton, they did not look prepared at all. The Ticats struggled on both sides of the ball. The Ticats’ offense had 319 yards and struggled to reach the red zone after scoring their only touchdown of the game.
Quarterback Taylor Powell completed 20 of 26 passes (76.9%) for 218 yards, and three carries for 18 yards. Running back James Butler had a good game with 14 carries for 114 yards, one touchdown, and three catches for 32 yards, and wide receiver Tim White had nine catches for 101 yards.
Hamilton’s offense needs to change things up. Their strength is the running game. The Ticats need to create more plays for the running game that involves James Butler and they need to insert Sean Thomas-Erlington into the lineup.
If they want to make things tougher for the defense, adding Tyriek McAllister will also help the running game and could help them win games.
Hamilton’s defense had 40 tackles and one sack. Hamilton’s secondary was unable to cover the Elks’ receivers and lost a lot of one-on-one battles. The front four were unable to penetrate the Elks’ offensive line, and Ford had protection all night long except for the one sack.
Next Saturday, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats visit the B.C. Lions at 7 pm on CFL+, and the Edmonton Elks will look to end a 22-game home losing streak against the Ottawa Redblacks next Sunday at 7 pm on CBS Sports Network. Subscribe to Fubo to watch all of the 2023 CFL Season. Purchase CFL tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
