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EDMONTON – Everything will all be on the line on when the Elks take on the Roughriders at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday night.
Edmonton finds themselves on the brink following a pair of setbacks against the surging Winnipeg Blue Bombers, but a victory over the Roughriders can get the playoff train back on its tracks. The Elks enter the contest with a 5-10 record and the need to win out in order to extend their season into November.
The team has shown flashes of being a threat in the West Division, with seven of their 10 defeats coming by a single score, while recently coming off a stretch where they won five-of-six games.
However, they will need to overcome the inconsistencies that have made the playoffs a fight, instead of a certainty, if they hope to take down a Roughriders team they currently hold the season series over.
“We see what we were working with every day at practice. We see what kind of team we are and we see how we come in and operate,” quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson said. “We felt like we helped Winnipeg the last two weeks, and obviously they’re a good team and we give them all the credit for sure, but we didn’t show up.”
“All you can control is the moment. If you’re living in the past or the future, you’re not where your feet are. All we’ve got is right now and another good opponent coming in this week. Be where your feet are and focus on this week.”
The Elks have shown flashes of brilliance on both sides of the ball this season — whether its their 500+ yard offensive performances against Calgary and Saskatchewan, or their four-plus interception performances against the Stampeders, but it’s been too rare that both sides of the ball are clicking at the same time. With three games left to determine the Elks playoff fate it’s time to bring it all together.
“This year has been a story of taking turns. The offense will play well, the defense will play well, the special teams will play well, but we don’t play cohesively. When we do play cohesively, we’re a scary team,” Bethel-Thompson said. “So how can we continue to gel that and chop wood until that happens?”
“We get an opportunity to come back out here and play football again. That’s how, you know we’re here,” Head Coach Jarious Jackson said. “That’s one thing I just said to the guys, in life and football, don’t let a loss or somebody else make you feel a certain way about yourself.”
“We’re still a good football team, we’re just kind of going through a little something right now, but we’re going to come out of it right? We have to maintain the belief and keep working hard and do our best to get a win this weekend.”
The Elks will have a couple key players returning to the field with corner Darrius Bratton and running back Javon Leake sliding back into the lineup on Saturday.
Bratton is in his second season in the CFL and had racked up 31 tackles and three interceptions this season, before missing the last game with a knew injury.
“That’s big for us,” Jackson said. “Bratton will be back this week, and so he’ll slide back to his normal spot and we’ll get KJ (Kordell Jackson) back to his normal spot as well. We’ll be ready to roll.”
The explosive Javon Leake will also be back in uniform after a thigh injury caused him to miss the last two games. The 26-year-old was a unique weapon in the Elks arsenal since moving from primarily a special teamer to a focal point of the Double E’s offence. His most impressive game of the season came against the Roughriders when Leake broke out with a 169 yard and three touchdown performance back on August 3.
In the game, Leake recorded the fastest speed by a ball carrier in pro football over the last year. The hope is he will be a lightning to rookie sensation Justin Rankin’s thunder this weekend.
“He’s feeling and looking good,” Jackson said. “He’ll get a lot more reps (on Thursday) and we’ll see how he feels after that and make a decision from there.”