EDMONTON – A pair of rookie quarterbacks helped the Edmonton Elks stage a thrilling rally in the fourth quarter to beat the visiting B.C. Lions by a score of 20-19 in CFL preseason action at Play Alberta Field at Commonwealth Stadium on Friday night.
Will McElvain completed a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jalon Calhoun with eight seconds remaining to complete the thrilling comeback. Edmonton had trailed 19-7 before Cole Snyder drove his team to the Lions’ two-yard line where DeWayne McBride rumbled into the end zone to cut B.C.’s lead to five points with 4:05 left to play.
Justin Rankin also scored a rushing touchdown for the Elks, who finished their 2025 preseason schedule with a record of 1-1 by giving Mark Kilam his first victory as a CFL head coach.
“It’s professional football, it’s hard to win games, but it’s about to finding ways to win at the end, and that’s what these guys did,” Kilam said during a post-game interview with CHED 880. “I’m proud of them.”
Fourth-year Elks quarterback Tre Ford completed five-on-eight passes for 79 yards in his 2025 debut and fellow veteran pivot Cody Fajardo threw for 88 yards on six-of-eight passing.
Ford, who knows a thing or two about comebacks, had praise for the rookie QBs that led consecutive touchdown drives at the end of the game. McElvain completed four of six passes for 40 yards, while Snyder completed four of five attempts for 58 yards.
“I thought offensively we were able to execute late in the game,” Ford said on CHED 880. “Cole and Will both did a fantastic job, so big shout out to them. Our offense stepped up when we needed to, our defence got us some stops, and I thought we were good on special teams too, so I thought we played three phases at the end.”
Edmonton held the Lions to just one touchdown, coming on a reception by Preston Smith early in the fourth quarter. The Green and Gold came up with a huge defensive stop on third-and-goal from the three-yard line late in third.
Down and out ❌
DE Jonathan Kongbo sacks the Lions QB.#GoElks | @CFL pic.twitter.com/eFbZ7E1p7t
— Edmonton Elks (@GoElks) May 31, 2025
On the Elks’ opening possession, Ford led a 63-yard drive that ended with Rankin rushing six yards for Edmonton’s first touchdown of the preseason. Lions veteran Sean Whyte kicked three field goals in the first half, giving his team a 9-7 lead at halftime.
The Lions went ahead 12-7 when Mark McNamee kicked a 42-yard field goal midway through the third quarter and extended their lead to 19-7 after Chase Brice connected with Smith at 5:56 of the fourth quarter.
After McBride’s TD cut the deficit to five, Edmonton forced a punt on the ensuing Lions’ possession when defensive lineman Silas Hubert sacked Brice on second-and-ten at the B.C. 35-yard line with 2:19 remaining. McElvain then led a nine-play, 57-yard drive, culminating with his TD toss to Calhoun to give Edmonton its first preseason victory at home since 2019.
“I’ve said it 100 times: this is a different deal here now,” said Kilam, who was hired as Elks head coach during the offseason. “We’re building something special and these guys have each other’s backs already. I know they do. And it’s about building belief in each other, and when you can make big plays in all three phases, which is what we did down the stretch, that’s what builds belief, and I’m really proud of them.”
Kilam and his coaching staff will now make their final training camp cuts. The Elks open the 2025 CFL season against the Lions at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver on June 7.
Edmonton’s home-opener is June 19 against the Montreal Alouettes on Play Alberta Field at Commonwealth Stadium at 7 p.m. Tickets are available now.
THEY SAID
McElvain on leading the game-winning drive:
“I was just trying to find completions, and the receivers did a good job getting to their spots and the O-line did a great job blocking, so I was just trying to play my part.”
Kilam on how he has tough roster decisions to make after how the Elks played in the fourth quarter:
“I love that. That’s what you want. As a coach and as a coaching staff, you want tough decisions. We’re going to get into the film and dig through it, but it’s so hard to make a professional team, and they just left it out there, so it’s definitely a credit to these guys.”
Ford on now flipping the switch from training camp to the regular season:
“I always tell everybody training camp is the hardest part, because you’re here all day. You’re here in the morning, you don’t leave until night, so you’re here 14-15 hours a day sometimes. So it’s a long day, it’s definitely going to wind down a little bit on the body, but I’m super excited to start the actual season, start the game play, and I can’t wait to B.C. next week and get our season rolling.”