The Edmonton Elks completed a fourth-quarter comeback on the road to defeat the Montreal Alouettes 32-31 on Thursday night at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium.
Montreal led 31-12 midway through the third quarter, but three costly pass interference penalties on defensive back Wesley Sutton led to three touchdowns as Edmonton took the lead late in the fourth.
Edmonton’s defence had two interceptions and a fumble recovery, with two of the three turnovers leading to touchdown drives in the second half. Elks defensive back Ed Gainey set up the game-winning score in the fourth quarter with his first interception of the season.
Taylor Cornelius started under centre for Edmonton with Tre Ford injured, completing 19 of 31 passes for 230 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Backup Edmonton quarterback Kai Locksley also made a big impact with a pair of touchdown runs in the second half.
Montreal quarterback Trevor Harris was 19 of 26 for 241 yards, including two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Elks running back Sherman Badie scored his first career CFL touchdown on a five-yard run. Montreal receiver Tyson Philpot also found the end zone for the first time in his CFL career with a six-yard touchdown catch.
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The Elks’ offence started strong with a touchdown on their opening drive. Cornelius moved the chains twice through the air with completions to receivers Derel Walker and Emmanuel Arceneaux, and Badie capped it off with a short touchdown run on a handoff from Locksley.
But kicker Sergio Castillo missed the convert attempt, leaving Edmonton with a six-point lead.
The Als produced a big play later in the quarter when running back Walter Fletcher broke free for a 42-yard run. Fletcher shed multiple tackles while using his speed and agility to find daylight, setting the offence up with first-and-goal. But the Elks’ defence stood strong, as linebacker Malik Tyne sacked Harris two plays later to halt the drive.
David Côté kicked the 19-yard field goal to cut Edmonton’s lead in half entering the second quarter.
Montreal took the lead early in the second with a 10-play, 91-yard touchdown drive that saw Harris complete five straight passes. Harris moved the sticks early in the drive with a 22-yard strike to Hergy Mayala, and he moved the ball into scoring position with a 22-yard pass to fellow receiver Reggie White Jr.
Harris finished the drive with a touchdown toss to Philpot to give the Als their first lead of the game, and Côté kicked the convert to put them up 10-6.
The Als continued to build momentum on their next possession, as return specialist Chandler Worthy gave the offence a short field with a 44-yard punt return. Harris moved the ball into the red zone with a 15-yard strike to White, and he connected with receiver Eugene Lewis on the next play for Montreal’s second touchdown of the game.
Harris faked the screen pass to Mayala before scrambling to the right to find Lewis open in the end zone for his first score of the season. Côté added the convert to put Montreal up 17-6.
Montreal got the ball back just two plays later when Cornelius was picked off on the opening play of the next drive. Defensive back Marc-Antoine Dequoy jumped a route for the interception and nearly scored, but Cornelius knocked him out of bounds at the one-yard line following a 50-yard return.
Dominique Davis capped the drive with the quarterback sneak touchdown, and Côté kicked the convert as Montreal took a commanding 24-6 lead.
But Castillo made a 21-yard field goal on the next drive to move the Elks closer, and they claimed momentum in the final minute of the half when linebacker Adam Konar picked off Harris.
Konar returned the interception 27 yards, leading to a 46-yard field goal from Castillo as time expired to make the score 24-12 entering the third quarter.
Cornelius kept Edmonton’s momentum going with a 38-yard pass to Walker on the first offensive play of the second half, but the drive stalled and failed to produce points as Castillo ultimately missed a 48-yard field goal attempt.
The Als took back control on their first possession of the half. Harris connected with receiver Kaion Julien-Grant, who then spun away from Jalen Collins and gained 42 yards up the left sideline before being brought down on a touchdown-saving tackle from fellow defensive back Scott Hutter.
Davis finished the drive off with another quarterback sneak touchdown, and Côté added the extra point to give Montreal a commanding 31-12 lead.
The Als followed it up with a surprise onside kick that saw Côté recover it himself after it bounced off an Elk. But Edmonton ended up getting the ball just one play later when Hutter recovered a fumble after White coughed it up on a catch.
The Elks converted the turnover into points, as a defensive pass interference penalty on Sutton in the end zone set up a one-yard touchdown run from Locksley. Castillo kicked the convert to cut Montreal’s lead down to 13 points entering the fourth quarter.
Locksley found the end zone again early in the fourth on a two-yard run following another costly pass interference penalty on Sutton. Castillo kicked the convert to make the score 31-25 with 11 minutes left in the game.
Gainey gave the ball back to Edmonton with a beautiful leaping interception. The turnover set the stage for the game-tying touchdown, and another big pass interference call on Sutton led to Cornelius throwing a 10-yard touchdown to Lawler. Castillo kicked the convert to give Edmonton the win.
The Alouettes will also kick off Week 7 when they travel to take on the Ottawa REDBLACKS next Thursday at 7 p.m. ET, while the Elks will host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers a day later at 9 p.m. ET.