Just when it looked like the Edmonton Elks might finally shake free of the Curse of Commonwealth Stadium, they went ahead and set a new Canadian Football League record they didn’t want to have anything to do with.
A 25-18 loss to the Montreal Alouettes on Saturday marked their 15th straight defeat on home turf, establishing a new low not felt anywhere else in the league before, surpassing the 14 consecutive losses accrued by the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1988.
“I ain’t talking about that streak,” head coach and defensive co-ordinator Chris Jones said following the loss that dropped his club to 4-11 on the year. “So, next question.”
Worse yet, the loss meant the Elks couldn’t gain any ground on the Saskatchewan Roughriders sitting just ahead of them in the standings in the race for a potential crossover spot, and now must run the table in their final three games and hope the Roughriders don’t win any of their last three.
“We’ll just have to see. I just told them we don’t worry about anything but showing up back to work when we show up,” Jones said. “And I gave them my word that we’ll work as hard as we can as a staff to be even more prepared.
“That game is on me.”
Leading by one point well into the fourth quarter, Taylor Cornelius threw a pass intended for Derel Walker in the red zone that was tipped by coverage linebacker Adarius Pickett and intercepted by fellow outside linebacker Tyrice Beverette, who returned it 100 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with nine minutes left.
A two-point conversion gave the visitors a 25-18 lead and all but deflated the 24,201 announced in the stands in Edmonton, where the Elks haven’t won since Oct. 12, 2019.
Refusing to go down without a fight, the Elks made it back to the doorstep of the end zone on a 44-yard reception by Dillon Mitchell, only to end up turning the ball over on downs on third-and-goal from the three yard-line, when running back Kevin Brown was stopped one yard shy.
Edmonton got the ball back in Montreal territory once more with 84 seconds left, only to have another interception, this time having the ball bounce off the hands of receiver Danny Vandervoort and go right to Montreal middle linebacker Micah Awe.
But Jones said the interceptions weren’t all on Cornelius.
“No. 1, his read took him to pull the ball there at the four yard-line, and I’ve got to do a better job of managing the clock in that situation,” Jones said. “And then, when we’re at the two yard-line, we should just quarterback sneak twice and make them have to stop us.”
Cornelius finished passing 16 of 28 for 273 yards and the two interceptions, while his Montreal counterpart, Trevor Harris, completed an impressive 14 of 17 against his former team, for 180 yards and a touchdown. Mitchell led all receivers with six catches for 98 yards, as the Elks took an 18-17 lead into halftime, but were shut out in the second.
“That was one of the more unfortunate losses and how it happened that I have ever been a part of,” Cornelius said. “Two drives back to back, not getting in the end zone. One ended up in a pick-six and the other one a turnover on downs.
“Offensively, we’ve got to be better and I’ve got to be better.”
Edmonton got on the board first with a red-zone field goal, as Sergio Castillo picked up right where he left of prior to last week’s bye, when he scored the game-winning three points against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Then former Elks running back Walter Fletcher fumbled the ball out of bounds on the one yard-line, as Dominic Davis scored on the ensuing QB-keeper to put Montreal ahead 7-3 just inside the three-minute mark of the first quarter.
Alouettes return man Chandler Worthy kneeled out a punt in Montreal’s end zone to make it 7-4 on a 55-yard boot by Jon Ryan, before Harris put the ball right back into the end zone, finding favourite target Eugene Lewis for a one-handed grab on an eight-yard lob deep into the end zone.
Cornelius caught a break when a pass intended for Derel Walker ended up in the hands of cornerback Mike Jones, but the interception was negated by a roughing-the-passer penalty against middle linebacker Micah Awe.
After that drive ended in another Elks field goal, they got the ball right back on a fumble by Fletcher that was forced by defensive tackle Jake Ceresna and recovered by coverage lineback Enock Makonzo.
Playing in his first game in a month following an ankle injury, Elks top receiver Kenny Lawler came up with a 33-yard reception to set up a third field goal by Castillo to pull within four points of Montreal’s lead. But the slotback left immediately afterward with what looked like a shoulder injury.
A second Alouettes fumble in as many drives caused by Ceresna, this time on a strip sack that was recovered by Matthew Thomas, gave Edmonton the ball in Montreal territory with 69 seconds to go in the half.
Montreal’s defence didn’t help themselves any by jumping offside on a third-and-one, before committing defensive pass interference to park the ball on the one yard-line.
From there, Cornelius punched it in on a keeper to take their first lead of the game, 17-14, before a dead-ball concession on the ensuing kickoff increased their lead to four points.
With two seconds left in the half, Reggie White Jr. drew offensive pass interference amid double coverage that negated what would have been a touchdown catch.
Instead, the Alouettes made it a one-point game on a 52-yard field goal by David Cote, ahead of a scoreless third quarter.
“This one hurts a little bit,” said Ceresna, who aside from the two forced fumbles, earned his team-leading ninth and 10th sacks in his last eight games played. “It’s devastating. I think we were in a position to win the game and then just a couple of costly mistakes here and there.”
E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
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