Win or lose Saturday, the Edmonton Elks received a big boost when it came to their season’s survival.
On Friday night, the first-place Winnipeg Blue Bombers ensured Edmonton wouldn’t be cut from playoff contention this week when they dispatched the Saskatchewan Roughriders 31-13.
A Roughriders’ win and Elks’ loss would have spelled the end to Edmonton’s season with three meaningless games left on their schedule.
Of course, it’s still all on the Elks’ own shoulders to try and make up some much-needed ground when it comes to finishing ahead of not only Saskatchewan, but also the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East Division if they hope to secure the crossover spot.
That’s why it wasn’t a case of all eyes being on the Roughriders game inside the Elks locker-room this weekend.
“Oh, I haven’t even paid attention to it, honestly,” Elks quarterback Taylor Cornelius said following walk-through day meetings Friday. “I think we’re just focused on Montreal and winning this game.”
And let the chips fall wherever they may.
“Even if they win, we’ve still got a chance, you know?” Elks defensive back Duron Carter said prior to Friday’s kickoff in Winnipeg. “So, it’s all mainly on us. We can’t be focused on what Saskatchewan does, because if we were focused on that, we should have beaten them the two times earlier, in a sense.
“So, it’s still all on us. It’s all on Montreal, and when you control your own destiny, that’s all you can ask for.”
LAWLER BACK
The Elks saw the return of their biggest offensive weapon Saturday, as slotback Kenny Lawler got back in the lineup after missing three games with an ankle injury.
And the timing couldn’t have been any better, as the games don’t get any less important at this time of year.
“Absolutely. He provides a comfort level to this offence in his playmaking ability to go up and get passes and just create after the catch, too,” said Cornelius. “Obviously, the first couple days (of practice) he was trying to get his legs back, but luckily we’re coming off a bye and he was able to get some extra conditioning in those days.
“He was pretty sore after. He should have assumed that was going to happen, but he’s ready to roll. He’s excited to get back out there.”
While he’s not exactly 100 per cent — And what player is at this point in the season? — what percentage would Lawler have to get down to before he is no longer able to play like his elite-level self?
“He’s a great football player,” said Elks head coach and general manager Chris Jones, who inked the biggest fish in free agency in February by baiting the hook with $300,000 in salary this season. “And he’s a tough, tough guy. So, you’d have to ask Kenny what per cent he is.
“He knows. He’s certainly not 100, but at the same time, his 95 to 97’s probably a little bit better than other people’s 100.”
LOSING SKID
Saturday was the day the Elks were going to go one way or the other when it came to their ever-expanding losing streak at home.
Coming in sitting at 14 losses in a row going all the way back to their last win at Commonwealth Stadium on Oct. 12, 2019, the record books were waiting to see if the Elks would set a new benchmark for brutality in accomplishing something no other team has ever had the misfortune of suffering through in painfully pushing that number to 15.
Carter was there for that rare victory three years ago, albeit wearing opposing colours as his B.C. Lions fell 19-6 to the double-E.
“I was on the B.C. Lions at the time and that game was very electric,” recalled the Elks cornerback, who was playing receiver back then. “It had playoff implications for both teams, pretty much the same scenario right now, and that was a very hard-hitting game.
“They broke Mike Reilly’s arm in the first quarter. It was a very tough game and I expect it to be the same here and hopefully we can get the same amount of fan support for us to make our last stretch. That would be amazing.”
Of course, the Elks haven’t exactly given their faithful followers much to cheer for live and in person, compared to the games they’ve played on the road, which, for the most part, have seen the team put up a much more competitive fight on the way to going 4-4 so far this year.
“Sometimes it seems like the game could be going our way and so good, and then all of a sudden we look up and we’re down two scores from mistakes or penalties,” Carter said. “And I think that’s what happens when we’re at home, because I think every home game, we come out playing very well.
“Then we shoot ourselves in the foot, and it’s hard to recover from that.”
E-mail: gmoddejonge@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
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