‘They’ve got some swagger to them’

Edmonton’s CFL team has been a complete, utter mess for the majority of the past decade.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers took full advantage of their once-prominent West Division foe falling on hard times by shellacking them time and time again.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we?

The Blue and Gold defeated the Elks three times in a span of five weeks in 2021 — including a 30-3 beatdown on Chancellor Matheson Road on Oct. 8.

“I’ve never walked away from a game where I’ve been embarrassed. This game was embarrassing,” said then-Edmonton quarterback Trevor Harris at the time.

Then, in Week 18 of 2022, the Bombers clinched first place in the West by spanking the visiting Elks 48-11 — highlighted by a trio of touchdowns courtesy of rookie receiver Dalton Schoen.

“We just got our butts kicked, plain and simple,” said then-Edmonton quarterback Taylor Cornelius after that one.

And don’t forget Aug. 11, 2023, when the Elks jumped out to a 22-0 lead at home, only for backup quarterback Dru Brown to replace an injured Zach Collaros and lead Winnipeg to an improbable 38-29 victory. There was also Sept. 27, 2024, when Collaros threw a career-high six touchdown passes in a 55-27 win in Bomberland.

The Bombers were far from the only ones that poured it on around that time.

Between Oct. 12, 2019, and Aug. 27, 2023, the Elks lost 22 straight games at Commonwealth Stadium, which is the longest consecutive home-losing streak in North American pro sports history.

“Yeah, those were tough times for sure,” said now-Bombers defensive tackle Jake Ceresna, who played in Edmonton from 2018-23 and again in 2025.

“But you know, they made me stronger as a player. They made me have more perseverance and made me have more willpower.

“It made me a better player at the end of the day.”

Things are much different now, however. Under second-year head coach Mark Kilam, the Elks are in first place in the West at 7-3.

The last time they were in the top spot 10 games into a season was back in 2015 — which also happens to be the last time they hoisted the Grey Cup.

Edmonton will try to keep the good times rolling when they host the Bombers (5-4) on Friday (8:30 p.m. CT kickoff).

“Troublesome. Honestly,” said Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea on the state of the Elks in recent years. “We’d play there and it just didn’t feel like it should. And it’s been turned around. And it’s good for our league. I can separate the two.

“I know what we want to do on game day, but I can also appreciate that they’ve worked their asses off to turn it around there. And I can be happy for a fellow coach that I’ve been around, been to a ton of meetings with, hung around and had beers with, whatever, I can be happy for him, too.

“It doesn’t mean we don’t want to beat him. I just understand the value and the importance of healthy franchises to a healthy league. It’s pretty apparent we need every team to be going,” he added.

Bombers linebacker Tony Jones broke into the CFL with Edmonton in 2022. They won just eight games in his two seasons there.

He thought he was going to have at least a third in the Alberta capital because former Elks head coach/general manager Chris Jones told the defender that he was going to be a starter in 2024 — only to be cut after training camp.

The Bombers quickly scooped him up, and they’ve been reaping the rewards ever since.

Jones is currently sixth in the league in total tackles with 53.

“That was eye-opening. Those types of seasons are rough, but at the same time, you learn a lot from them,” said Jones, who had never been on a losing team before Edmonton.

“When I first got (to Winnipeg), it was like, ‘Wow.’ Everything is about the team aspect in this organization. I’ve been in organizations before where there’s players almost fighting coaches. And you get here, it’s more team-led which is very powerful if you have the leaders on your team who are controlling and keeping everyone together as one.”

The Bombers may be team oriented, but that hasn’t stopped them from losing their last two meetings with the Elks dating back to last season — most recently falling 23-18 at Princess Auto Stadium in Week 4.

The Elks are 4-1 at home and on track to snap their five-year playoff drought. Their attendance has also gone up by 25 per cent, as they’re averaging just under 21,000 fans per game this season.

“They’re a great football team. They’ve got some swagger to them and they’re winning games. They’re playing elite football and playing in all three phases,” said Jones.

“It’s good for them to see, but at the same time, we know the task at hand is to go over there, execute, and take it away from them.”

Bombers defensive end Willie Jefferson was a part of that 2015 championship team before joining the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2016.

He didn’t shed any tears over his original CFL club struggling after his departure, but he’s well aware that those days are in the rearview mirror now.

With Cody Fajardo holding things down at quarterback, superstar running back Justin Rankin making defenders look silly on a weekly basis, and a defence that’s generated a league-high 103 points off turnovers, these are not the same old Elks.

“Most definitely not,” said Jefferson.

“We just got to go out there and play a consistent game on offence, defence, and special teams.”

BOMBERS LOSE BALL

Second-year special teams ace Ethan Ball will be out for the foreseeable future.

The 24-year-old from Regina suffered an Achilles injury in last week’s win against Ottawa. He’s currently in a walking boot and on crutches.

The Bombers selected Ball out of the University of Calgary in the sixth round of the 2025 CFL Draft.

“It’s going to be tough to see him again the rest of the season, unfortunately,” said O’Shea.

“He was another key piece. Extremely smart, gifted athletically, hyper competitive, so, that certainly hurts.”

winnipegfreepress.com/taylorallen