Elks ground game 'lights out' in win over Riders

The Saskatchewan Roughriders couldn’t find a way to stop the run in a 36-27 loss to the Edmonton Elks on Friday night at Mosaic Stadium. The Elks have now won four of their last five match-ups.

Running back Kevin Brown churned out a career-high 175 yards on 19 carries to go with quarterback Tre Ford’s 70 as the Elks rushed for a staggering 265-yards on the night.

“It’s a concern. We have to stop the run. We have to go back to basics. We have to start winning match-ups,” said Riders head coach Craig Dickenson.

The Elks earned their first lead of the game with 5:35 remaining in the game when the defensive seas parted for Ford and he was able to dash unabated into the end zone for a ten yard score.

The Edmonton defence sealed the victory on the very next Riders’ offensive series when Jake Ceresna sacked quarterback Jake Dolegala in the end zone for a two-point safety with less than two minutes to play.

“They had a good rush on. I was trying to step up. You’re thinking, especially for me, about the goal posts because you’re working with the field, so that has a little to do with it,” Dolegala told reporters, saying the feeling in the locker room was worse than last week after the crushing 51-6 Banjo Bowl loss to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

“I don’t know yet. We’ll find out. A lot of guys in that room stood up and said they hate losing. They want to win. I don’t like losing either. What are you willing to do to change it? We have a lot of good guys in that room and we’ll find out more about their character in the next few weeks.”

The Riders had a 10-0 lead after the first quarter thanks to a Brett Lauther field goal and a three-play, 16-yard drive that culminated in Shawn Bane Jr.’s first touchdown reception of the evening.

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The Elks deployed some trickery to earn their first touchdown of the night.

In the second quarter, with the team facing a short yardage situation near the goal-line, back-up Taylor Cornelius entered the game and completed a lob pass to A.C. Leonard for a touchdown to bring the Elks to within three.

The Riders took a 13-10 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Antonio Pipkin’s first pass as a Saskatchewan quarterback was a trick play, too.

The Elks defence was expecting a run play when the 28-year old back-up pivot entered the game on a third and one yard to gain.

Instead, Pipkin dropped back and completed a pass to Jamal Morrow, in stride, who took the ball down to the 12 yard line.

Two plays later, Jake Dolegala connected with Shawn Bane Junior on his second touchdown of the night to give Saskatchewan the lead.

The Elks pulled even at 27 with 12:51 remaining in the game when Ford connected with Eugene Lewis. Ford eluded a pair of defenders before finding Lewis all alone at the goal line for an easy score.

The Riders lost four players in the first half due to injury including defensive linemen Anthony Lanier III, Miles Brown, and Nicholas Dheilly, and linebacker Justin Herdman-Reid.

Dickenson told reporters that he hopes they’ll be back soon but their status remains unclear.

“We don’t want to make excuses. Injuries happen,” he said. “You’ll see some new faces next week. Hopefully they’ll play well. We’ll have to keep it simple for them but we plan on putting a good team out there.”

With the loss, the Riders' record now stands at 6-7.

Jake Dolegala completed 20 of his 34 passes for 213 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.

Tre Ford connected on 13 of 20 for 173 yards, a touchdown and a pick, while adding 70 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders will face the RedBlacks in Ottawa on Friday, Sept. 22 at 5 p.m.