Elks' quarterback leads Edmonton to 31-30 overtime win to cap season

As Elks quarterback Tre Ford was about to begin his post-game media availability, Toronto Argonauts general manager Mike "Pinball" Clemons poked his head into the Edmonton players' lounge.

He pointed at Ford and called out, "I love you, man."

Even Ford's opponents admired how the Canadian quarterback rallied Edmonton to a 31-30 overtime win over the Argos Friday at Commonwealth Stadium. It was a game that meant nothing in the CFL standings, but, for Ford, the game offered him a chance to showcase himself to the league. The former first-round draft pick is not under contract for next season.

Ford passed for 325 yards and three touchdowns, and added 81 yards rushing in only three quarters of work. Jarret Doege played the second quarter in a planned rotation.

"The fourth quarter was phenomenal," said Ford. "We were able to go down and get [three] crucial touchdowns that were huge. It gave us the opportunity to win the game."

Jake Julien's 54-yard punt sailed over the end zone for a rare game-winning rouge.

"I thought maybe we had a shot at catching it and kicking it back out," said Argos' coach Ryan Dinwiddie. "We had a plan for it, but, yeah, he hit it long."

"I looked at Jake and said, `Can you kick it out of the back of the endzone?"' said Elks head coach Jarious Jackson. And the response? "Gotcha."

"I trusted him, I believed in him, I see him kick it every day."

The Elks capitalized on big plays and a powerful running game to overcome an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter during the regular season finale for both teams.

Ford led the Elks (7-11) on a 90-yard, two-play drive in the final minute to complete a wild fourth quarter. After a 50-yard bomb to Eugene Lewis, he connected with Zach Mathis on a 40-yard touchdown play. It was Mathis's first CFL touchdown. After the extra point, the Elks had a 30-27 lead.

But Lirim Hajrullahu hit a game-tying field goal for the Argos as the fourth quarter expired, sending the game to overtime.

The Elks entered the final quarter trailing 20-9.

After a four-yard touchdown catch by Eugene Lewis brought the Elks to within five, Ford led the Elks on a 98-yard drive, highlighted by a 71-yard pass play to Jerminic Smith. It was punctuated by a 10-yard touchdown run by Justin Rankin.

Lewis finished the game with 88 yards receiving, boosting him to 1,070 on the season. Lewis may have played his final game as an Elk, as he finished up a two-year deal that paid him $320,000 a season.

Lewis also caught a touchdown for the eighth straight game, a team record. The CFL record is 10, set by Calgary's Terry Evanshen in 1967-68.

"I had to sit back and really think about it," said Lewis. "This is my football career. Even like in high school and college and stuff like that, it's hard as a receiver to get three touchdowns in a row. To score in just three games in a row — that's tough. To get eight? That's amazing."

But the Argos snatched the lead back on Deonta McMahon's second touchdown of the game, a nine-yard pass from quarterback Nick Arbuckle.

The Argos (10-8) got 122 yards receiving from Makai Polk and Jake Herslow caught his first career touchdown pass.

For Polk, the big night allowed him to eclipse the 1,000-yard receiving mark on the season. He finished the campaign with 1,024.

Herslow laid out to catch a 29-yard touchdown pass from Nick Arbuckle in the second quarter, and finished with 55 yards on the night.

Arbuckle, a former Elk, entered the game in the second quarter and threw for 378 yards. Second-stringer Cameron Dukes played the first quarter for the Argos before hurting his ankle. Dinwiddie chose to rest No. 1 quarterback Chad Kelly ahead of their Eastern semifinal date next week against the Ottawa Redblacks.

With the game having no bearing on the standings for the Argos, the team also rested its top running back, Ka'Deem Carey.

They started Tre Ford at quarterback despite him not being under contract for 2025. In the first quarter, he evaded a blitz and threw a 67-yard touchdown strike to running back Javon Leake, who snuck uncovered out of the backfield.

Leake, who also had an 88-yard run early in the third quarter, finished with 128 rushing yards.

Dinwiddie could not rest all of the Argo regulars, because of CFL roster sizes and salary-cap considerations. So, Argos fans will sweat the condition of wide receiver Damonte Coxie, who limped off in the second quarter after taking a hard hit to the hip from Elks' linebacker Nick Anderson.

He did not return.

With 10 tackles, Anderson tied B.C.'s Barrin Simpson's CFL record of 116 tackles by a rookie.

While Ford is disappointed with another lost season for the Elks, he noted that 7-11 is a lot better than the 4-14 of 2023. And then he gave Elks fans a glimmer of hope.

"I think it's definitely a step in the right direction. And I can't wait to see where things go."