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LIVE BLOG: Saskatchewan Roughriders at Edmonton Elks

A moment-by-moment look at the Week 17 Canadian Football League contest between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Edmonton Elks in Edmonton
Randy Palmer
week-17-blog-johnson

7:57 p.m.
TOUCHDOWN RIDERS but it's not enough.Stevens dives in for the major and the Riders go for two point convert for the tie, but the pass sails long in the corner of the end zone. That's the ball game, way closer that it looked like it was going to be, 27-25 Edmonton.

7:56 p.m.
Johnson makes a catch for 15 yards to get Riders down to one with one second left.

7:54 p.m.
Couple of short passes and Riders are down to 16 seconds, but Johnson makes catch to get down to Edmonton 16 with six seconds left.

7:49 p.m.
Edmonton has a 30 yard field goal and it's good with 47 seconds left. Riders need to drive the field and get a two-point convert to force overtime.

7:47 p.m.
And the Riders secondary gets burned again on a long second down, with a deep pass to Hilaire to Saskatchewan 25. That's a 42 yard catch and that'll probably do it, folks.

7:45 p.m.
Edmonton gets ball back on own 40 with 2:07 left in the game.

7:44 p.m.
TOUCHDOWN ROUGHRIDERS! Tommy Nield hauls in a pass at the Edmonton nine and goes the rest of the way for the major. Eight plays, 2:25 off the clock, 24-19 Edmonton with 2:13 to play.

7:36 p.m.
Pass to Emilus on sideline is broken up, second and 10 from Edmonton 46 at the three minute warning.

7:33 p.m.
Touchdown Edmonton. A blown coverage leaves Hillaire absolutely wide open for a 44 yard catch down to the five, Rankin breaks about 12 tackles on the next run and he's into the end zone. 24-12 Edmonton with 3:35 remaining.

7:30 p.m.
Edmonton converts three straught second and long plays to get into Riders territory at the 53 while killing the clock down to 4:05.

7:24 p.m.
An incomplete pass and sack and Riders are punting. Edmonton gets the ball back on own 28.

7:22 p.m.
Riders get the ball back on own 45 after the kickoff and a nice return by Meyers.

7:21 p.m.
Touchdown Edmonton. Rankin gets to the outside and that's that, runs 37 yards for the major. Three plays, 70 yards, 1:10 off the clock, 17-12 Elks lead with 9:59 remaining in the game.

7:18 p.m.
Julien-Grant has a 26 yard catch, Rankin runs for seven and Elks are in field goal range on the 37.

7:17 p.m.
Drive stalls at Edmonton 22, Lauther has a 30-yard field goal and makes it. 12-11 Riders with 11:34 to play in the game.

7:07 p.m.
Riders turnover! Julien-Grant makes a 10-yard catch, Fields forces fumble, Onyeka recovers and goes to the end zone but the play is blown dead. Riders still get the turnover and it's their ball on the Edmonton 41.

7:04 p.m.
Fields gets to Rankin for five-yard loss and Edmonton is second and 10 from own 35 as third quarter comes to an end.

Ouellette's touchdown:

7:02 p.m.
Riders go two and out, punt and Edmonton gets the ball back on own 26.

6:59 p.m.
Edmonton goes two and out, punt and Riders get the ball back on own 29.

Ouellette goes over 1,000 yards on the season:

6:57 p.m.
TOUCHDOWN ROUGHRIDERS! Emilus catches a pass for six, Ouellette runs nine to the five and then finishes off the impressive drive with a lunge over the goal line on the next play. Two point convert denied. 11 plays, 108 yards, five minutes off the clock. 11-9 Edmonton with 3:56 to play in third quarter.

6:52 p.m.
Ouellette takes a pitch to the left and rumbles 31 yards down to the 20. That puts Ouellette over 1,000 yards rushing on the season!

6:49 p.m.
Emilus makes a short catch, hurdles a tackler for nine yards to get into Edmonton territory at the 53.

6:46 p.m.
Ouellette 11 yard run and Ajou 11 yard catch and Riders are out of the shadows of their goalpost and on their own 24.

6:43 p.m.
Edmonton drive stalls on own 43, punt and illegal block sees Riders starting on own two yard line.

Emilus' nice catch on the previous drive.

6:39 p.m.
With five catches for 52 yards, KeeSean Johnson is now over 1,000 yards receiving for the season.

6:36 p.m.
Riders get up to midfield before drive stalls, Lauther has a 55-yard field goal attempt and misses wide left, Leake returns ball back to Edmonton 13. 11-3 Edmonton with 12:03 left in third quarter.

6:32 p.m.
Edmonton kicks off to start second half, Riders get the ball on own 39.

6:15 p.m.
Johnson has catches for 14, 14 and eight yards to get Riders into field goal territory. Lauther has a 44-yard field goal and it's good on the final play of the half 11-3 Edmonton after 30 minutes.

6:12 p.m.
Touchdown Edmonton: Julien-Grant gets behind the coverage and makes a great lunging catch as Fields struggles to catch up, 47-yard catch down to Riders one. One play later, Snyder is in for the major. Three plays, 46 seconds, 64 yards, 11-0 Edmonton with 34 seconds left in first half.

6:06 p.m.
A sack and short pass to Ajou and Riders are punting from own 25. Edmonton gets the ball back on own 49 with 1:27 remaining in the half.

6:02 p.m.
Six yard pass to Nield and Riders are second-and-four on own 22 at the three-minute warning.

5:59 p.m.
Edmonton goes two and out, a great punt and a penalty sees the Riders starting on own 12 with 3:59 to play in the half.

5:56 p.m.
That's where the drive stalls, Lauther has a 50-yard field goal attempt and is wide right. Ball is carried out of the end zone, Edmonton ends up with the ball on own 27.

5:54 p.m.
Ouellette keeps the drive going with a 10 yard catch, nine yard run and four yard run to get up to Edmonton 46.

5:52 p.m.
Harris runs for a first down and his hit in the head while sliding. Replay Centre has nothing to say about it, though.

5:47 p.m.
Defence comes up big again. Leake tackled for no yards, Fajardo sacked for a loss of six yards by Sanders for their third sack of the game. Riders get the ball back on their own 29 with 10:05 to go in second quarter.

5:44 p.m.
Riders go two and out, Mirco gets off his first punt with the Riders and Edmonton gets the ball back on their own 37.

5:42 p.m.
On the next play, Rose gets home for 13-yard sack. Blanchard has a 47 yard field goal attempt and it's right down the middle. 4-0 Edmonton with 13:09 to play in the second quarter.

5:40 p.m.
Fajardo has all day to find Gittens for a pass over the middle and he goes for 31 yards to get into field goal range at the Riders 27.

5:37 p.m.
Rankin run for 15, Victor catches for 12 and 9 and Edmonton is up to their 51 yard line. That's the first quarter, 1-0 Edmonton.

5:33 p.m.
And another turnover. Johnson has the ball knocked loose while diving for a first down, Logan recovers and it's Edmonton ball on own 22 with 2:13 left in first quarter. That's three Rider turnovers in the first 13 minutes.

5:30 p.m.
Catch for eight yards by Meyers and Stevens gets to the outside on the short yardage third down and nearly breaks away for a touchdown, but a last man tackle saves the play, Riders on Edmonton 25.

5:29 p.m.
Nice second-effort catch and run by Johnson for a first down and 19 yard catch by Ajou has Riders in field goal ranges at Elks 37.

Morgensen's interception

5:18 p.m.
Baldonado gets home for a sack for a loss of nine yards and a screen to Rankin is dropped and Edmonton punts, Riders get ball back on own 38.

5:15 p.m.
Crazy turn of events. Harris is intercepted by Jackson on a pass over the middle, Ajou forces a fumble on the return, Riders Johnson recovers for first down on Edmonton 53. Two plays later, another pass over the midde, a pick by Morgensen and this one is held on to and stands. Three turnovers on one drive. Edmonton ball on own 47.

5:09 p.m.
Fajardo is flushed from the pocket on second down and while he's scrambling appears to tweak something in his lower body. He's hobbling on the sidelines, so that's something to watch. Edmonton punts, get the touchback for the rouge, 1-0 Edmonton with 12:25 to play in first half.

5:08 p.m.
Edmonton gets the ball on own 47 to get us started.

5:07 p.m.
Coin toss in the books, Riders are kicking off and Edmonton will have the ball for the first series of the game.

5:05 p.m.
The teams have a moment of silence for owner Larry Thompson, who passed away earlier this week. That's followed by the national anthem in both English and Cree in honour of Truth and Reconciliation Day on Tuesday.

4:35 p.m.
With Mario Alford out of the line-up as he continues to recover from a hip injury, the newly returned Shane Bane Jr. will see return duties. Will be putting his knee to the test quickly!

3:44 p.m.
Now that's a wild story on the Rider Broadcast Network. Apparently TSN analyst and former Rider great Glen Suitor was attacked by some nutjob in a parking lot in Edmonton, but the police were right there and there were a ton of witnesses, so Glen is okay and the guy is in custody. Man, seems more and more like you gotta keep your head on a swivel out there!

2:44 p.m.
It's shaping up to be decent football weather in Edmonton, with a game-time temperature of 18 C under a mix of sun and cloud and no chance of precipitation. Winds are expected to be calm, touching 10 km/h from the northeast later in the game.

2:39 p.m.
It’s Week 17 of the Canadian Football League season, it’s a West Division showdown, it’s the Saskatchewan Roughriders taking on the Edmonton Elks live from Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton!

It might look like a mismatch on paper as the Riders come into the contest with a 10-3 record and in first place overall in the CFL, while the Elks are in fifth place in the West Division with a 5-9 record. The Elks have been playing better football as of late, though, with quarterback Cody Fajardo keeping his team in every game even if the results they want haven’t been there. That’s led to a pair of narrow losses in their most recent contests, a 29-27 loss to Hamilton in Week 16 and 31-30 loss to Toronto the week prior.

Saskatchewan, meanwhile, is coming off their final bye week and lost their previous game 48-31 to the Montreal Alouettes back on Sept. 13. 

week-17-depth-chart

The Roughriders depth chart: As revealed on Friday, the Green and White are welcoming back a pair of players who have missed the entire season, with receiver Shawn Bane Jr. and offensive lineman Philippe Gagnon both making their 2025 debuts. Defensive back Marcus Sayles is also back in the line-up after missing the game against Montreal, and a new punter will be seeing action as Jesse Mirco takes over from Joe Couch.

Trevor Harris gets the start at quarterback and has completed 255 of 354 passes for 3,405 yards, 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His 110.4 efficiency rating is second best in the league behind only the aforementioned Fajardo.

A.J. Ouellette leads the ground game with 185 carries for 942 yards and six touchdowns and with a decent outing can crack the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the second time in his career. His yardage total is third in the league. KeeSean Johnson is also a few catches away from 1,000 yards receiving, as he sits fifth in the CFL with 70 catches for 969 yards and four touchdowns. Dohnte Meyers leads the receiving corps with seven majors off 54 catches for 851 yards.

Linebacker Jameer Thurman is tops in tackles with 70 to go along with three sacks and two interceptions. Defensive end Malik Carney leads with seven sacks, fellow pass rusher Micah Johnson is right behind with six. Defensive back Tevaughn Campbell is best in the CFL with six interceptions.

week-17-elks-depth-chart

The Elks’ depth chart: Fajardo has been outstanding since taking over as Edmonton’s starting quarterback, having completed 212 of 277 passes for 2,459 yards, 12 touchdowns and only three interceptions. His 112.8 efficiency rating is tops in the CFL.

Running back Justin Rankin has emerged as a dual threat for the Elks, with 139 carries for 756 yards -- fifth best in the league -- to go along with six touchdowns. He’s also Edmonton’s top receiver with 47 catches for 618 yards and four majors. Kurleigh Gittens Jr. is right behind Rankin with 52 catches for 615 yards and four touchdowns.

Defensive back Kordell Jackson is the top tackler for the Elks with 67, defensive lineman Noah Taylor leads with four sacks. Defensive backs Tyrell Ford and J.J. Ross have two sacks each.