Elks look to keep playoffs hopes alive on Saturday vs. Riders

Two weeks agone the Edmonton Elks were 1 of the hottest teams successful the CFL having won 5 of their six erstwhile games. It enactment them 1 constituent backmost of the Riders for 3rd spot successful the West Division and 4 points backmost of the 2nd spot B.C. Lions.

Fast guardant to the contiguous and 2 consecutive losses later. The Elks playoff hopes are hanging by a literal thread.

The Elks look to enactment live connected Saturday nighttime erstwhile they big the Saskatchewan Roughriders astatine Commonwealth Stadium.

The squad trails the Riders by 5 points for 3rd spot successful the West with 3 games to play. It besides trails the B.C. Lions by six points for 2nd place. The Elks ain a tie-breaker vantage implicit the Lions having won the season-series. Simply, the Elks person to triumph their last 3 games and anticipation for immoderate help.  A gangly task for the Elks who started the play 0-7. No squad successful CFL past has made the playoffs aft specified a start.

Elks backmost McLeod Bethel-Thompson connected the Riders defence, the chemistry he’s built with Eugene Lewis, and re-grouping aft a blowout nonaccomplishment to the Bombers past week which severely damaged the team’s playoff hopes

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Elks caput manager Jarious Jackson says the team’s players are not hiding from the information they are nary longer successful power of their playoff destiny aft back-to-back losses to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

“They recognize wherever we are, we tried to power our ain destiny but ran into a ceramic partition successful Winnipeg the past 2 games and present we request immoderate help,” Jackson said. “All we tin bash is power what we tin power and focusing connected this crippled and doing our champion to triumph the past 3 games. I’ve told the guys it’s a three-game play for us, truthful let’s conscionable absorption connected Saskatchewan.”

Elks interim caput manager Jarious Jackson connected the interaction the returns of moving backmost Javon Leake and antiaircraft backmost Darrius Bratton volition person connected his lineup connected Saturday arsenic they big the Riders

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Saturday marks the 3rd and last gathering of the play betwixt the Elks and Riders with the teams having divided their archetypal 2 meetings. The cardinal matchup volition beryllium the Elks fig 1 ranked rushing onslaught vs. the Riders fig 1 ranked unreserved defence. The Elks mean 125 rushing yards per crippled portion the Riders are giving up a league-low 80 yards per game. Elks moving backmost Justin Rankin has recorded back-to-back 100 gait rushing games and has 266 yards successful his past 2 games with an unthinkable 9.5 yards per transportation average. The crushed onslaught has accounted for 41 per cent of the Elks offence implicit their past 8 games.

The Elks volition person different moving backmost successful their lineup connected Saturday arsenic Javon Leake returns aft missing the past 2 games with a thigh bruise. Fellow moving backmost Kevin Brown volition travel disconnected the roster. Defensive backmost Darrius Bratton volition instrumentality to the starting antiaircraft lineup aft missing past week’s crippled successful Winnipeg with a genu injury. Defensive Jalen Green volition travel retired of the lineup and volition beryllium placed connected the signifier roster. Elks sack person Noah Curtis won’t play connected Saturday for non-football related reasons. Curtis has six sacks connected the season, linebacker Olivier Muembi volition travel disconnected the signifier roster and volition play connected Saturday.

The pursuing are the projected violative and antiaircraft starters for the Elks:

Offence

Quarterback: McLeod Bethel-Thompson

Running back: Justin Rankin (FB: Jakub Szott)

Offensive line: Martez Ivey, David Foucault, Mark Korte, Shane Richards, Brett Boyko

Receivers: Eugene Lewis, Kurleigh Gittens Jr., Zach Mathis, Tevin Jones, Dillon Mitchell

Defence

Defensive line: Daniel Joseph, J-Min Pelley, Shawn Oakman, Elliott Brown

Linebackers: Nick Anderson, Nyles Morgan, Derrick Moncrief.

Defensive backs: Kai Gray, Darrius Bratton, Loucheiz Purifoy, Kordell Jackson, Devodric Bymun

You tin perceive Saturday’s crippled betwixt the Elks and Riders connected 630 CHED starting with Countdown to Kick-off with Courtney Theriault astatine 3:30 p.m. The opening kick-off from Commonwealth Stadium volition beryllium astatine 5 p.m. with Morley Scott and Dave Campbell calling each of the unrecorded action. Hear investigation from erstwhile Edmonton Football Team violative lineman and two-time Grey Cup champion Blake Dermott. Former EE violative lineman Gord Hinse volition supply investigation from the Elks sidelines.