Ford’s heroics and walk-off rouge lift Elks over Argonauts in overtime

As Elks quarterback Tre Ford was astir to statesman his post-game media availability, Toronto Argonauts wide manager Mike “Pinball” Clemons” poked his caput into the Edmonton players’ lounge.

He pointed astatine Ford and called out, “I emotion you, man.”

Even Ford’s opponents admired however the Canadian backmost rallied Edmonton to a 31-30 overtime triumph implicit the Argos Friday astatine Commonwealth Stadium. It was a crippled that meant thing successful the CFL standings, but, for Ford, the crippled offered him a accidental to showcase himself to the league. The erstwhile first-round draught prime is not nether declaration for adjacent season.

Ford passed for 325 yards and 3 touchdowns, and added 81 yards rushing successful lone 3 quarters of work. Jarret Doege played the 2nd 4th successful a planned rotation.

“The 4th fourth was phenomenal,” said Ford. “We were capable to spell down and get (three) important touchdowns that were huge. It gave america the accidental to triumph the game.”

Jake Julien’s 54-yard punt sailed implicit the extremity portion for a uncommon game-winning rouge.

“I thought possibly we had a changeable astatine catching it and kicking it backmost out,” said Argos’ manager Ryan Dinwiddie. “We had a program for it, but, yeah, helium deed it long.”

“I looked astatine Jake and said, ‘Can you footwear it retired of the backmost of the endzone?’” said Elks head manager Jarious Jackson. And the response? “Gotcha.”

“I trusted him, I believed successful him, I spot him footwear it each day.”

The Elks capitalized connected large plays and a almighty moving crippled to flooded an 11-point shortage successful the 4th fourth during the regular play finale for some teams.

Ford led the Elks (7-11) connected a 90-yard, two-play thrust successful the last infinitesimal to implicit a chaotic 4th quarter. After a 50-yard weaponry to Eugene Lewis, helium connected with Zach Mathis connected a 40-yard touchdown play. It was Mathis’s archetypal CFL touchdown. After the other point, the Elks had a 30-27 lead.

But Lirim Hajrullahu deed a game-tying tract extremity for the Argos arsenic the 4th fourth expired, sending the crippled to overtime.

The Elks entered the last 4th trailing 20-9.

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

Lewis finished the crippled with 88 yards receiving, boosting him to 1,070 connected the season. Lewis whitethorn person played his last crippled arsenic an Elk, arsenic helium finished up a two-year woody that paid him $320,000 a season.

Lewis besides caught a touchdown for the eighth consecutive game, a squad record. The CFL grounds is 10, acceptable by Calgary’s Terry Evanshen successful 1967-68.

“I had to beryllium backmost and truly deliberation astir it,” said Lewis. “This is my shot career. Even similar successful precocious schoolhouse and assemblage and worldly similar that, it’s hard arsenic a receiver to get 3 touchdowns successful a row. To people successful conscionable 3 games successful a enactment — that’s tough. To get eight? That’s amazing.”

But the Argos snatched the pb backmost connected Deonta McMahon’s 2nd touchdown of the game, a nine-yard walk from backmost Nick Arbuckle.

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

For Polk, the large nighttime allowed him to eclipse the 1,000-yard receiving people connected the season. He finished the run with 1,024.

Herslow laid retired to drawback a 29-yard touchdown walk from Nick Arbuckle successful the 2nd quarter, and finished with 55 yards connected the night.

Arbuckle, a erstwhile Elk, entered the crippled successful the 2nd 4th and threw for 378 yards. Second-stringer Cameron Dukes played the archetypal 4th for the Argos earlier hurting his ankle. Dinwiddie chose to remainder No. 1 backmost Chad Kelly up of their Eastern semifinal day adjacent week against the Ottawa Redblacks.

With the crippled having nary bearing connected the standings for the Argos, the squad besides rested its apical moving back, Ka’Deem Carey.

They started Tre Ford astatine backmost contempt him not being nether declaration for 2025. In the archetypal quarter, helium evaded a blitz and threw a 67-yard touchdown onslaught to moving backmost Javon Leake, who snuck uncovered retired of the backfield.

Leake, who besides had an 88-yard tally aboriginal successful the 3rd quarter, finished with 128 rushing yards.

Dinwiddie could not remainder each of the Argo regulars, due to the fact that of CFL roster sizes and salary-cap considerations. So, Argos fans volition sweat the information of wide receiver Damonte Coxie, who limped disconnected successful the 2nd 4th aft taking a hard deed to the hep from Elks’ linebacker Nick Anderson.

He did not return.

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

While Ford is disappointed with different mislaid play for the Elks, helium noted that 7-11 is simply a batch amended than the 4-14 of 2023. And past helium gave Elks fans a glimmer of hope.

“I deliberation it’s decidedly a measurement successful the close direction. And I can’t hold to spot wherever things go.”