Elks look to slow down the high-flying Tiger-Cats on Saturday
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats face the Elks at Play Alberta Field at Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Elks are 1-5 on the season after having their comeback bid fall short last week in Regina losing 21-18 to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Elks fell behind by a score of 21-4 before scoring 14 straight points in the fourth quarter only to settle for a loss.
Quarterback Cody Fajardo will make his second start of the season for the Elks after throwing for 348 yards and two touchdown passes against the Riders. It was the first time this season the Elks had three receivers eclipse the 50 yard mark in Steven Dunbar Jr. (82), Kaion Julien-Grant (69), and Zach Mathis (52).
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Fajardo says receiving all of the first team reps this week makes him feel more comfortable with the offence.
'There's some plays that I got to see reps with and there's some plays I didn't rep the best but I was able to see it and correct some things,' Fajardo said.
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'That's what I'm most excited about, I thought the offence had a great week of practice now we have to take that from the practice field to the game field against a really good Hamilton defence.'
The Hamilton defence leads the CFL in interceptions (11), pass knockdowns (30), and tackles for losses (16). On offence, the Tiger-Cats lead the league in average points scored per game (32.1), passing yards per game (316.0), and passing touchdowns (15).
The Elks have more injuries to deal with this week as linebacker Nick Anderson (groin), receiver Zach Mathis (back), and linebacker Micheal Brodrique (shoulder) have all been place on the six-game injured list.
Defensive end Robbie Smith (elbow) will return. Receiver Binjimen Victor will see his second start of the season. Linebacker Brock Mogensen and Canadian defensive back Jerrell Cummings will added to the active roster. Linebacker Bryce Cosby will come off of the active roster and will be placed on the practice roster.
The following are the projected offensive and defensive starters for the Elks:
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Offence
Quarterback: Cody Fajardo
Running back: Justin Rankin (Fullback: Tanner Green)
Offensive line: Martez Ivey, Mark Korte, David Beard, Gregor MacKellar, Brett Boyko
Receivers: Steven Dunbar, Kurleigh Gittens Jr., Arkell Smith, Kaion Julien-Grant, Binjimen Victor
Defence
Defensive line: Brandon Barlow, Jared Brinkman, Jake Ceresna, Robbie Smith
Linebackers: Joel Dublanko, Nyles Morgan, Kenneth Logan Jr.
Defensive backs: J.J. Ross, Kordell Jackson, Chelan Garnes, Kobe Williams, Tyrell Ford
You can hear Saturday's game between the Elks and Tiger-Cats on 880 CHED starting with Countdown to Kickoff with Courtney Theriault at 11:30 a.m.
The opening kickoff from Play Alberta Field at Commonwealth Stadium will be at 1 p.m. with Morley Scott and Dave Campbell calling all of the live action.
Hear analysis from former Edmonton Football Team offensive lineman and two-time Grey Cup champion Blake Dermott. Former EE offensive lineman Gord Hinse will proved analysis from the Elks sidelines.
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