The Edmonton Elks close a fourth consecutive non-playoff season on Friday when they host the Toronto Argonauts.
Edmonton (6-11) hasn’t finished above .500 since going 12-6 in 2017 and was quickly eliminated from contention this season by losing its first seven games of the season.
Toronto (10-7) stands second in the Eastern Conference and is headed to the playoffs for the fourth straight season. The Argonauts will rest many key players with their playoff opener against the Ottawa Redblacks slated for Nov. 2.
Quarterback Chad Kelly won’t play and talents like 1,000-yard running back Ka’Deem Carey and star cornerback DaShaun Amos (five interceptions) aren’t expected to see any action.
Cameron Dukes will start at quarterback against the Elks. Dukes started eight games, going 4-4, while Kelly was serving a nine-game suspension for violating the CFL’s gender-based violence policy. He has passed for 1,404 yards, seven touchdowns and six interceptions.
In Week 3, Dukes completed 18 of 21 passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for a score as the Argonauts recorded a 39-36 home win over Edmonton.
Kelly’s final regular-season appearance saw him pass for 331 yards and three touchdowns while running for another in a 38-31 home win over Ottawa last Saturday.
Kelly was not happy about the Redblacks scoring 25 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to make it close.
“We’ve got to finish, we’ve got to finish a lot better,” Kelly said. “It’s part of the game where you play a full 60 minutes.
“They’re a professional football team, they’re not going to give up and we’ve got to be better.”
Edmonton will start Tre Ford, who has passed for 812 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions. McLeod Bethel-Thompson (3,748 yards, 24 touchdowns, 11 interceptions) is slated to sit out.
The Elks have won three of the four games Ford has started this season.
Even though Edmonton has nothing to play for, interim coach Jarious Jackson is encouraged by the team’s energy heading into its final game.
“It could be at the other end of the spectrum, and we could be pulling teeth to get guys to come out here and compete and get ready to try and go win a football game,” Jackson said following Monday’s practice.
“The guys were enthusiastic, they were engaged, they were having fun. They were talking crap to one another, but at the same time, competitive and doing things the right way.”
Elks receiver Eugene Lewis needs 18 yards to reach 1,000. He leads the league with nine touchdown catches.
Toronto’s Ralph Holley and Jake Ceresna are tied with Ottawa’s Mike Wakefield for the league high of eight sacks. Ceresna was acquired from Edmonton last offseason.
–Field Level Media
