Edmonton Elks clinch home playoff game with 27-12 win over Tiger-Cats
The Elks secured their first home playoff game since 2015 with a fourth-quarter surge against Hamilton.
HAMILTON — Cody Fajardo and the Edmonton Elks clinched a CFL home playoff game for the first time since 2015 with a 27-12 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Friday night.
Fajardo, Zach Mathis and ShunDerrick Powell scored fourth-quarter touchdowns to power the Elks (12-4) past Hamilton at Tim Hortons Field. Edmonton last hosted a playoff game in 2015, when it defeated Calgary in the West Division final before winning the Grey Cup.
"We have an end goal that's bigger than just hosting a playoff game," said Fajardo. "We've got to find a way like we did tonight. That's a good Hamilton team, their record doesn't show how good they are."
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Mathis, a second-year receiver, delivered the game's biggest play, scoring on a 48-yard interception return at 10:43 of the fourth quarter. He picked off punter Nik Constantinou's pass to Tyler Ternowski.
Isaiah Wooden pulled Hamilton to within 21-12 with an 87-yard kickoff return TD at 11:22, but Harrison Frost's pass for the two-point convert was incomplete. Powell completed the scoring with a five-yard TD run at 14:36 after Hamilton turned the ball over on downs at its 26-yard line.
Marc Liegghio's 37-yard field goal at 6:56 had pulled Hamilton to within 14-6, following Fajardo's one-yard TD run at 4:47.
"I don't think I've been part of two plays that have been so high and then so low in all my years playing football," Fajardo said of the pick-six and kickoff return TD. "People can poke holes in it all they want and figure out, 'They didn't play this, that and the other.' But we're winning games and we're 12-4. We're a damn good football team."
Edmonton remains first in the West Division ahead of the B.C. Lions (10-6). The Elks can clinch top spot and home field for the division final on Nov. 7 by winning one of its final two games versus Winnipeg on Friday or Saskatchewan on Oct. 24.
"The reason why is I don't think we're playing our best football," Fajardo said of wanting to win the final games. "It's about the team playing the best football and so we have two games to do that."
Hamilton (5-12) was eliminated from playoff contention. The contest featured 18 combined punts, with Fajardo finishing 16-of-25 passing for 229 yards and Hamilton's Frost going 21-of-36 for 221 yards.
"It felt like we got whipped in the first half," said Hamilton head coach Scott Milanovich. "We struggled to establish the run game, I didn't think we gave the quarterback a lot of time to throw. Obviously we made some adjustments at halftime … but that's a good team and we didn't play very well offensively or on special teams."
The Elks last swept a two-game series with Hamilton in 2017, and did so again this season after a double-overtime win in September. At halftime, Hamilton added running back Troy Davis to its Wall of Honour.
Edmonton hosts the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday, Oct. 16. Hamilton has a bye week before hosting the Ottawa Redblacks on Saturday, Oct. 24.
With files from The Canadian Press, Sportsnet and The Globe and Mail