Elks look to beat provincial rivals one last time before heading into off-season

EDMONTON — Their playoff hopes dashed last weekend, the Edmonton Elks head into their final game of the 2025 CFL season with one thing in mind: beat their provincial rivals and go into the off-season feeling better about themselves.

The 7-10 Elks host the playoff-bound 10-7 Calgary Stampeders Friday evening looking to win the season series, having split their previous two games.

“Win the Battle of Alberta, at home, in front of our fans, finish off the season the way we want to finish it,” linebacker Joel Dublanko responded when asked what’s the incentive heading into what seems like a meaningless game.

“We fought so hard throughout the season. We’re going to go out there and give it our best efforts and we’re going out there to kick some butt.”

The Elks had their third straight disastrous start to the season at 1-6 before winning six of nine games to stay in the playoff hunt. That ended with their 37-24 loss to the B.C. Lions last Friday.

“From where we were to where we are now, we could really put a stamp on this season and feel really good about the way we finished,” said quarterback Cody Fajardo. “We started 1-6 and were able to take it to two weeks left in the season with playoff implications.

“You’re always playing for something, whether it’s a cheque, whether it’s your family, whether it’s the organization, whether it’s the fans … there are a lot of guys going into this game playing for contracts as well. I’m on a one-year deal so I don’t know what my future holds.”

The Elks lost four games by four points or less, including mid-season losses to Toronto Argonauts by one point and Hamilton Tiger Cats by two points, that ultimately determined their fate.

“There were too many games we just left slip away, the Toronto game, the Hamilton game,” said linebacker Tyrell Ford. “Even the first time we played (Saskatchewan Roughriders) I felt that game was winnable. We had a lot of winnable games that we ended up coming up short.”

Now, Ford added, their incentive Friday evening is “it’s going to be our last game of the season with all the guys so go out and play for them.

“Every time you win it’s a good week so you definitely don’t want to go into the off-season on a loss. Try to get that win, brighten up the season a little bit so the off-season won’t be as painful. It will be painful watching playoff games, but a little less with a win at the end of the season.”

There’s also a four-game home winning streak the Elks want to extend. Offensive lineman David Beard said another win in front of home fans would help to” bury some of the disappointment” of missing the playoffs for a fifth straight year.

“It’s a great kind of momentum shift going into the off-season,” Beard said. “We want to go into the off-season feeling good about we’ve accomplished. Regardless of the score Friday night, we’re going to be proud of where we’ve come from, but we want to make sure we put an extra stamp on that Friday night.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23 2025.