Elks gain ‘confidence’ from preseason win in B.C.

B.C. Lions' Zander Horvath misses tackling Edmonton Elks' Jalon Calhoun during the second half of CFL preseason football action in Langford, B.C., on Saturday, May 23, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Remember, it’s only pre-season.

The time of year in the Canadian Football League (among others) when games feature Battles of the Backups both against an opponent and among a team’s training camp hopefuls.

So while a 34-16 win by the Edmonton Elks over the host B.C. Lions on the weekend looks good on paper, these tune-up games are primarily for evaluation and for coming up to speed after the off-season and almost two weeks of training camp.

“You get confidence from performing, you get confidence from executing, and I think that’s the stuff that you take out of that game,” Elks head coach Mark Kilam told media on Monday about what returning players get from taking part in preseason action.

“There was a ton to clean up out of that game. It wasn’t a flawless performance, not even close, but it’s important to get in there, feel the speed, be able to fit the ball into windows that are a little bit tighter than you see in practice and come out with confidence from execution.”

Even though both sides were auditioning players, some individual Elks performances stood out.

Quarterback Taylor Powell was efficient in completing 13 of 14 passes over his 19 minutes of work during the first half.

He and fellow backup hopefuls Cody Snyder and Zach Zebrowski to starter Cody Fajardo each tossed touchdown passes, as the Elks gathered 343 yards through the air.

Kicker Jesus Gomez, a recent pick by the Elks in the global draft, was two-for-two on field goals, his longest a 30-yarder, and averaged 68 yards over six kickoffs. Returning punter Jake Julien averaged 56 yards a boot in three tries.

Canadian receiver Carter Kettyle, an Alberta Golden Bears grad who hails from Grande Prairie, led all Elks receivers with 65 yards – 32 of them yards-after-catch (YAC) gains – and caught a touchdown, while newcomer Jospeh Cephus caught all five balls thrown his way.

With incumbent rushers Justin Rankin and Javon Leake sitting out, a trio of backups carried the ball out of the Elks backfield, led by Rushawn Baker, who ran for 47 yards on eight carries, while Isaiah Knight managed 32 yards on seven rushes. Shun Derrick Powell rushed three times for 13 yards.

Fajardo, who started the game and was pulled after two series in favour of Powell late in the first quarter, said his teammates played so well that he couldn’t distinguish between his team’s second, third and fourth units during Saturday’s game in Langford, B.C., with the Lions’ regular home, B.C. Place, reserved for the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

“All three of those quarterbacks came in and played tremendously well,” said Fajardo, who’ll enter the 2026 CFL campaign as the undisputed starter after taking over six weeks into last season from an ineffective Tre Ford, who has since moved on to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

“They all threw touchdowns, they all sat in the pocket (and) made great plays. You couldn’t tell the difference between the ones, twos, threes or fours with our offence. That goes to show how much work these guys have put in with the installs and the practice.”

CFL training camps run until the end of the month. The Elks host the Calgary Stampeders on Friday at Clarke Stadium for their final exhibition game.

And the home game is important for all players “to feel the timing and the speed of the game, to tackle somebody in real life, to be able to get tackled, maybe kick out of one,” Kilam said.

“Those things are all important, that you can’t simulate, even though we try to practice as fast as we can,” he said. “You can’t get that unless you get in the game.”

Edmonton opens their 2026 slate of games on the road June 6 in Ottawa and play their first home game June 20 against Montreal.