What had been a quiet game for the Edmonton Elks’ leading rusher suddenly turned into a roar Monday.
asserted
been → lead → roar
Justin Rankin’s 50-yard dash to the end zone gave the Elks their first lead of the Labour Day game with four minutes remaining in a 38-28 win over the host Calgary Stampeders.
asserted
dash → give → Stampeders
Rankin was minus-1 on four carries until he danced through Calgary defenders to the end zone.
asserted
he → dance → zone
“He was fired up.
asserted
He → fire → ?
It’s nice when you get to hand the ball off and point at the end zone and watch him,” Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo said.
asserted
Fajardo → ’ → him
“He’s the human joystick.”
asserted
He → ’ → ?
Edmonton (9-3) scored 24 points in the last 10 minutes of the game and erased an 18-point deficit from early in the second half.
asserted
Edmonton → score → half
Cole Snyder scored a rushing touchdown with 19 seconds left to put an exclamation mark on the Elks’ third straight victory.
asserted
Snyder → score → victory
They remained atop the CFL’s West Division and ahead of the Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-4), the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and B.C. Lions (6-6) and Stampeders (5-7).
asserted
They → remain → Roughriders
Edmonton’s offence that started sluggishly picked up steam at the same time the skies opened up and dumped rain on McMahon Stadium.
asserted
skies → start → Stadium
“It’s crazy because if you look at the season, some of our best games are in the worst weather,” Rankin observed
asserted
Rankin → ’ → weather
“So shoot, maybe I hate the rain, but at this point, maybe we need some rain, some snow, because that’s when we play our best football.”
asserted
we → shoot → football
Edmonton’s special teams and defence pinned the Stampeders deep in their own zone over the final four minutes.
asserted
teams → pin → minutes
Get breaking National news
Trailing by three after Rankin’s scoring run and Vincent Blanchard’s convert, the hosts never got close to scoring or field-goal range.
asserted
hosts → get → scoring
Kaion Julien-Grant and Austin Mack caught touchdown passes and ShunDerrick Powell scored a rushing touchdown for the Elks, who had overcome a 16-point deficit to beat the Blue Bombers in their previous game.
asserted
who → catch → game
“Guys believe when you have games like this and games like Winnipeg, they start to believe that no score is too big for us,” Fajardo said.
asserted
Fajardo → believe → us
“We know we can play four quarters and we’ve got a chance to win any game.
asserted
we → know → game
Blanchard kicked a 52-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, to improve to four-for-five from 50 yards out or more, and added five convert points.
asserted
Blanchard → kick → points
Jalen Philpot and Clark Barnes caught touchdown passes and Quincy Vaughn scored on a short-yardage plunge for Calgary, which led 25-7 early in the second half.
asserted
which → catch → half
Rene Paredes kicked field goals from 36 and 42 yards and three convert points in front of an announced 16,346.
asserted
Paredes → kick → 16,346
Made some plays, but then we had some big mistakes as well,” Stampeders head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson said.
asserted
Dickenson → make → mistakes
“We have to look in the mirror but also take a big breath and understand we just can’t play football like that if we want to win.”
asserted
we → have → that
Fajardo completed 17 of 31 pass attempts for 181 yards and a pair of touchdown passes.
asserted
Fajardo → complete → passes
He was intercepted once.
asserted
He → intercept → ?
After sitting out a win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats with a concussion, Stampeders quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. was 15 for 29 in passing for 214 yards and a pair of touchdown throws.
asserted
Jr. → sit → throws
Adams took a helmet to his head late in the first quarter.
asserted
Adams → take → quarter
Edmonton linebacker Nick Anderson was penalized for roughing the passer when his helmet connected with Adams’ as the latter slid to the turf for a first down.
asserted
latter → penalize → down
Adams remained in the game.
asserted
Adams → remain → game
Low cloud, winds gusting to 41 kilometres per hour and a temperature of 12 Celsius were weather conditions at kickoff, which was preceded by a flyover by two CF-18 Hornets.
asserted
which → guste → Hornets
The Stampeders led 18-7 at halftime on the strength of a pair of touchdowns off a Fajardo interception and fumble.
asserted
Stampeders → lead → interception
But trailing by 14 with 10 minutes remaining in the game, Edmonton’s offence went to work chewing up the deficit with a six-play, 70-yard drive capped by Powell’s three-yard charge to the end zone.
asserted
offence → trail → zone
Edmonton’s Kordell Jackson stripped Barnes of the ball on the subsequent drive after the Stampeder caught a downfield pass.
asserted
Stampeder → strip → pass
The Elks recovered and converted that turnover into Blanchard’s 52-yard field goal to trail by four, followed by Rankin’s game-winning touchdown.
asserted
Elks → recover → touchdown
The Elks host the Stampeders on Saturday in the second game of the home and home.
asserted
Elks → host → home
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2026.
asserted
report → publish → Press
The Aporia
