Edmonton Elks Clinch Home Playoff Game With Win in Hamilton

The Edmonton Elks secured a CFL home playoff game after defeating the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 27-12 in Hamilton on Friday, Oct. 9, with Cody Fajardo, Zach Mathis and ShunDerrick Powell scoring fourth-quarter touchdowns to lift Edmonton to 12-4.

According to The Canadian Press, the victory gave Edmonton its first home playoff game since 2015 and kept the Elks first in the West Division standings ahead of the B.C. Lions.

Fajardo said the Elks were focused on a larger goal after the win.

"We have an end goal that's bigger than just hosting a playoff game. 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. We had an uphill battle offensively but we made the plays when we had to and our defence did a great job." said Cody Fajardo, quarterback.

Mathis produced the biggest play of the game with a 48-yard interception return touchdown at 10:43 of the fourth quarter after picking off punter Nik Constantinou's pass intended for Tyler Ternowski. Powell later added a five-yard rushing touchdown after Hamilton turned the ball over on downs.

Fajardo also addressed the team's late-game execution after Edmonton allowed Hamilton to respond with an 87-yard kickoff return touchdown.

"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. We've got to clean some things up at the end of the game to really put the game away. 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 and we know when things get close, we can win football games." said Cody Fajardo, quarterback.

Edmonton can secure the West Division's top position by winning its final two regular-season games, while the team continues seeking improved form before the postseason.

"The reason why is I don't think we're playing our best football. We're winning games but I told the guys going into this week it's not about the team with the best record at the end of the year. It's about the team playing the best football and so we have two games to do that." said Cody Fajardo, quarterback.

Fajardo finished 16-of-25 passing for 229 yards, while Hamilton quarterback Harrison Frost completed 21 of 36 passes for 221 yards, according to The Canadian Press. The loss eliminated the Tiger-Cats from playoff contention.

Edmonton head coach Mark Kilam credited the team's ability to make important plays late in games after the Elks improved to 12-4.

"That's kind of been a calling card of our football team this year. We've been finding ways to make plays late in the game and that's something we take pride in." said Mark Kilam, head coach.

The Elks had finished last in the West Division in 2025 with a 7-11 record before their turnaround season.

"It's reflective of the hard work of a lot of people in that organization, not just the football team. We have our sights set higher." said Mark Kilam, head coach.

Hamilton head coach Scott Milanovich said his team struggled in several areas during the loss.

"I don't think we played very well offensively or on special teams. 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." said Scott Milanovich, head coach.

The Elks will host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday, Oct. 16, while the Tiger-Cats will host the Ottawa Redblacks on Saturday, Oct. 24 after a bye week.