Rankin, Ford lead Elks to first win with 39-33 decision over Redblacks

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Ottawa Redblacks' Anthony Gosselin (45) chases Edmonton Elks' Javon Leake (22) during first half CFL action in Edmonton, on Sunday July 6, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
EDMONTON — The Edmonton Elks have finally found their way into the win column.
Justin Rankin scored a pair of touchdowns as the Elks captured their first win of the season, coming up big to defeat the Ottawa Redblacks 39-33 on Sunday.
'It was a complete 60-minute effort,' said Elks head coach Mark Kilam. 'It was gritty. Some guys went down, we had some moving parts. Guys were throwing up at halftime. It took a lot, it took everyone in the room, and I'm proud of them.'
Edmonton (1-3) snapped a three-game losing skid to start the CFL campaign.
'We had a good start, we went out and scored on our first two drives, which was really good,' said Elks quarterback Tre Ford, who passed for 212 yards and two TDs.
'We sputtered a bit in the second quarter and a little bit into the third, but we were able to put some drives together and score some more points. I think our team just came together.'
Ottawa dropped to 1-4 with its second straight loss.
'I don't think we started well,' said Ottawa coach Bob Dyce. 'We gave up explosives, both on special teams and defence, and didn't really create that many offensively. We were undisciplined at times and didn't execute the way we need to execute.'
The Redblacks took nine penalties for 118 yards.
'The game is too hard to win in the first place, so we can't be moving backwards,' said Ottawa quarterback Dru Brown, who returned from injury. 'Personally, I didn't feel like I played very well early. I thought they had a good plan. They were pushing and testing our patience and there were times where I wasn't patient.
'It's a good learning experience, but a lot of things to improve on, for sure.'
The Elks had a strong start to the contest, scoring on their opening drive. Ford lofted a pass to Rankin and he shrugged off a defender and scampered for a 45-yard touchdown. Edmonton added a single on the ensuing kickoff.
Ottawa responded with a 42-yard field goal from Lewis Ward.
Edmonton kept it coming on its second possession with another long drive, capped off when Ford pitched it to Kurleigh Gittens Jr. and he scrambled eight yards into the end zone.
The Elks got a rare punt return touchdown five minutes into the second quarter when Javon Leake broke free and went 94 yards to score despite almost letting up too soon and getting caught. It was Edmonton's first punt return TD since Aug. 28, 2015.
Ottawa finally got it going late in the second with a solid drive finished off by a six-yard TD pass from Brown to Eugene Lewis.
The Redblacks got a dramatic punt return touchdown of their own with less than two minutes to play in the first half as Kalil Pimpleton bobbed and weaved his way 97 yards into the end zone to cut Edmonton's lead to 22-17 at halftime.
After having a fumble return TD overturned on a penalty, Ottawa got a 42-yard field goal from Ward to open the third quarter.
The Elks responded with a 21-yard field goal by Vincent Blanchard.
Rankin came up big again with 3:36 left in the third, finding a seam up the middle and blazing 74 yards into the end zone for the major.
Ward booted a 43-yard field goal to close out the half and added another from 28 yards out four minutes into the fourth to cut Edmonton's lead to six points.
Blanchard countered with a 35-yard three-pointer.
Ottawa gambled on a third and three with three minutes left in the game but was denied, leading to another 35-yard field goal from Blanchard, who added a single on the following kickoff.
The Redblacks fought to the end, adding a 14-yard TD pass to Andre Miller.
Brown comes up short
Brown returned from missing the last three games with a hip injury looking to pass for more than 400 yards for his fourth consecutive game. Only Warren Moon, Kent Austin and Doug Flutie had also done it three times in a row in CFL history. Unfortunately, Brown only managed 316 yards passing on Sunday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2025.
Shane Jones, The Canadian Press