Fajardo helps Roughriders end their slump by edging a moose

Edmonton – Quarterback Cody Fajardo had two touchdowns himself and passed another in the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ 34-23 win over the Edmonton Elks on Saturday.

Roughriders (5-4) snapped the skid after losing three games.

The Elks (2-7) have now lost 12 straight home games at Commonwealth Stadium, an embarrassing streak dating back to 12 October 2019.

Edmonton roared back after Saskatchewan scored a punt single on their first drive. Quarterback Taylor Cornelius chose to run on a broken play for a 10-yard touchdown.

Fajardo responded by throwing the riders back in front with a 1-yard swoop late in the first quarter.

Roughrider kicker Brett Lowther kicked a 34-yard field goal to start the second frame.

Edmonton looked poised to retake the lead, but Cornelius fumbled for the ball at the Saskatchewan 5-yard line before rider Charleston Hughes got it back.

The teams then exchanged field goals, with Elk Sergio Castillo scoring one from 38 yards and Lowther scoring from 46 yards.

When Cornelius brought another ball into the end zone, Elks surged forward and scrambled from 26 yards with 31 seconds left in the first half.

However, Saskatchewan regained the lead before halftime interrupted the ensuing kickoff, with Mario Alford firing 98 yards for a touchdown to give the team a 21–17 lead. The half-time break was extended due to lightning strikes nearby.

Edmonton conceded another punt single, the only point in the third.

Castillo started the fourth quarter with a 44-yard field goal and got another 46 yards shortly after an interception by Nafees Lyon to give them a one-point advantage.

The Riders regained the lead with four minutes remaining as Fajardo found Duke Williams in the end zone on a 24-yard TD pass. 2-point conversion failed.

Edmonton tried to trade batting, but Cornelius was picked up by Laurent Milligan and led to the QB keeper 6 yards for a touchdown by Fajardo.

Both teams will be back in action next Friday as the Elks travel to Ottawa and the Roughriders host the BC Lions.

Footnote: Saskatchewan won the last matchup between the two teams in Week 2 by a score of 26-26. The Elks came into the game with a record of 0-6 against West opponents while scoring by an amazing 234-84. In his first eight games, Edmonton had a league-best 79 players play in at least one of his games. The Riders had his second-most with 68. Three players from the five-time Gray Cup champion team from 1978 to 1982 were at the Wall of Honor night in Edmonton _ Jim Germany, Joe Hollimon and Ed Jones _ At the post-match ceremony, the first half-time proceedings took place. Erased due to delay due to nearby lightning strike.