Fajardo, Julien-Grant help Elks rally to beat Alouettes 23-22 in return to Montreal

Edmonton Elks' Kaion Julien-Grant (11) celebrates with teammates after he scored during second half CFL action against the Montreal Alouettes in Montreal on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

Edmonton Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo still has fond memories of leading the Montreal Alouettes to the 2023 Grey Cup championship, a moment he calls “number 1” on his list of accomplishments throughout his decade playing in the CFL.

Friday night’s 23-22 Elks win over the Alouettes at Percival Molson Stadium, however, now comes a close second on Fajardo’s list.

The 33-year-old, making his first start against Montreal since being traded by the Alouettes to the Elks for McLeod Bethel-Thompson last December, led Edmonton on a game-winning drive, culminating in a 15-yard touchdown throw to another former Alouette Kaion Julien-Grant with just 15 seconds remaining on the clock.

“You can tell on that last play he (Kaion) dragged that defender into the end zone,” said Fajardo. “That’s how much he wanted it. That’s how much I wanted it. This one meant a little bit more. I wasn’t afraid to say it all week.”

Fajardo was 27-for-38, throwing for 289 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He was also sacked five times in the contest.

Since taking over for Canadian Tre Ford on July 26, Fajardo has thrown for 892 yards, to go along with five touchdowns and just one interception. He improved his record to 5-1 in his career against the Alouettes with the win.

Julien-Grant, who spent five seasons as a member of the Alouettes (from 2019-2024), accounted for both of Edmonton’s offensive touchdowns on the night. It was the 29-year-old’s first time back in Montreal since signing as a free agent with the Elks in February.

“They’re fighters, they’re pros,” said Elks head coach Mark Kilam in reference to both Fajardo and Julien-Grant. “They always believe. I’m happy for them because you know there’s questions around both. There’s times our offence was struggling a little bit, but they kept fighting and they kept chipping away.”

Edmonton (2-6) won for the first time in four tries. It was also their first road win of the season.

“We went out there and we finished against a really good team,” said Fajardo. “Hopefully, this gets the momentum going for us. We understand we can make mistakes and still win football games.”

Bethel-Thompson, starting his fifth game at quarterback this season in place of the injured Davis Alexander, struggled on offence for the Alouettes. The 37-year-old completed just 10 of his 15 pass attempts, good for a meagre 79 yards, and was intercepted once.

As a result, Alouettes head coach Jason Maas turned to third-string quarterback Caleb Evans to start the second half. He threw for 113 yards and one touchdown.

“Obviously, it wasn’t good enough in the first half and that’s why we made the move with Caleb in the second half,” said Maas. “There’s some good notion that Caleb is going to start our next game, just based on those two performances.

“From the first half to the second half, we moved the ball better and scored more points with Caleb in there. We’ll evaluate the film. I think Bethel knows and everybody knows after that performance, it just wasn’t good enough.”

Nevertheless, Maas says the loss to the basement-dwelling Elks does not rest on the shoulders of Bethel-Thompson alone.

“That game could have been finished a number of different ways and it wasn’t,” added Maas. “It’s a team loss, bottom line.”

Cole Spieker scored the Alouettes’ lone offensive touchdown of the game, the Alouettes first in 138:14, dating back to a second-quarter touchdown, also scored by Spieker, in a Week 8 win in Calgary on July 24.

Montreal (5-4), coming off a 34-6 loss at home last week to the West Division-leading Saskatchewan Roughriders, lost to Edmonton for the first time since October 2022.

With the Alouettes leading 3-1 and time winding down in the first quarter, Fajardo was the victim of a sack deep in Edmonton territory courtesy of Alouettes’ left back Darnell Sankey. Fajardo’s ensuing pass attempt on second down to Steven Dunbar Jr. was incomplete, forcing Grace to punt the ball.

That punt was returned 80 yards by Travis Theis into the end zone for the game’s opening touchdown with just 47.7 seconds remaining in the opening quarter. It marked Theis’ first career touchdown and the Alouettes’ first by way of a kick return this season.

After kicker Jose Maltos Diaz added a 42-yard field goal to give the Alouettes a 13-1 lead, the Elks drove down the field, led by a 43-yard pass to running back Josh Rankin. However, Fajardo was sacked for a third time on the following play, forcing Edmonton to settle for a short 12-yard field goal from kicker Vincent Blanchard.

Montreal’s ensuing offensive possession late in the first half was short-lived, as Bethel-Thompson’s pass intended for Charleston Rambo was intercepted by Elks’ defensive back Tyrell Ford. The 27-year-old promptly ran it 87 yards into the end zone for his first career touchdown, cutting Edmonton’s deficit to just two at halftime.

“The guys always believed,” said Kilam. “Tyrell Ford’s pick right before the half kind of jump-started the football team a little bit. We were kind of stalling out a little bit. That gave the team life. We went into the half feeling a lot more upbeat about what was going on.”

Evans quickly rewarded the trust of his coach on just his second offensive drive. The pivot led the Alouettes on a nine-play, 4 1/2-minute drive that would result in a 19-yard touchdown pass to Spieker.

Maltos Diaz’ attempt at the extra point failed, hitting the right post, forcing Montreal to settle for six points and a 19-11 lead.

The Elks benefited from a fumble by Alouettes wide receiver Tyler Snead to get their first offensive touchdown of the game. Fajardo connected with Julien-Grant for a short one-yard touchdown pass to once again cut the Elks’ deficit to two. Edmonton’s attempt to tie the game on a two-point conversion was unsuccessful, preserving the Alouettes’ narrow lead.

Despite another Maltos Diaz field goal, his third of the game, to push the lead to five, it would not be enough.

ANOTHER ALOUETTES INJURY

The Alouettes, already without Alexander, receivers Austin Mack and Tyson Philpot on offence, and Marc-Antoine Dequoy and Justin Lawrence on defence, among others, also lost their top running back in Sean Thomas-Erlington. The Montreal native was forced to leave the game after a violent collision with the Elks’ Kordell Jackson in the third quarter. He did not return due to an apparent upper-body injury.

Maas said Thomas-Erlington appeared fine in the locker room after the game. He added the injury is not season-ending and that he will be re-evaluated before the team’s next game.

UP NEXT

Elks: Host the Toronto Argonauts on Friday, Aug. 15.

Alouettes: Visit the B.C. Lions on Saturday, Aug. 16.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2025.