By Canadian Press

Rankin rushes for three touchdowns to power Elks to 47-22 road win over Ticats

Aug 17, 2024 | 7:50 PM

HAMILTON — Justin Rankin ran for 108 yards and three touchdowns to power the Edmonton Elks past the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 47-22 on Saturday night.

Edmonton (3-7) won its third straight at Tim Hortons Field and third game overall. The Elks last earned three consecutive victories in 2019.

Edmonton’s defence also forced four turnovers (two interceptions, two fumble recoveries) that set up three touchdowns.

The Ticats (2-8) suffered a third straight loss before a Tim Hortons Field gathering of 20,092, many of whom left at halftime. They also fell to 1-4 at home.

Rankin, who had 17 carries, scored his third TD of the game from three yards out at 6:52 of the fourth to give Edmonton a 39-16 advantage.

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Edmonton’s McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 15-of-23 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns.

Veteran Bo Levi Mitchell was 23-of-34 passing for 294 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions before giving way to Harrison Frost in the fourth.

Frost connected with Shemar Bridges on a 12-yard touchdown pass at 13:34 to cut Edmonton’s lead to 39-22 as the two-point convert was unsuccessful.

Edmonton then countered with Kurleigh Gittens Jr.’s six-yard touchdown catch at 13:45 before Boris Bede’s 85-yard kickoff single three seconds later rounded out the scoring.

Mitchell relieved starter Taylor Powell, who completed two-of-three passes for 20 yards before going to hospital as a precaution with a head injury following a rushing play. Hamilton receiver Luther Hakunavanhu left in an ambulance with a head injury sustained on the game’s opening play.

Javon Leake and Dillon Mitchell had Edmonton’s other touchdowns. Bede added six converts, a field goal and a single.

Greg Bell scored both of Hamilton’s touchdowns while rushing for 74 yards and adding five catches for 84 yards. Marc Liegghio kicked a field goal and convert.

Bell’s two-yard TD run at 4:53 of the third cut Hamilton’s deficit to 32-9 as the two-point convert was unsuccessful. Bell added a seven-yard touchdown catch to end the quarter to pull the Ticats to within 32-16.

Bede’s 32-yard field goal at 14:36 of the second staked Edmonton to a commanding 32-3 halftime lead as the Elks converted three Hamilton turnovers into touchdowns.

Bethel-Thompson found Mitchell on an 11-yard TD strike at 12:55. It was set up by rookie Joel Dublanko’s recovery of Jonathan Moxey’s punt-return fumble at Hamilton’s 11-yard line.

Liegghio’s 32-yard field goal at 8:07 cut Hamilton’s deficit to 14-3. But Rankin’s two-yard run at 9:00, then Bede’s 90-yard kickoff single with the wind 22 seconds later, gave Edmonton a 22-3 advantage.

Leake capped a 13-play, 106-yard drive with a three-yard TD run at 1:53 following Derrick Moncrief’s interception. The Elks set up for a 13-yard field goal try but a Hamilton offside penalty gave them a first down at the Ticats’ three-yard line.

Edmonton controlled the first, holding the ball for nine minutes 43 seconds going into the wind. Rankin opened the scoring with a four-yard TD run at 5:03 following the ominous start to the game.

After catching a Powell pass, Hakunavanhu fumbled upon being tackled with Edmonton’s Darrius Bratton recovering. But the Hamilton receiver remained motionless while medical personnel treated him before the ambulance arrived.

The Ticats said Hakunavanhu was conscious when he left the field and had full movement in his extremities. He was taken to hospital for further evaluation and play resumed following a 38-minute delay as a second ambulance was summoned.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2024.

Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press