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EDMONTON — The Edmonton Elks were at the Montreal Alouettes’ four-yard line, clinging to a one-point lead and had the momentum of a highlight-reel worthy reception behind them.
You could almost hear the soft piano notes in Semisonic’s Closing Time playing at Commonwealth Stadium. All that stood between the Elks and their first at-home win of the season was four yards and possibly one play to put things away.
“We knew we had to make a play on defence,” Tyrice Beverette told TSN’s Ryan Rishaug, still huffing and puffing from what had transpired on the field.
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When Adarius Pickett deflected Cornelius’ pass, Beverette was there for the catch and 100-yard touchdown run. You could feel the air being sucked out of Commonwealth Stadium as Beverette made the game-changing run to the end zone. Trevor Harris ran in a two-point convert immediately after, putting the pieces in place for the Als’ 25-18 win.
“It didn’t feel like we were on the field at all in the second half,” Als quarterback Trevor Harris told Rishaug.
“First half I thought we moved the ball really well, we did a great job. In the second half they got a decent pass rush on us but our defence really stepped up and made plays and changed the trajectory of the game.”
The Alouettes got two more big defensive plays before they improved to 7-7 on the season. A goal line stand after the pick-six and two-point convert preserved their lead and a Micah Awe interception near the final minute of play ensured the team would hit the .500 mark. The Als have won three in a row and five of their last six.
“It’s a total team effort,” Beverette said. “All of our games came down to the wire and we started to believe. That’s all that matters. Even when we’re down we’re never giving up and we’re believing.”
“We believe in us, make no mistake about it,” Harris said.
“When we were 2-6 we kind of said, ‘Hey, we won’t let anybody else on the ship when things are starting to go well. But we believe in us and we always have.”
With their win, the Als now have a six-point lead on the idle Hamilton Tiger-Cats, strengthening their hold on second place in the East Division.