Football games rarely turn into one-man kicking exhibitions, but Vincent Blanchard just rewrote the record books in a wildest-night-possible fashion. If you missed the Edmonton Elks pulling off a chaotic 37-35 overtime win against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, you missed a masterclass in how to win ugly.
Edmonton didn't blow Hamilton out of the water early, even though the Ticats sit at 4-11 and got officially eliminated from the playoff picture with the loss. Instead, the West Division-leading Elks had to rely almost entirely on their kicker's right foot just to stay alive. Blanchard nailed a mind-boggling nine field goals, breaking a CFL record that stood as one of the toughest milestones in Canadian football history.
The Kicking Clinic That Saved Edmonton
Let's be real. When your offense stalls out inside the red zone repeatedly, you usually lose. Cody Fajardo did what he could, throwing for 298 yards and punching in a rushing touchdown, but the story of this matchup lived entirely on special teams.
Blanchard started early and just refused to stop. He hit from 40 yards, 37 yards, 22 yards, 54 yards, 25 yards, and 40 yards before the fourth quarter even settled down. When the pressure cranked up in the dying seconds of regulation, he calmly slotted a 27-yarder with three ticks left on the clock to force extra time at 26-26.
Tying a record wasn't enough. In overtime, Blanchard drilled an 37-pointer to match the old all-time mark of eight, then came back out to nail a 35-yarder that officially broke the CFL record. Sean Fleming's old Edmonton mark of seven field goals in a game looks quaint now.
How Hamilton Let It Slip Away
You have to feel a bit for the Tiger-Cats. They played with zero fear despite being completely out of the postseason picture. Harrison Frost put up 214 passing yards with two touchdowns, finding Kurleigh Gittens Jr. and Tyler Ternowski for crucial scores. Larry Rountree III chewed up 91 yards on the ground, including a brilliant 39-yard house call in the first quarter that showed off his raw power.
Hamilton even had the lead late. Reggie Stubblefield intercepted Fajardo at the Edmonton 33-yard line, setting up a Marc Liegghio field goal that put the Ticats ahead. But they couldn't close the door. In the extra sessions, Hamilton stalled out at the three-yard line and had to settle for a short field goal, opening the door for the Elks' two-point shootout heroics.
Joshua Cephus slammed the door shut by hauling in a three-yard pass in the end zone during the final two-point shootout, giving Edmonton their fifth win in six games and moving their record to 11-4.
What This Means Moving Forward
The Elks head into a well-earned bye week before traveling straight to Hamilton for a quick rematch on October 9. They survived a massive scare against a desperate opponent. Good teams find ways to win when their offense isn't firing on all cylinders, but head coach and staff know they can't rely on a nine-field-goal masterclass every single week.
Check your special teams depth charts before the rematch. If Hamilton wants revenge in a couple of weeks, they'll need to clean up their red-zone defense and figure out how to stop giving away cheap points.
