CFL PRESEASON: STAMPEDERS 29 ELKS 24

CALGARY – Smoke, rain, thunder and lightning wreaked havoc on the CFL’s pre-season opener at McMahon Stadium on Monday.

Following two separate delays – one due to poor air quality from area wildfires and the other because of a lightning storm – the Calgary Stampeders eventually emerged with a 29-24 win over the Edmonton Elks.

“It was just a weird day,” said Calgary coach Dave Dickenson. “It started off with some smoke and are we delaying this and that … And then here comes the storm. We were lucky. We were in (the dressing room) at half. Sometimes I think it’s good for these guys – something different, something you can’t control and how you’re going to react.

“It was a bit of a sloppy game, I thought. Ultimately, a lot of things we can coach and improve upon and I still like the win. Ultimately, it still worked out fine.”

Auditioning for a job as Calgary’s second- or third-string quarterback behind starter Jake Maier, Logan Bonner threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Luther Hakunavanhu to start the fourth quarter.

“I was just taking what they gave me and just doing my job,” said Bonner, who admitted to taking a quick nap during the lengthy halftime break due to lightning strikes in the Calgary area.

“The safety kind of got back and saw the out and the corner was kind of sitting on it and Luther was running by ’em. I just tried to give him a nice easy ball and a good angle in and it was a touchdown.”

Bonner then engineered a seven-play, 70-yard drive that was capped off when Ryth-Jean Giraud ran across the goal line for an eight-yard TD.

“He looked good,” said Dickenson of Bonner. “He sat back for about four hours and then he finally got his chance. I thought (quarterback) Chris (Reynolds) did good, too. I was a little more disappointed with our starting group. I didn’t think we did anything special at all. In fact, I thought they basically took it to us early.

“Vets, the young guys are coming, so you’ve got to compete and you’ve got to go out there and show.”

Clarke Barnes and Hakunavanhu caught touchdown passes for the Stamps, while Rene Paredes and Campbell Fair each kicked one field goal.

Maurice Ffrench and Gavin Cobb had receiving touchdowns for the Elks, while Dean Faithfull kicked three field goals and a single.

UP NEXT

The Elks will host the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Saturday in pre-season action, while the Stampeders will visit Vancouver on June 1 to play the B.C. Lions.

(Canadian Press)