St. Thomas More Collegiate grad Jon Cornish had a career night rushing to lead the first-place Calgary Stampeders to a 38-11 win over Winnipeg.
The former B.C. high school player of the year rushed for a personal-best 208 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns, including a 50-yard TD run up the middle that gave the Western Division leaders an early 10-0 advantage over the Blue Bombers in a CFL matchup last Saturday.
The feat garnered the New Westminster product the league’s offensive player of the week for a second time this season. He also earned the top Canadian player of the week award for a fourth time.
Cornish is the first Stampeder running back to rush for more than 200 yards in a single game since Willie Burden back in 1975. It was also the sixth-best rushing total in Stampeders’ history.
The second-year starter has recorded six 100-yard games this season and has seven games of 150 yards or more in his seven-year pro career.
In Saturday’s win, Cornish scored a second major in the opening half from seven yards out.
Cornish had 113 yards in the first half of play and finished the day, averaging more than 12 yards per carry. He also caught two passes for 24 total yards.
Cornish, a non-import, currently leads the CFL in rushing with 1,415 total yards.
Second-year pro Kory Sheets of Saskatchewan is second overall with 1,302 yards.
Cornish is just 43 yards away from breaking his own record for most rushing yards in a season by a Canadian.
Last year, Cornish led the league in rushing in his first season as a starting running back, setting a new CFL season rushing record for a non-import with 1,457 yards, breaking Normie Kwong’s 56-year-old mark.
The University of Kansas grad was also named the CFL’s top offensive player in week 7 and the top Canadian player on three other occasions.
It is the 18th time Cornish has won the weekly top Canadian award in his career.
He was also named Canadian player of the month in both July and September.
In 2012, Cornish was named the league’s top Canadian and was also the runner-up for the most outstanding player in the CFL.
Twitter @ThomasBerridge
