September 14, 2012

Stamp Down: Cornish, Glenn lead rout of Bombers

THE CANADIAN PRESS

CFL.ca Staff

CALGARY — Jon Cornish ran for two touchdowns, while Rob Cote scored from 26 yards out on a fake field goal as the Stamps scored early and often, routing the Bombers 44-3 on Friday night at McMahon Stadium.

Kevin Glenn finished with 298 yards and a touchdown on 17-23 passing, leading the Stamps to their fourth straight win and a temporary share for top spot in the West Division. Cornish added 53 yards on 15 carries, including touchdown runs of three yards, and 18 yards in the second quarter.

Nik Lewis, meanwhile, had seven receptions for 131 yards, moving him into 15th in all-time receiving yards, as he eclipsed the 10,000 receiving yard plateau.

Calgary started fast and furious out of the gate, first getting a two-and-out from their defence before opening the next series with a 52-yard reception for Lewis.

Glenn quickly hit Lewis in stride, and the veteran receiver powered his way through defenders along the sideline and found open field to move the Stamps well into field goal range.

Related: Bombers at Stampeders
Nik Lewis

» Recap: CGY 44, WPG 3
» View Game Stats
» Images: WPG at CGY
» Video: Cornish’s 18-yard TD run
» Video: Cote 26-yard fake FG TD
» Video: Forzani’s 35-yard TD grab
» Video: Nik Lewis highlights
» View Updated CFL Standings
» Preview: Surging Stamps meet Bombers

The Bombers defence appeared to hold for a field goal attempt, but on what would’ve been a 33-yard attempt from Rene Paredes, the Stamps had a little trickery up their sleeves instead.

Cote lined up as a tight end and got the ball off the snap on a quick shovel pass from Bo Levi Mitchell,finding room outside and bolting into the end zone from 26 yards out to give the Stamps a 7-0 lead on their first drive of the game.

Things weren’t looking up for the Bombers on the second drive, when Charleston Hughes broke through the line to sack Joey Elliott for his sixth take-down of the season, putting him first in the league among defensive ends in that category.

Later in the quarter, the Stamps would extend the lead to 9-0 after pinning the Bombers deep and eventually forcing punter Mike Renaud to take a knee and give up two points.

The Bombers finished the first quarter with minus-three yards on offence, continuing their struggles in the game’s opening frame this season.

Just as Elliott seemed to be getting things moving in the second quarter, he took a shot for the end zone on second and long from just inside of Stampeders territory, but the ball found the hands of defensive back Keon Raymond.

That marked the game’s first turnover, and from there the Bombers defence continued to buckle down and keep the score close. But despite some movement on offence, they couldn’t get deep enough into Stamps territory to threaten for points.

The Stamps would take advantage midway through the second quarter, when the drive started with a Lewis 17-yard catch over the middle to get the offence up to midfield.

The grab put Lewis over the 10,000 career receiving yard plateau, making him just the 16th player to do so.

A roughing the passer call soon followed, and after an ensuing completion to Lewis, Cornish would do the rest on an 18-yard scamper up the middle to put the Stamps ahead 17-0. That capped off a seven-play, 72-yard drive for the Stamps, their most impressive drive of the first half.

After a 35-yard field goal from Paredes, Cornish would score his second touchdown of the night with half a minute left in the second quarter on a three-yard touchdown run, making it 27-0 for the Stamps heading into the break.

Late in the half, the Bombers switched to third-year quarterback Alex Brink, who will be expected to handle the Winnipeg offence to start the second half.

Elliott finished with with five completions on just eight attempts, but had only 26 yards and threw one interception.

In the second half, the Bombers found some momentum right away with a quick two-and-out on Glenn and the Stamps. With Brink in the fold, the offence moved quickly into Stamps territory thanks to a quick first down and then a 28-yard run from Chad Simpson.

But after getting down to the five, Brink fired two incompletions, forcing Justin Palardy onto the field to score his team’s first points of the game on an 11-yard field goal.

The Stamps responded, taking any wind out of the Bombers’ sails with a long, efficient drive of their own, setting up a 17-yard boot from Parades as the teams exchanged field goals to open up the first 12 minutes of the half.

Glenn would do more damage in the fourth quarter, when Johnny Forzani fought through a double-team to make an exceptional grab from 35 yards out, giving him his second touchdown of the season and rubbing salt in the Bombers’ wounds with the score suddenly at 37-3.

With Mitchell in the game and the Stamps running down the clock on their way to a fourth straight win, LaMarcus Coker would add one more highlight, burning the Bombers defence for an impressive 53-yard touchdown run.

That would round out the scoring, as the Stamps fired on all cylinders to improve to 7-4 in front of an excited McMahon Stadium crowd.

The Bombers, meanwhile, dropped their fourth straight game, as recently-hired Head Coach Tim Burke’s record falls to 0-3 this season. The Bombers visit the Ticats next week, as they look for just their third win of the season.

Next Week for Calgary: The Stamps are back on the road, as they look to tackle Kory Sheets and the Riders for the third time this season.  BUY TICKETS.

Next Week for Winnipeg: The Bombers return to Canad Inns Stadium for a date with Chris Williams and East Division rival Hamilton.  BUY TICKETS.