Elijah Kimble '27 is the winner of the 53rd William R. Connolly Memorial Cup, awarded to the most outstanding high school football player in Western New York.
 
Kimble, who became the all-time leading rusher in the Monsignor Martin Athletic Association this past season and has scholarship offers from college football's top programs, is the first player from Canisius High School to win the award.

He the first junior to be a three-time finalist and joins a short list of juniors who have won the Connolly Cup.
 

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In recent weeks, Kimble announced his top 10 college choices from among 37 Division I scholarship offers: Miami, Washington, Indiana, Tennessee, Kansas, Florida, Maryland, Ohio State, Michigan and Syracuse. He also received offers from Georgia, Penn State, Notre Dame and Oregon (which was his first offer, midway through his freshman season).

This season, the 5-foot-10, 185-pound running back set the Canisius all-time rushing record (surpassing Qadree Ollison '14) before going on to become the top rusher in the 77-year history of the Monsignor Martin league.

He ran for 1,726 yards and 23 touchdowns this year, giving him 5,325 yards and 77 TDs for his career. He currently is No. 4 on Western New York's all-time rushing list and No. 6 on the all-time touchdowns list; 2002 Connolly Cup winner Jehuu Caulcrick of Clymer is first in both categories (6,559 yards, 101 TDs).

As a sophomore, Kimble ran for 1,778 yards and scored 32 touchdowns to help lead Canisius to a 9-3 record, the 2024 Monsignor Martin Athletic Association championship and The Buffalo News Large School Poll Championship. 
  
Kimble was just the second freshman to be a finalist in the history of the award (Caulcrick was the other) after a season in which he ran for 1,821 yards and scored 21 touchdowns.
 

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There were 20 previous Canisius finalists for the Connolly Cup, which has been awarded since its founding by the Riverside Athletic Club in 1972.
 
The entire list of CHS finalists for the Connolly Cup:
 
QB Joe Bremer 1972
RB Bill Koessler 1973
DB Phil McConkey 1974
QB Mark Butler 1975
RB Tom Fitzpatrick 1976, 1977
REC Carl Chase 1978
RB Smith Morris 1980
LB Pete Simonian 1993
QB Sean Brady 2008
QB Travis Eman 2010
RB Qadree Ollison 2012, 2013
RB Mitch Thomas 2014
RB Cole Burniston 2015
QB Jayce Johnson 2017
LB CJ Ozolins 2019
QB Tyler Baker 2021
RB Eli Kimble 2023, 2024, 2025

Students and families interested in CHS Football and the excellence only found in a Jesuit education at Canisius – ranked as the Buffalo area's "Best Catholic School" by Niche.com – can learn more by scheduling an on-campus experience at cansiushigh.org/visit

This place is special. Let us show you why.

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