BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Elijah Kimble now has an illustrious trophy to add to his mantle of accolades, achievements and major college scholarship offers. Kimble was awarded the 53rd Connolly Cup on Tuesday night, becoming the first Canisius Crusader to be recognized as the most outstanding high school football player in Western New York. “I’m […]
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Elijah Kimble now has an illustrious trophy to add to his mantle of accolades, achievements and major college scholarship offers.
Kimble was awarded the 53rd Connolly Cup on Tuesday night, becoming the first Canisius Crusader to be recognized as the most outstanding high school football player in Western New York.
“I’m just feeling super blessed,” said Kimble, whose voice quivered with emotion as he accepted the award during the Connolly Cup banquet at Ilio DiPaolo’s Restaurant in Blasdell. “My heart started beating when he was about to announce the name, and once he announced it I just felt a crazy amount of gratitude.”
“Thinking about how far I’ve come,” Kimble continued, “everything I’ve been through to get here, the hard times, the long nights thinking if I wanted to keep playing football, thinking if this was really for me. It all just started racing back and I just felt gratitude.”
The junior running back gained 1,898 yards from scrimmage and scored 24 touchdowns for Canisius. He averaged 157 yards rushing per game and 9 yards per carry for a Crusaders team that finished the season ranked No. 9 in New York State’s largest classification (AA) against a challenging schedule.
“He’s a terrific player of course, and he’s a terrific kid,” Canisius coach Kraig Kurzanski said. “He just keeps backing up everything he does. This is three straight years. It’s not a one-time thing. We play great competition in Ohio, Pennsylvania and here. He validates our program every time he takes the field.”
Kimble was chosen among a group of nominees that also included: Jamestown running back Chase Bonta, St. Francis quarterback Trent Buttles, Newfane quarterback Mac Capen, St. Francis running back Tyrone Clark Jr., McKinley quarterback Kalaugn Ford, Iroquois quarterback Justus Kleitz, Health Sciences running back Kaivohn Pitts, Bennett running back Jimmy Valentine and Eden quarterback Brady Waring.
As the first player nominated for the Connolly Cup in each of his first three seasons, Kimble is the fifth junior in 30 years to receive the award and will have a chance next season to become the first repeat winner in history.
With 5,325 yards rushing in three years, Kimble is the Monsignor Martin league’s all-time leader and ranks fourth on WNY’s career list. Kimble is 1,234 yards away from 2002 Connolly Cup winner Jehuu Caulcrick’s area record, and he needs 1,675 yards to become the sixth player in state history to rush for 7,000 in a career.
While running through the local record books, Kimble has become one of the city’s most touted football recruits. He received his first scholarship offer from Oregon early in his freshman season and more than 25 top programs have followed suit.
Rated as a four-star prospect, Kimble recently stated the 10 colleges he is still considering, which includes the past two national champions and the current No. 1 team in the country: Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana, Miami, Florida, Washington, Tennessee, Kansas and Syracuse.
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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter.The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette.Read more of his work here.
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Category: General Sports
