The Calgary Stampeders clinched top spot in the West Division and a bye into the West final on Nov. 17 with a 29-25 comeback victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders at McMahon Stadium on Saturday.

“It was a very physical game,” said Stampeders head coach and general manager John Hufnagel. “Both teams came ready to play. Fortunately, we were able to hold things together after a turnover-(plagued) first half. Our defence played outstanding all game long and kept us in the game.”

Jon Cornish’s three-yard touchdown run with 1:48 remaining in the game was the difference in the contest as the Stamps extended their winning streak to five games and improved to 14-3 on the season, the Red and White’s best record since 1995 when Calgary finished 15-3.

Cornish finished the night with 109 yards rushing as he broke the 100-yard mark for a fifth straight game, tying Willie Burden’s franchise record. He also broke Burden’s 38-year-old record for most yards from scrimmage in a season. Cornish now stands at 2,143 yards from scrimmage for the reason.

In the rushing department, Cornish now has 1,799 yards and a 201-yard lead over Saskatchewan’s Kory Sheets for the league lead. Sheets was held to 42 yards by the Calgary defence on Saturday.

In other notable milestones during the game:

• Marquay McDaniel had five catches for 82 yards to pass the 1,000-yard mark for the season. It’s the first time he has reached that milestone
• Rene Paredes was three-for-three in field and a pair of converts for a total of 11 points, making him the third Stamps player to reach 200 points in a season
• Charleston Hughes recorded three of Calgary’s seven sacks to take sole possession of the league lead in that category. He’s one sack shy of Harold Hallman’s single-season record
• Jeff Fuller, playing his second CFL contest, had 113 receiving yards

In a see-saw affair, the Stamps overcame a turnover-plagued first half and a 15-10 halftime deficit to take a 22-18 lead thanks to a one-yard touchdown run by Drew Tate and a pair of Paredes field goals.

The Roughriders retook the lead with 4:52 to go when Darian Durant connected with Taj Smith on a 28-yard touchdown pass.

That set the stage for Cornish’s late game-winning score.

Calgary’s other major came on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Glenn to Anthony Parker while the visitors got a one-yard Durant touchdown run and four Chris Milo field goals.

Tate came on in relief on Glenn in the second half and threw for 181 yards.

“We were having a little bit of a problem with our offensive line,” explained Hufnagel when asked about the switch. “I had guys who weren’t 100 per cent healthy after the first couple of series and we wanted more mobility at (the quarterback) position.”

“Just the opportunity to be accountable to my teammates meant the world to me,” said Tate. “Let’s just take this on to next week and just keep moving forward and getting better.”

Besides Hughes’ three sacks, Cordarro Law got to Durant twice while Keon Raymond and Juwan Simpson had one sack apiece.

Calgary will wrap up the regular season on Friday, Nov. 1 with a visit to the BC Lions.