Cedric Scott played in just one Labour Day Classic with the Green and Gold, but that was all he needed to be immortalized in Battle of Alberta lore.
In fact, he didn’t even need an entire game. Just one play.
One iconic play.
Mere seconds remained in the annual clash between Calgary and Edmonton at McMahon Stadium on Sept. 5, 2005, when the Stampeders scored a touchdown to cut the Green and Gold’s lead to 25-23.
Needing a two-point convert to draw even, the Stamps lined up in the shotgun from Edmonton’s 10-yard-line, with Henry Burris taking the snap.
Almost immediately, the future Canadian Football Hall of Fame quarterback was in the crosshairs of charging Edmonton defenders. Burris tried in vain to outrun his pursuers but was quickly brought down by Scott.
Scott’s game-saving sack was a defining moment for a team that would go on to capture the 93rd Grey Cup. It’s a play so momentous that 17 years later, the former EE defensive lineman can recall it in vivid detail.
“I remember rushing on the guard, and I took a juke move and swiped the guard’s hands, and I guess Henry saw me out of his peripheral, so he started to scramble, and I’m thinking to myself, just accelerate, and jump, dive, do whatever you have to do to get him on the ground,” Scott says.
“I planted my foot and just started to accelerate, and I think my eyes were closed and I’m basically saying a prayer like, ‘Please let my hands trip him up.’ and that’s what happened; he fell on the ground and the game was over.”
Edmonton’s sideline erupted, as did the contingent of EE fans in the McMahon stands. Scott was mobbed by his teammates, who had watched their 25-1 third quarter lead all but disappear and knew they could not let Calgary get this game to overtime where the Stamps would have all the momentum.
“I remember Rashad Jeanty running up to me, jumping and hitting my helmet,” says Scott, who also had a fumble recovery in the game. “It was kind of surreal, but also the energy was crazy that the game ended that way. Guys went nuts.”
Their Labour Day triumph set the stage for the Green and Gold’s trip to McMahon Stadium 10 weeks later, when they defeated the Stampeders 33-26 in the West Division semi-final.
“It gave us a lot of confidence going into the playoffs, (that we could) beat them when we played them again,” Scott says.
No matter where, when or what, Edmonton kept coming up clutch in close games, beating the B.C. Lions 28-23 in the West final in Vancouver, then topping the Montreal Alouettes 38-25 in overtime of the Grey Cup.
That would prove to be the final game of Scott’s career. He earned a master’s degree in sports administration at the University of Southern Mississippi and began a career in coaching. He spent the last 10 years as assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars, before being promoted to head strength and conditioning coach by the NFL club in spring 2022.
While Scott is a more tenured members of the Jags’ staff, Jacksonville made a number of additions during the offseason. One such hire is the team’s new offensive quality control, a familiar face to Scott:
His old Labour Day acquaintance, Henry Burris.
“When he started working here, I reminded him of that play,” laughs Scott.
“It’s been brought up here a couple times in the last few months.”