The finish to Justin Cooper’s rookie season with the Edmonton Eskimos was bitter sweet.

Early in the Canadian Football League East Final it was more of a fairy tale, blocking a punt and returning it for a touchdown. But it turned to a nightmare as the Montreal Alouettes returned two kicks for touchdowns on his watch as a special teamer that ultimately decided the game.

“We had every opportunity to take that game, we just didn’t cash in,” said Cooper, as the Eskimos lost 36-26. “If you take those two returns out of the picture we win 26-24 . . . It could have been a different story, but shoulda, coulda, woulda you know.”

As much as he will stew over the loss, his touchdown will be a vivid long term memory.

“It was definitely the highlight of my year,” said the Red Deer native.

“We were lining up . . . and I remember (special teams) coach (Noel) Thorpe saying the upback might not block you, so make sure you get up field because you might be blocking this kick. When the ball was snapped I looked at the upback and he went and took Jordan Younger and left me completely free and I thought ‘Oh God I’m going to block this kick!’ I ran up the middle and I could have almost picked the ball right off his foot. I blocked it and kicked it in the end zone and jumped on it for a major. Which is pretty cool — my first touchdown in the CFL comes in the Eastern Final. As a defensive player you always dream of scoring a touchdown, but for it to happen in a big game like that, it’s something that’s pretty cool.”

He kept the ball and it is now in the process of being turned into a display piece along with his rookie jerseys and his helmet.

But that one game was his season in a nutshell — bursts of success met with frustration. Luckily for Cooper that frustration wasn’t about his on-field play. His frustration came as the trainer’s room became a second home to him.

“It was probably the season of greatest adversity for me,” he said. “I went into camp and I tore my right calf, then my kidneys shut down and that put me in the hospital for a couple of days, I got a concussion this year and I had some shoulder problems. But that stuff was pretty minor, I didn’t miss any games. But up until this point in my football career was the season where I had to deal with the most adversity.”

The kidney problem luckily turned out to just be dehydration in August as the temperatures soared and Cooper didn’t adjust his water intake enough.

“It was after practice and I went into a full body cramp and I needed my sister to take me to the hospital and they ended up keeping me there for a couple days,” said Cooper.

“They wound up using something like 20 litres of that IV fluid to replenish me. I was just real dehydrated. But as soon as you get that water back into you the kidney function remains the same and you feel good.”

It was that kind of dogged determination that made the coaching staff very big fans of his.

“They said I exceeded their expectations and had a very good season,” said Cooper. “I would say I was probably one of the better wedge busters in the league, if not the best. And then on the other side with the kick off, along with Mathieu Bertrand, we were the wedge and with Tristan Jackson as the return man he was probably the best return guy in the league, so we were probably doing something right up front for him. I had a pretty strong season, but that was due to guys like Mathieu Bertrand and coach Thorpe that really spent a lot of time with me and coaching me through the year.”

If Cooper continues along this path he should also see his role with the team grow from the special teams and a short-yardage units. His status as a Canadian only makes the Lindsay Thurber grad that much more valuable to the Eskimos.

“As a rookie coming in it’s tough to get a lot of time on defence, but I had a real good showing this year and I proved a lot of my abilities on special teams, so I think I instilled some faith in the coaches, so next year I am expecting to get more reps on the defensive line and contribute a little bit more that way.”

Cooper also sees bright things ahead for the Eskimos.

The Green and Gold emerged from two seasons of early off-seasons, to finishing a surprising 10-6 and becoming the first CFL West Division team to win the crossover game — a 29-21 win in Winnipeg on Nov. 8. They did this with a young lineup and under a mountain of pressure from media and fans, especially after losing their first game to Saskatchewan 34-13. But after righting the ship in their home opener with a 34-31 win over the Calgary Stampeders, the pieces started to fall into place as they worked their way to the East Final — a game they conceivably could have won as well.

“I think we have something like 13 to 17 guys all in their first year — this was a great experience for all of the first year guys to go all of the way through to the Eastern Final. We’ve now got two playoff games under our belt so we’ll know what it’s like when we are the playoffs again next year,” said Cooper. “With this experience we’re going to do alright next year and we’re going to make the Grey Cup push — don’t be surprised if you see us there.”

The season for Cooper has only been over for a week and he is already antsy — he started work at a new job on Thursday.

“I’m getting bored already and so I talked to my old boss at PCL Construction . . . so I will be working for them for a month or so,” said Cooper, who won a national championship with the University of Manitoba Bisons in 2007. “When I’m done that I’m going to move back to Winnipeg and continue my education.”

As for the big game on Sunday, Cooper doesn’t foresee the Grey Cup making the trip back west just yet.

“I think Calgary is the more talented team, but with Montreal they have home field advantage, they have a little more leadership with Anthony Calvillo and guys like (Ben) Cahoon,” said Cooper. “Calgary is a very talented team, but I’m going with Montreal — 27-24.”

Contact Josh Aldrich at

jaldrich@reddeeradvocate.com