Tough guy Law emerges as an inspirational leader
Corey Mace wasn’t surprised.
Sure, Cordarro Law had been on the ground, writhing in serious pain, only a couple of minutes earlier.
When Law told his defensive line coach he was ready to go back in Saturday’s game against the Edmonton Eskimos, though, it was essentially what Mace expected.
Assuming Law was dealing with pain but hadn’t suffered serious injury, Mace knew his star defensive end would soon be back in the game.
“He’s a wily vet,” Mace said. “He’s going to tell you that the county where he comes from, all they do is tough, hard work. He’s been playing football for a long time, and those are guys where you get banged up, and you get back on the field. He made a great play, got hurt, took what he needed time-wise to reassess, and he got back out there and made plays.”
Yes he did.
Law finished Saturday’s 33-17 victory over the Stamps’ provincial rivals with four tackles and a sack, all of which came after he was forced to leave the game temporarily with a shoulder injury — other than the tackle on Eskimos receiver Greg Ellingson, where he actually got hurt.
The Stamps absolutely needed him, too. The other two defensive ends the Stamps dressed in Edmonton were Da’sean Downey and Anthony Johnson, both of whom joined the team well after training camp was over.
Law is the leader on the defensive line, and with seven sacks so far this season, is in the top five in the CFL.
Losing him to an injury would be a real blow for the Stamps. That’s why the second he realized his injury wasn’t too serious, he was right back on the field.
That’s just the way they build football players in Sumpter County, Ala.
“I’m from a small county called Sumpter County, and Mace hung out there a couple of times,”
Law said. “A couple of his older friends that played ball know Mace, so he knows where I’m from. He knows the grind. Where I come from is a tough place.”
Law admitted that he initially thought he had dislocated his shoulder while tackling Ellingson. After standing up and quickly regaining feeling and strength in his arm, though, he knew he’d be back in the game.
In the end, Law missed only one defensive play and was back on the field the next time the Eskimos gained possession and the Stamps needed a big stop.
On the very first play of that drive, it was Law who came up with the tackle, limiting Eskimos running back C.J. Gable to only one yard.
Again, that was no surprise to Mace.
“Law and I had the opportunity to play together, so I know him more than most coaches would know their players,” Mace said. “All I need is a thumbs-up, that’s good enough for me.”
It would be hard to overstate just how much of an impact Law has had on the Stamps this season, and it’s worth remembering that he’s had a rough go of things over the last couple of years.
He missed the entire 2017 season after suffering a broken leg in pre-season and was limited to only nine starts last year.
His toughness has never been in question, but it was reasonable to assume the Stampeders would have to be careful to keep him healthy this season.
That just hasn’t been the case, though. He was back on Tuesday morning, practising with his teammates.
“Everybody’s sore at this time of year, but I do think it’s nice to see the veteran guys showing up and working,” said Stamps head coach Dave Dickenson. “You know they’re not feeling that fresh. Eric (Rogers) is another guy. I never thought we’d get this many practices out of Eric.”