A champion realized

There are dreams too lofty to dare dream. When they happen they aren’t exactly a dream come true.

So when East Valley graduate Tyler Jolley stood in the middle of the football field in Frisco, Texas, last week, celebrating Eastern Washington University’s 20-19 victory over Delaware to win the NCAA FCS national championship, it was a dream surpassed.

“I never dreamed that I would win a national championship, be part of a national championship team,” the defensive tackle explained. “It was too much to hope for.”

National championships simply haven’t been part of the EWU lexicon, he said.

“Here, we dreamed about Big Sky Conference championships,” he said. “My first year here we were 3-8 and we lost games we should have won. National championships were just too much to think about.”

That used to be the case, anyway. With a national championship trophy now at home in Cheney, such dreams no longer are beyond reason. It’s a proud legacy, Jolley said.

“I’m excited for the guys who will be back next year,” he said. “I wish I could come back and play with them. I know the program is in great hands.”

Just as the program was in great hands with this season’s senior class – one that included the Buck Buchanan Award winner in linebacker J.C. Sherritt and Jolley, one of the team’s most experienced defensive players, at nose tackle.

“I’m so proud to be part of this class,” Jolley said. “We can be proud of what we accomplished.”

Still, it’s an accomplishment that, he says, hasn’t completely sunk in just yet.

That’s understandable, considering Jolley didn’t allow himself to think about it ahead of time.

“We did not play well against Montana State and it showed,” he said. “But after that we just kept our focus on each game. We didn’t look ahead. We just tried to concentrate on making the next play.

“That’s a big part of how coach (Beau) Baldwin teaches us to play the game.”

The focus held through the final seven games of the regular season as the team rose in the rankings and prepared to tackle the NCAA tournament. It held as the Eagles won three straight playoff games on the new red turf of their home field – wins over Southwest Missouri State, North Dakota State and Villanova, the last on national television.

One play at a time certainly worked. It carried EWU when it was behind in games and helped the team mount comeback after comeback – even when they trailed 12-0 at halftime of the national championship game.

So when, exactly, did Jolley realize that a national championship ring was in his future?

“Not until we were driving for that go-ahead touchdown,” he laughed. “That’s when it occurred to me that we really could win the national championship – that it really could happen.”

Even then, there wasn’t much time to savor the possibility. Reality intruded itself.

Jolley and his defensive teammates had to make one final stop of the Blue Hens to preserve the victory.

“I think (quarterback) Bo Levi (Mitchell) put it best,” Jolley said. “We wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Our defense has always come up with the big stop when we really needed it.”

When the seconds finally ticked off the game clock in Frisco, and the Eagles had the school’s first national championship, it was an emotional moment.

“I’ve never felt anything like it,” he said. “I still can’t really put it into words, but it’s a feeling that I am going to remember for the rest of my life.”

There are memories Jolley said he will carry with him as well.

For one, his father and brothers were able to make the trip to cheer him on.

“I’m so glad they could be there to see the game,” he said. “It was tough to do, and it was expensive to do since it was a last-minute thing. I’m glad my dad could see it.”

And there, too, were so many former teammates. Their well-wishes and pride in the school’s accomplish is another treasure Jolley says he will carry with him for the rest of his life.

“I saw so many alums while we were there,” he said. “I saw a lot of guys that I’d played with who never got the chance to play in a game like that, who never got the chance to play for a national championship. In a way, we were playing for them, too.”

And then there’s the ring.

“I don’t know when we’re getting our rings, but I can’t wait,” he said. “I’m going to put that ring on and I may never take it off.”