Eagles celebrate 5-year anniversary of FCS championship
Time has moved oh-so-swiftly this year for J.C. Sherritt, who appreciated the chance to freeze it in place.
The occasion was the five-year anniversary of Eastern Washington University’s proudest athletic moment, when the Eagles won the Football Championship Subdivision title.
Sherritt and about 150 others relived the moment Thursday at Northern Quest Resort & Casino, where the championship trophy glistened on a table while players and fans reminisced. Bear hugs and high-fives were as loud and heartfelt as they were on Jan. 7, 2011, in Frisco, Texas.
“I can’t believe it’s been five years,” said Sherritt, who also appreciates the hard work that goes into winning it all – at any level. Sherritt earned a state title at Pullman in 2005, the FCS championship in 2010 and the Grey Cup this past season with Edmonton of the Canadian Football League.
“This kind of thing doesn’t come around every year,” said Sherritt, who was the keynote speaker in an event that doubled as the weekly meeting of the West Plains Chamber of Commerce.
Sherritt said his favorite memory after EWU’s 20-19 win over Delaware wasn’t the trophy celebration; instead it was the sight of dozens of former players walking down to join the party.
“They were running down with smiles on their faces, and you realized how big of a moment it was for the program as a whole,” Sherritt said.
Ironically, Sherritt was the only member of the 2010 squad who was able to attend Thursday’s event, though he and several other teammates planned to meet later on Thursday. Likewise, coaches were on the recruiting trail.
Other players in attendance were All-Americans Matt Nicholls and Greg Peach, who predated the championship but did much to make it happen.
Peach, a 2009 EWU graduate who’s now a defensive end with Winnipeg of the CFL, recalled the moment as a turning point for the program.
“Just looking back on the years after I left, we’ve become accustomed to where you expect to win. It used to be that the Montana schools were the ones to beat. Now it’s Eastern.”
Those who couldn’t attend still felt the moment. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell was honeymooning in Florida, but found time to connect via social media.
“Five years ago today!” Tweeted Mitchell, who also sent photos.
Taiwan Jones, now a running back with the Oakland Raiders, recalled the hard journey that that began his freshman year. Injured late in the 2010 season and unable to play in the title game, he said Thursday that “It was a sweet journey that paid off in the end.”
The victory was felt beyond the football field, said Steve Emtman, a Cheney native and former All-American himself at Washington, but now a West Plains developer.
“It’s been fantastic,” said Emtman, who compared the impact of EWU’s football success to that of basketball at Gonzaga. “In the last five or six years athletics has helped change the dynamics of Cheney … and it’s helped turn Eastern into less of a commuter campus and more of a true university feel.”