Dave Trimmer

Every little boy dreams about being a cowboy, and the Gray brothers were no different – except they never grew out of it. Now one of them is near the pinnacle of the sport.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The offense was magnificent for more than three quarters, the defense for one and once again Eastern Washington's trip to the I-AA football playoffs ended in heartbreak. The 15th-ranked Eagles gave up 17 points in the fourth quarter to lose 41-38 to No. 7 Northern Iowa before 7,746 frenzied fans at the UNI Dome Saturday night.

The smile on Jake Young's face and the twinkle in his eyes weren't always there. Certainly not during all the time he spent building himself up to be a college football player and certainly not when injuries slowed his progress. And probably not last Saturday afternoon when he was wiping all the disappointments away.

UC Davis, trailing Eastern Washington 7-0, was driving at midfield with 6:30 left in the first quarter when the Eagles clinched a berth in the I-AA football playoffs Saturday afternoon. That's when the clock ran out on No. 22 Montana State's 16-6 win over No. 3 Montana in Bozeman.

Paul Wulff believes Eastern Washington has built a house in the high-rent district of I-AA football, but he gets a little melancholy when he thinks about this year's seniors that helped with the construction. "The impact these guys have had, they've seen so many things change," the sixth-year head coach said. "They've seen the program turn around from the facilities, to becoming a high-level program. We feel now we'll have a Top 25 program year-in and year-out. They brought that foundation to the program, they were kind of the bottom of the house. Now it's up to the other guys to keep that house going."