Tyree Toliver has been defensive terror in helping lead Baylor's surge

Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 10/2/15. Baylor School's Tyree Toliver (4) puts the pressure on McCallie School quarterback Robert Riddle (14) during the first half of play at the Red Raider's home field on October 2, 2015.
Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 10/2/15. Baylor School's Tyree Toliver (4) puts the pressure on McCallie School quarterback Robert Riddle (14) during the first half of play at the Red Raider's home field on October 2, 2015.
photo Tyree Toliver plays for Baylor.

A season that began with so much promise had begun to spiral downward when Baylor School football coach Phil Massey, recognizing his team had reached a crossroads, decided to appeal to the only people he knew could change its course.

Mired in the disappointment of having lost four of five games, and with only one regular-season game remaining before the playoffs began, the veteran coach called his seniors together to deliver a message that appears to have resonated.

"I challenged them," Massey said. "We were all disappointed with how things had gone, so I told them we can't change the past or what had happened up to that moment, but we still had a lot of the season left to write the script for how it ends.

"We could've gone one of two directions from that point. They chose to go to work, and that mentality has made us a different team than we were then."

Among those seniors who took Massey's challenge to heart was defensive end Tyree Toliver, who has helped the resurgent Red Raiders win their regular-season finale and two road playoff games.

Toliver, who recently was voted Division II-AA co-defensive player of the year, leads Baylor in tackles (94), tackles for loss (14) and sacks (7). He also has one of the defensive line's three interceptions this year and has been all but unblockable in the first two playoff games.

"He's the rock for us," Massey praised. "He doesn't say a whole lot, but everybody knows when the lights are on he's going to be ready, and they kind of follow that lead.

"What separates him is his explosiveness. It's really tough for offensive linemen to get their hands on him, and even when they do he's really strong and can move them out of the way and keep going. He has done a great job setting the tone for us on that side."

Toliver also has played some this season at fullback, where coaches hope his blend of power (he power-cleans and bench-presses more than 325 pounds) and speed (his electronic 40-yard-dash time of 4.76 seconds is second-fastest on the team) will make him as much a threat on offense as he has been on defense.

Baylor began its postseason by avenging a regular-season loss to Pope John Paul II, and that was followed last week with a trip to the southwestern corner of the state and an upset win over top-ranked and previously unbeaten Memphis University School.

After losing all three road games during the regular season, Baylor is in tonight's semifinals with a chance to avenge another regular-season loss at perennial power Brentwood Academy.

"It takes a lot more focus to go on the road and win," said the 6-foot, 225-pound Toliver, who transferred to Baylor from McMinn County prior to his junior year. "Coaches always preach effort to us, and that's something we know we can control in the game.

"We've taken on the underdog role and like going out and proving that image wrong. We're not going to let what other people think we are dictate what kind of team we actually are. It's like Coach said, none of us liked what happened earlier in the season so we came out of that meeting with an unspoken agreement that we didn't want what had happened to happen again."

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis

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