National Championship Pre-Game Coverage
Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 7:59 am
Courtesy of Chattanoogamocs
Friday Articles...
City has final title chance to shine
A perennial contender for the Football Championship Subdivision national title, University of Montana football coach Bobby Hauck sets a simple goal before each season.
“We expect to win and compete for championships,” said Mr. Hauck, who has his Grizzlies in town for tonight’s NCAA title game against Villanova at Finley Stadium. “But we don’t talk a whole lot about that once the season starts.
“We always talk about getting to Chattanooga.”
The Road to Chattanooga — the familiar refrain embraced by each of the Football Championship Subdivision programs hoping to navigate the playoffs to the title game — could split. Tonight will mark the 13th consecutive year a football champion has been crowned at Finley, but this is the final guaranteed game here.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009 ... nce-shine/
Griz veterans of final
When the Montana football team walked out on Davenport Field at Finley Stadium on Wednesday, none of the Grizzlies, except maybe a freshman or two, were looking around in wide-eyed wonder at where they were and why they were there.
"It seems like just yesterday we were here," senior safety Shann Schillinger said.
Being in Chattanooga and playing for the FCS national championship is, after all, familiar territory. Flying in Tuesday night, dinner at the Tennessee Aquarium, the media functions Wednesday and Thursday -- it's all part of the routine.
"We've been here three times in the last six years, so it feels like a home game coming in here. It really does," Montana coach Bobby Hauck said.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009 ... -of-final/
'Nova coach a marrow champion
Regardless of tonight's outcome in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision title game at Finley Stadium, Villanova coach Andy Talley will be remembered as a winner.
Talley has guided the Wildcats to a 178-102-1 record since 1985, when he revived a program that had been shut down five years earlier. Since 1992, he also has been heavily involved with the National Marrow Donor Program.
"I heard a medical show about how there were not enough donors out there and that people wouldn't be dying if we could get more people on the donor list," Talley said. "I was like, 'I can do that. I've got 90 players on my team, and if I send them out to the campus community and they can get 10 guys each, we can test 900 people every year.'
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009 ... -champion/
Edwards again a Payton winner
Armanti Edwards had a speech memorized.
Then his mind went blank when Brock Huard announced him as winner of the 2009 Walter Payton Award during the Sports Network banquet Thursday night at the Chattanooga Convention Center.
Edwards became the first player in history to win two Payton awards, and he did so in back-to-back years.
"This time, I tried to be prepared," the Appalachian State quarterback said. "I thought about the speech over and over, but that went out of the water. When my name was called, I totally forgot it."
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009 ... er/?sports
GSU's 2000 win tops Finley FCS games (top 5 games at Finley)
No. 1 -- 2000
GEORGIA SOUTHERN 27, MONTANA 25
A mixture of rain and wind couldn't dampen the excitement as the Eagles won their second straight national title before a crowd of 17,156 at Finley Stadium. Georgia Southern returned just three offensive starters from its 1999 title team that humiliated Youngstown State by five touchdowns, but one of the three was tailback Adrian Peterson. Montana took a 23-20 lead with 11:53 remaining on Yohance Humphery's 2-yard touchdown run, but Peterson answered on the next play from scrimmage with a 57-yard score. "It was do-or-die time," Peterson said. "At the start of the season, I was the one getting all the attention, so it was all up to me. I had to do something." The 5-foot-10, 212-pound junior finished with 148 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries, his 43rd 100-yard performance in 43 career games.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009 ... rtscollege
'Nova briefs: Canci, Bugli, Ijalana, Weaver
Villanova coach Andy Talley compared the story of Wildcats fifth-year senior Tony Canci to a Philadelphia legend.
"Remember the movie 'Invincible'? He's our Vince Papale," Talley said. "He makes all those plays on special teams. He's a guy who realized he can't be a starter on offense, so he said he'd become a starter on special teams."
Canci had an outstanding prep career, which includes the Pennsylvania state record of eight touchdowns in one game and Delaware County single-season rushing records of 2,323 yards and 32 touchdowns.
But Villanova had better running backs when he arrived, and mononucleosis stripped him of what would have been his first season and the following spring.
Yet in his first game as a redshirt freshman, he blocked a punt against Towson, drawing the attention of the coaching staff. That one play earned him a spot on the kickoff team and eventually all special-teams squads except field-goal defense.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009 ... rtscollege
Montana shorts: QBs, Johnson, Hauck
Two-quarterback systems are typically for teams looking for answers, not teams that go undefeated. Yet Montana has made it work with Andrew Selle and Justin Roper splitting time for much of the season.
Selle, a junior, is listed as the starter at quarterback for Montana in tonight's FCS national championship game. It's been his job for the past 11 weeks, but Roper, a transfer from Oregon, has had considerable action as well.
After playing behind Cole Bergquist last season, Selle appeared to be next in line for the job, but then Roper arrived as a redshirt junior who had led the Ducks to a win over South Florida in the 2007 Sun Bowl. Roper started Oregon's first three games in 2008 before suffering a knee injury that sidelined him for four games.
"He was coming in from a big-time Pac 10 program with some playing experience," Selle said. "I just knew that I had to work that much harder and really work on controlling what I could control."
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009 ... rtscollege
Wiedmer: Montanans love the Griz
Unlike 34 of his 72 teammates, Montana senior linebacker Brandon Fisher didn't grow up in Big Sky Country. The son of Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher, he only vacationed there during the summers.
But he thinks he knows why the Grizzlies are not only making their third NCAA FCS title game appearance in six years when they face Villanova tonight at Finley Stadium, but also why 4,000 or more Griz supporters may travel 1,700 miles to cheer them.
"It's just a special place," said Fisher, whose full beard makes him look much more like a native Montanan than a product of Nashville's Christ Presbyterian Academy.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009 ... rtscollege
2008 Mariani catch 'pretty sweet'
Montana didn't win last year's FCS national championship game against Richmond, but Grizzlies wide receiver Marc Mariani did have the play of the game.
On the second play of Montana's first possession, his team trailing 7-0, Mariani was open down the middle of the field and made a stunning diving catch for a 47-yard gain.
He laid out flat as a pancake to make the grab with his fingertips, tucking the ball away just before landing at the Richmond 30-yard line.
"I went back and watched it on the TV copy, and it was a pretty sweet moment," said Mariani, a first-team All-American this season. "At that point it was the first quarter and I was just doing everything I could in my power to help us win, and it was just one of those moments that obviously I'll never forget."
The catch was the No. 4 play of the day on "SportsCenter" and likely would have been first had Richmond not won 24-7.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009 ... rtscollege
Weather is going to be terrible. 30's and rain.
Friday Articles...
City has final title chance to shine
A perennial contender for the Football Championship Subdivision national title, University of Montana football coach Bobby Hauck sets a simple goal before each season.
“We expect to win and compete for championships,” said Mr. Hauck, who has his Grizzlies in town for tonight’s NCAA title game against Villanova at Finley Stadium. “But we don’t talk a whole lot about that once the season starts.
“We always talk about getting to Chattanooga.”
The Road to Chattanooga — the familiar refrain embraced by each of the Football Championship Subdivision programs hoping to navigate the playoffs to the title game — could split. Tonight will mark the 13th consecutive year a football champion has been crowned at Finley, but this is the final guaranteed game here.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009 ... nce-shine/
Griz veterans of final
When the Montana football team walked out on Davenport Field at Finley Stadium on Wednesday, none of the Grizzlies, except maybe a freshman or two, were looking around in wide-eyed wonder at where they were and why they were there.
"It seems like just yesterday we were here," senior safety Shann Schillinger said.
Being in Chattanooga and playing for the FCS national championship is, after all, familiar territory. Flying in Tuesday night, dinner at the Tennessee Aquarium, the media functions Wednesday and Thursday -- it's all part of the routine.
"We've been here three times in the last six years, so it feels like a home game coming in here. It really does," Montana coach Bobby Hauck said.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009 ... -of-final/
'Nova coach a marrow champion
Regardless of tonight's outcome in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision title game at Finley Stadium, Villanova coach Andy Talley will be remembered as a winner.
Talley has guided the Wildcats to a 178-102-1 record since 1985, when he revived a program that had been shut down five years earlier. Since 1992, he also has been heavily involved with the National Marrow Donor Program.
"I heard a medical show about how there were not enough donors out there and that people wouldn't be dying if we could get more people on the donor list," Talley said. "I was like, 'I can do that. I've got 90 players on my team, and if I send them out to the campus community and they can get 10 guys each, we can test 900 people every year.'
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009 ... -champion/
Edwards again a Payton winner
Armanti Edwards had a speech memorized.
Then his mind went blank when Brock Huard announced him as winner of the 2009 Walter Payton Award during the Sports Network banquet Thursday night at the Chattanooga Convention Center.
Edwards became the first player in history to win two Payton awards, and he did so in back-to-back years.
"This time, I tried to be prepared," the Appalachian State quarterback said. "I thought about the speech over and over, but that went out of the water. When my name was called, I totally forgot it."
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009 ... er/?sports
GSU's 2000 win tops Finley FCS games (top 5 games at Finley)
No. 1 -- 2000
GEORGIA SOUTHERN 27, MONTANA 25
A mixture of rain and wind couldn't dampen the excitement as the Eagles won their second straight national title before a crowd of 17,156 at Finley Stadium. Georgia Southern returned just three offensive starters from its 1999 title team that humiliated Youngstown State by five touchdowns, but one of the three was tailback Adrian Peterson. Montana took a 23-20 lead with 11:53 remaining on Yohance Humphery's 2-yard touchdown run, but Peterson answered on the next play from scrimmage with a 57-yard score. "It was do-or-die time," Peterson said. "At the start of the season, I was the one getting all the attention, so it was all up to me. I had to do something." The 5-foot-10, 212-pound junior finished with 148 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries, his 43rd 100-yard performance in 43 career games.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009 ... rtscollege
'Nova briefs: Canci, Bugli, Ijalana, Weaver
Villanova coach Andy Talley compared the story of Wildcats fifth-year senior Tony Canci to a Philadelphia legend.
"Remember the movie 'Invincible'? He's our Vince Papale," Talley said. "He makes all those plays on special teams. He's a guy who realized he can't be a starter on offense, so he said he'd become a starter on special teams."
Canci had an outstanding prep career, which includes the Pennsylvania state record of eight touchdowns in one game and Delaware County single-season rushing records of 2,323 yards and 32 touchdowns.
But Villanova had better running backs when he arrived, and mononucleosis stripped him of what would have been his first season and the following spring.
Yet in his first game as a redshirt freshman, he blocked a punt against Towson, drawing the attention of the coaching staff. That one play earned him a spot on the kickoff team and eventually all special-teams squads except field-goal defense.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009 ... rtscollege
Montana shorts: QBs, Johnson, Hauck
Two-quarterback systems are typically for teams looking for answers, not teams that go undefeated. Yet Montana has made it work with Andrew Selle and Justin Roper splitting time for much of the season.
Selle, a junior, is listed as the starter at quarterback for Montana in tonight's FCS national championship game. It's been his job for the past 11 weeks, but Roper, a transfer from Oregon, has had considerable action as well.
After playing behind Cole Bergquist last season, Selle appeared to be next in line for the job, but then Roper arrived as a redshirt junior who had led the Ducks to a win over South Florida in the 2007 Sun Bowl. Roper started Oregon's first three games in 2008 before suffering a knee injury that sidelined him for four games.
"He was coming in from a big-time Pac 10 program with some playing experience," Selle said. "I just knew that I had to work that much harder and really work on controlling what I could control."
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009 ... rtscollege
Wiedmer: Montanans love the Griz
Unlike 34 of his 72 teammates, Montana senior linebacker Brandon Fisher didn't grow up in Big Sky Country. The son of Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher, he only vacationed there during the summers.
But he thinks he knows why the Grizzlies are not only making their third NCAA FCS title game appearance in six years when they face Villanova tonight at Finley Stadium, but also why 4,000 or more Griz supporters may travel 1,700 miles to cheer them.
"It's just a special place," said Fisher, whose full beard makes him look much more like a native Montanan than a product of Nashville's Christ Presbyterian Academy.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009 ... rtscollege
2008 Mariani catch 'pretty sweet'
Montana didn't win last year's FCS national championship game against Richmond, but Grizzlies wide receiver Marc Mariani did have the play of the game.
On the second play of Montana's first possession, his team trailing 7-0, Mariani was open down the middle of the field and made a stunning diving catch for a 47-yard gain.
He laid out flat as a pancake to make the grab with his fingertips, tucking the ball away just before landing at the Richmond 30-yard line.
"I went back and watched it on the TV copy, and it was a pretty sweet moment," said Mariani, a first-team All-American this season. "At that point it was the first quarter and I was just doing everything I could in my power to help us win, and it was just one of those moments that obviously I'll never forget."
The catch was the No. 4 play of the day on "SportsCenter" and likely would have been first had Richmond not won 24-7.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009 ... rtscollege
Weather is going to be terrible. 30's and rain.