Chattanooga boo-hoo

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Montana Grizzlies' dream season came up one win short.

The Grizzlies, playing in their fifth national championship in 10 years, lost to the James Madison Dukes 31-21 at Finley Stadium on Friday night.

Thousands of Griz fans made the trip and showed their support all week, turning the Chattanooga Valley into a sea of maroon. The faithful threw their vocal support behind Montana Friday night, but left disappointed and heartbroken.

A win would have broken a tie with Eastern Kentucky and Marshall for third place on the multiple championships list. Only Georgia Southern (six) and Youngstown State (four) have more championships than the Griz.

It was a bitter end to an impressive six-week run to get here, starting after a tough loss at Portland State at the end of the October. The Griz then won the rest of their regular season games and started the playoffs on a roll, seemingly getting better each week.

The last three games of the regular season and first three of the playoffs were all in Missoula, giving rise to concerns that Montana would struggle in its first road game since Oct. 30, and perhaps that played a part in the defeat.

Conversely, James Madison played all of its playoff games on the road, becoming the first team to make the title game doing so. The Dukes were in their first national championship and felt right at home on the road.

Montana was to return home sometime after the game, arriving in Missoula in the early morning hours.