Dukes upend Grizzlies for I-AA national title

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Montana Grizzlies' stellar season came crashing to bitter finish Friday, a stunning 31-21 defeat to James Madison in the Division I-AA national championship at Finley Stadium.

The Dukes (13-2) got off to a slow start, but once their formidable running game got on track, there was nothing Montana could do to stop them. James Madison ran for 314 yards, and that's after a first quarter where they netted minus 4.

"We played so poorly in the first quarter, I think we thought kickoff was 8:30" instead of 8 p.m., JMU coach Mickey Matthews said.

It was a shocking turn of events after an opening quarter that saw the Griz dominate every phase of the game. Montana scored a touchdown on the opening possession, something no other JMU opponent had done all season.

The Griz defense forced two punts on the Dukes' first two drives, and it looked like Montana's fifth title game in the last 10 years was fixing for a blowout.

"We felt comfortable, we were confident with our offense," said Griz receiver Jefferson Heidleberger, who caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Craig Ochs to put Montana up 7-0.

"It's always nice to top off your first one, especially against a team that's been so good," he said.

But something changed during the break between the first and second quarter. The Dukes started playing to their potential and drove down to the Montana 11 before kicking a field goal to get on the board.

"They just decided they were going to do it," UM coach Bobby Hauck said. "They wore us down."

Said linebacker Shane MacIntyre: "They're a big O-line and we knew they were going to come in and be physical."

Dukes running back Maurice Fenner took control of the game in the second half and finished with 164 yards on 29 carries. After the first quarter, the only time James Madison failed to score was when it fumbled on a bad pitch and at the end of the game when it was running out the clock.

"We thought we could run it on them," Matthews said. "Athletically, they were not (the equal) of some of the defenses we'd played. The difference in the game was we could run and they couldn't."

The Griz essentially abandoned the running game after their second drive, which ended in a fake field goal that failed to get a first down. Montana ran the ball 14 times in the fourth quarter and finished with 23 carries for the game, unable to move the ball against the nation's No. 2 rush defense.

As poor as the running game was, Ochs was equally brilliant. The senior threw for a career-high 371 yards in his last collegiate game, keeping Montana in the game with short passes to avoid the rush.

Still, the Griz couldn't score again in the first half, and JMU started getting it together, as evidenced by a 13-play touchdown drive at the end of the second quarter, converting on fourth-and-goal to go up 10-7. It was the first time during the playoffs Montana had trailed.

Matthews wanted to kick a field goal, but his offensive coordinator persuaded him to go for it.

"It was a good, strong argument on the headset," Matthews said. "He convinced me we would score."

The inability to stop the run in the second quarter foretold things to come.

In the fourth quarter, trailing by 10 and needing a stop, the defense simply couldn't get it done. James Madison controlled the ball for over 13 minutes in the fourth as the Dukes ran 20 times (along with six passes), including 12 straight times on the last drive to run out the last 6:14 of the game.

"We knew we needed to stop them," defensive tackle Blake Horgan said. "We knew we needed to stop them all night and we couldn't."

Everything started out great for Montana. After the opening touchdown and two solid defensive efforts, the Griz moved inside the James Madison 30 before uncharacteristically fizzling out. By then, the pristine playing surface that started the game had rapidly deteriorated into a mess of massive divots all over the place.

The Griz lined up for a 46-yard field goal attempt but kicker Dan Carpenter ran a fake, coming up a yard short.

"The field was in such poor condition, our kicker didn't think he could get his plant foot down," Hauck said. "That's why we faked the field goal and did what we did. I give them credit, they adjusted to what we were doing."

The field only got worse as the game wore on. The Finley Stadium surface was reportedly re-sod after the regular season, and apparently it had not yet taken root. Large chunks of grass flew on every play, and it affected both teams.

"That was probably the worst field I've ever played on in my life," Dukes quarterback Justin Rascati said. "It was really bad out there. I was really surprised."

Said Ochs: "It was difficult. So much of our offense for our receivers is cutting. But that wasn't the difference in the game."

After the fake field goal, Carpenter went on to miss two more field goals - from 45 yards wide left and 31 yards wide right. Both times it looked like his plant foot slipped.

That's nine points left on the field.

"In my mind, the three biggest plays that turned the tide for us were the two missed field goals and the roughing-the-passer call," Hauck said. "Had we made those, it's a whole different ballgame."

Ochs laid the blame on the offense for not finishing its drives.

"The past couple of weeks, we would have had a couple of more touchdowns on the board," he said.

The roughing-the-passer call came on second-and-goal from the 12 with just over eight minutes remaining and JMU with a 24-21 lead. Rascati was scrambling around and threw the ball away, giving Montana a chance to hold for a field goal. But Kerry Mullan hit him late for an automatic first down. The Dukes scored on the next play for a 10-point lead.

The Griz failed to convert a fourth down on their next possession, and that would end up being the last time they had the ball.

James Madison ran out the clock to win its first football championship in its first try. It's only the second title of any kind in school history, joining a women's field hockey crown.

"It's a dream come true to win a championship on any level," Rascati said.

The Dukes made history by winning three road games in the playoffs to get to the championship.

"Playing in our league really prepared us for this game," Matthews said. "Our league is great, the best in the country. That was Atlantic 10 football in the second half."

Key Plays of the Game

First Quarter

Montana took the opening kickoff 71 yards in 11 plays to score the first first-quarter touchdown James Madison has allowed all season.

Craig Ochs was a perfect 4-for-4 on the drive, including a key 22-yard pass to Tate Hancock on third-and-15 from the Dukes 23. A couple of rushing plays lost ground, but Ochs finished the drive with a 3-yard toss to Jefferson Heidelberger.

The Griz threatened again later in the quarter, but a promising drive stalled out at the James Madison 29. Kicker Dan Carpenter lined up for a 46-yard field goal, but it was a fake and Carpenter came up a yard shy of the first down.

Montana had seven first downs in the quarter. The Dukes had none. The Griz held a 150-2 advantage in yardage. Ochs was 9-for-10 for 129 yards. Montana had the ball for 11:21 in the quarter.

Second Quarter

James Madison's offense finally got rolling with a 14-play, 74-yard drive to start the second, but as it has all year, the Griz defense stiffened in the red zone and allowed only a field goal.

Montana again put together a nice drive and again it petered out inside the JMU 30. Carpenter missed a 45-yard field goal try wide left.

After the miss, the Dukes put another drive together and this time punched it in to take a 10-7 lead into halftime. It is the first time Montana has trailed the entire postseason.

James Madison's two scoring drives evened the stats somewhat. Time of possession was 15:10-14:50 in favor of the Griz. Montana still held a 213-128 advantage in total offense, but failed to get points on two lengthy drives in the first half.

Ochs only had two incompletions, one a drop by Jon Talmage in the end zone and another that was knocked out of a receiver's hands. The Griz averaged less than two yards a carry on the ground in the first half.

Third Quarter

James Madison got the ball to start the half and drove 80 yards, 67 of it on the ground for a touchdown and a 10-point lead.

The Griz answered with a 75-yard drive, passing eight out of nine times, capped by a 17-yard toss to Levander Segars.

Then a big play turned the momentum, the Dukes fumbled the ball away on the second play of the ensuing possession on a bad pitch. Montana went 29 yards in three plays to retake the lead, 21-17.

But Montana simply could not stop any running play of the Dukes, and James Madison went back on top 24-21 with a 9-play, 72-yard drive.

More poor special teams play prevented the Griz from tying the game late in the quarter when Carpenter missed a 31-yard field goal.

Fourth Quarter

The Dukes burned the first seven minutes of the quarter with a dominating 80-yard drive to go back up by 10 points, 31-21. After running the ball almost exclusively in the third, James Madison mixed it up nicely to keep the Griz off balance.

Montana started the ensuing drive backed up to its own 14 after a holding penalty on the return and drove to the JMU 41 before Ochs threw an interception on fourth-and-16 with 6:14 left to play.

That was the last time the Griz would possess the ball, as JMU ran out the clock with its unrelenting ground game.

James Madison held the ball for 13:14 of the fourth.

I-AA Chamionship Stats

James Madison 0 10 14 7 - 31

Montana 7 0 14 0 - 21

First Quarter

MT-Heidelberger 3 pass from Ochs (Carpenter kick), 10:08.

Second Quarter

JM-FG Rabil 28, 8:54.

JM-Fenner 1 run (Rabil kick), :16.

Third Quarter

JM-Rascati 11 run (Rabil kick), 11:58.

MT-Segars 17 pass from Ochs (Carpenter kick), 8:51.

MT-Walden 8 pass from Ochs (Carpenter kick), 7:29.

JM-Fenner 1 run (Rabil kick), 3:25.

Fourth Quarter

JM-Rascati 6 run (Rabil kick), 8:00.

A-16,771.

JM MT

First downs 32 21

Rushes-yards 61-314 23-44

Passing 132 371

Comp-Att-Int 13-18-0 29-38-1

Return Yards 64 74

Punts-Avg. 2-41 1-35

Fumbles-Lost 2-1 1-0

Penalties-Yards 6-55 9-70

Time of Possession 36:13 23:47

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-James Madison, Fenner 29-164, Banks 13-88, Rascati 11-57, Iorio 4-15, Tolley 1-(minus 2), team 2-(minus 4), Bolton 1-(minus 4). Montana, Hilliard 12-26, Heidelberger 2-8, Ochs 4-4, Carpenter 1-3, Green 3-3, team 1-0.

PASSING-James Madison, Rascati 13-18-0-132. Montana, Ochs 29-38-1-371.

RECEIVING-James Madison, Ridley 3-32, Baker 3-17, Boxley 2-27, Banks 2-23, Harris 1-14, Tolley 1-13, Bransford 1-6. Montana, Talmage 6-84, Segars 6-64, Heidelberger 5-82, Hancock 5-74, Green 3-31, Walden 3-25, Hilliard 1-11.