Upset Griz

The blank stare on Lex Hilliard?s face in the press conference after the Grizzlies? loss to Wofford last Saturday said it all.

Unbelievably, the season and some collegiate careers were over.

An undefeated season came to an unexpectedly quick conclusion. And our lovable local boy was not going to get the chance for a measly 52 more yards needed to become the University of Montana career rushing king.

The truth was so hard to swallow even a Missoulian sports reporter wasn?t asking Bobby Hauck any questions.

Finally, Hauck asked him, ?You don?t have anything??

Taken aback, the reporter replied, ?I?m still in disbelief.?

But his four months in Missoula and disbelief couldn?t hold a candle to the heartbreak of Griz Nation.

I, too, was rendered nearly speechless. I felt so bad for Lex I couldn?t ask him about not becoming the school?s all-time rushing leader. It just didn?t seem fair.

?It?s definitely hard knowing you?re not going to be playing in Washington-Grizzly Stadium ever again,? Hilliard said. ?Over the last five years, you meet some amazing guys and wouldn?t trade anything in the world for it. Just to leave the field with the group of guys I did, it hurts. But at the same time, it?s a good thing I did it with them.?

Looking back, Hauck was disappointed Hilliard missed the one game.

?I?m disappointed that he couldn?t play at Idaho State because he?d have the record,? he said. ?We felt like we could run the ball at Idaho State and we did.?

Adding salt to the wound for the northwest Montana contingent of Griz Nation: Greg Coleman rushed for 104 yards as Hilliard?s backup in that game. Then he was arrested getting off the bus because of his involvment in that horrifying robbery.

Ugh.

The positive note: Lex has a legitimate chance to play on Sundays. He proved it in many ways.

First, coming off of a torn Achilles? tendon, he must have averaged 30 carries in the final four or five games.

Wow.

Second, he played hurt all season ? with such severe ligament damage to his thumb that it required mid-season surgery ? and, all the while, he still successfully carried the team on his shoulders when needed.

He?s definitely a beast of a man.

And third, which is just as important as the first two, he?s a big, physical

vertical runner who knows how to hit the hole with enough patience to let blocks set up. He doesn?t dance around horizontally behind the line.

… And, oh, he punishes tacklers. At 235 pounds, he would be a big NFL back.

Rest assured, we should get another chance to watch Lex play somewhere ? I hope.

Another heartbreaking notion is the fact that all of Griz Nation?s first comments to fellow fans regarding the end of the season revolved around the phrase ?wide left.?

But Dan Carpenter was a stud all season ? kicking the winning points in at least three games. He was even a stud in the loss. He nailed three field goals prior to the 47-yard attempt ? which was surely not a gimmee. Had he shanked the kick, maybe Griz Nation could have said he choked. But he didn?t. It had plenty of distance. It didn?t fade or draw too much and missed by just a few yards.

You can?t forget about last season either.

Remember when punter Tyson Johnson was injured against the Iowa Hawkeyes? From there on out, Carpenter not only led the nation in field goals, but he took over the punting duties and ranked in the nation?s top 15.

It just doesn?t seem fair his career ended that way.

But them?s the breaks.

It?s what makes the victories ? something Griz Nation has become all too used to ? that much more special.

It?s what makes the playoffs ? something the division formally known as I-A won?t partake in because it can?t get creative enough to incorporate their evil capitalist heads of power and the division?s historic bowl games into a playoff system ? that much more special.

It?s what makes the upsets that much more special. Remember when it was little ?ol Montana upsetting Marshall and Georgia Southern?

Be thankful we?re not a part of the Bowl Subdivision, or FBS, or BCS … whatever those cash cows want to call themselves.

Carl Hennell is a sports reporter for the Daily Inter Lake whose columns appear every Monday. He can be reached at 758-4446 or chennell@dailyinterlake.com.