Griz Game Day, December 26

By FRITZ NEIGHBORof the Missoulian

Some fans actually left. The Montana Grizzlies had just scored midway through the third

quarter to cut what had been a 41-14 deficit against South Dakota State to 41-21. But almost before you could say, ‘That’s more like it,” the Jackrabbits struck again, with a 61-yard pass from Thomas O’Brien to Glen Fox, down to Montana’s 3-yard line.

First-and-goal. In the Washington-Grizzly Stadium press box, you could hear Griz defensive coordinator Kraig Paulson yelling about the blown coverage. Two plays later SDSU scored to go up 48-21.

By then John McNulty had left the stadium.

“I’d better go get the dog,” he thought, climbing into his truck. McNulty had left “Raider” at a friend’s house.

He heard the cannon go off as he drove away; he thought nothing of it. Four touchdowns, three touchdowns, whatever. It was only after he had Raider in his truck that he turned on the radio.

“And Mick Holien is just going sideways,” McNulty remembered. “I said, ‘Well, hell, I’m going into Red’s.’ And right as I get to the door, I hear this huge cheer. I go in: ‘What the hell happened? Isn’t it over?’ And Brian Benson was just going nuts.”

Montana was finishing off a 40-0 run to beat the Jackrabbits, 61-48. It was a stunning turnaround for the unbeaten Griz, and it began right after McNulty left: The Grizzlies’ Marc Mariani took the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown.

The cannon went off. The crowd was back into it. The Griz were back on stride.

“I would’ve bet you anything that

there was no way,” said McNulty. “My house. My dog. I thought that there was no way we can come back and win that game.”

The Grizzlies went 14-1 this

season, with the loss being a tough one to swallow, coming as it did in the Division I Football Championship game to Villanova.

It was their second straight trip to Chattanooga, Tenn., and returning was the stated goal of the seniors, who’d come away with a 24-7 title-game loss to Richmond the year before.

Not that it was all that realistic to some.

“Going into spring ball, I didn’t even think this team would be like 8-3 or 7-4, to tell you the truth,” said guard Terran Hillesland, a mainstay on an offensive line that lost three starters. “And going through the first two weeks of spring ball, how rough all the young guys were, I was like, ‘Man, this is going to suck.’ ”

A so-so 38-0 win over Division II Western State started the Grizzlies’ season. A mistake-filled, offensively-challenged 17-10 win at UC-Davis followed.

The Grizzlies found their stride the next week in a 49-17 win over Portland State, in which they roared back from an early 14-0 deficit. Yet tight wins were more the norm.

They had 41-34 wins over both Northern Arizona (in overtime) and Eastern Washington, and a 12-10 squeaker over then-winless Idaho State along the way. The latter was particularly maddening, coming as it did after a dominant 31-10 victory over powerful Weber State.

Yet the important thing was that the Griz found a way – a last-second field goal from Brody McKnight to cap a

G2 – Missoulian, Saturday, December 26, 2009

GRIZZLY GAME DAY / Cover Story: 2009 season

Where were you?A kickoff return, a monumental rally, and the Griz march into Chattanooga

See Where, Page G5

TOM BAUER/Missoulian

Montana’s Marc Mariani grabs an 18-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Selle in the end zone in October in Sacramento, Calif. The Hornets’ Durrell Oliver defends.

Missoulian, Saturday, December 26, 2009 – G3

MONTANA (14-1) Griz Opp

Scoring average 35.8 19.0Rushing yards 160.2 108.7Avg./Rush 4.1 3.4Passing 303-494-10 354-595-26Passing yards 267.2 247.8Average per pass 8.1 6.2Total offense 427.4 356.5Average per play 6.0 5.03rd-down conversions 100-218 78-224Time of possession 29:38 30:22Fumbles-lost 20-8 22-11Kick returns 50-24.6 86-18.9Punt returns 39-15.8 13-6.0Punting 59-40.5 84-37.8Sacks by-yards 23-146 19-138

Montana 63 172 117 178 7 – 537Opponents 67 82 66 70 0 – 285

OffENSIvE LEADERSrushing

Chase Reynolds 321-1502 (4.7 ypc.), long 54, 22 TDsThomas Brooks-Fletcher 107-464 (4.3 ypc.), long 26, 3 TDsPeter Nguyen 38-187 (4.9 ypc.), long 57, 1 TDAndrew Selle 47-94 (2.0 ypc.), long 34, 1 TDGerald Kemp 15-67 (4.5 ypc.), long 15, 0 TDsJustin Roper 23-52 (2.3 ypc.), long 22, 0 TDsDan Moore 16-39 (2.4 ypc.), long 7, 1 TDJeff Larson 1-14, 0 TDsSean Wren 2-4, 0 TDsBeau Donaldson 1-1, 1 TD

PassingAndrew Selle 224-356-6 for 3043 yards, long 68, 28 TDsJustin Roper 78-134-3 for 951 yards, long 84, 8 TDsGerald Kemp 0-1-1 for 0 yards

receivingMarc Mariani 80-1479 (18.5 ypc.), long 84, 13 TDsChase Reynolds 38-358 (9.4 ypc.), long 36, 2 TDsTyler Palmer 37-465 (12.6 ypc.), long 25, 4 TDsJabin Sambrano 31-512 (16.5 ypc.), long 57, 5 TDsDan Beaudin 31-342 (11.0 ypc.), long 61, 3 TDsStephen Pfahler 30-384 (12.8 ypc.), long 33, 4 TDsSam Gratton 28-234 (8.4 ypc.), long 45, 2 TDs

Thomas Brooks-Fletcher 10-97 (9.7 ypc.), long 20, 1 TDRob Overton 5-42 (8.4 ypc.), long 16, 1 TDsKevin Klaboe 5-27 (5.4 ypc.), long 16, 0 TDsPeter Nguyen 5-39 (7.8 ypc.), long 13, 0 TDsAndrew Selle 1-14, 0 TDsLevi Buckles 1-9, 0 TDsBeau Donaldson 1-6, 1 TD

DEfENSIvE LEADERSTackles

LB Shawn Lebsock 104, 40 unassistedSS Erik Stoll 98, 40 unassistedFS Shann Schillinger 90, 39 unassistedLB Alex Shaw 79, 24 unassistedLB Brandon Fisher 78, 29 unassistedDE Severin Campbell 60, 25 unassistedDT Austin Mullins 59, 12 unassistedCB Trumaine Johnson 54, 31 unassistedCB Keith Thompson 45, 25 unassistedDT Bryan Waldhauser 45, 11 unassistedDE Jace Palmer 42, 16 unassistedDT Tyler Hobbs 39, 13 unassistedLB Caleb McSurdy 32, 12 unassistedLB Josh Stuberg 32, 9 unassistedSS Mike McCord 31, 17 unassistedCB Andrew Swink 31, 20 unassistedLB Brock Coyle 30, 11 unassistedDT Carson Bender 26, 7 unassistedCB Donny Lisowski 24, 17 unassistedLB Jordan Tripp 23, 6 unassistedDE Bobby Alt 19, 10 unassistedDE Josh Harris 19, 10 unassistedCB Brandon Dodson 17, 12 unassistedSS Tim Anderson 16, 5 unassistedRB Dan Moore 14, 4 unassistedWR Jeff Larson 14, 1 unassistedSS Mike Cummings 13, 6 unassistedLB Cole Lockwood 11, 13 unassistedDE Ryan Fetherston 10, 6 unassistedCB Nick Haynes 9, 2 unassistedRB Beau Donaldson 8, 3 unassistedDE George Mercer 6, 3 unassistedFS Houston Stockton 6, 3 unassistedQB Gerald Kemp 5, 0 unassistedWR Bryce Carver 4, 1 unassistedDT Mike Sylvestre 4, 1 unassistedDE Brett Hutter 4, 0 unassistedK Brody McKnight 3, 2 unassistedTE Dan Beaudin 3, 3 unassistedTE Greg Hardy 3, 1 unassistedOG Terran Hillesland 2, 2 unassisted

TE Kevin Klaboe 2, 2 unassistedC Alex Verlanic 1, 1 unassistedDT Braydon Schilling 1, 0 unassistedOT Chris Dyke 1, 1 unassistedRB Ryan Nelson 1, 1 unassistedFS Clay Pierson 1, 0 unassistedWR Sam Gratton 1, 0 unassistedTE Steve Pfahler 1, 1 unassistedWR Tyler Palmer 1, 1 unassistedRB Thomas Brooks-Fletcher 1, 1 unassistedRB Chase Reynolds 1, 1 unassisted

Tackles for lossDE Severin Campbell 10.5-41DE Jace Palmer 9.5-46DT Tyler Hobbs 6-21DE Bobby Alt 5-16DT Bryan Waldhauser 4-27LB Shawn Lebsock 4-11DT Austin Mullins 4-11DE Ryan Fetherston 3-10CB Keith Thompson 3-10CB Trumaine Johnson 3-6LB Alex Shaw 2.5-8FS Shann Schillinger 2.5-4DE Josh Harris 2-17LB Josh Stuberg 2-6DT Carson Bender 2-5LB Brandon Fisher 1.5-3SS Erik Stoll 1.5-2CB Donny Lisowski 1-1LB Cole Lockwood 0.5-8DE Sam Gratton 0.5-8DT Mike Sylvestre 0.5-1DE Brett Hutter 0.5-1

SacksDE Jace Palmer 5.5-36DE Severin Campbell 4.5-27DT Bryan Waldhauser 3-26DT Tyler Hobbs 3-15DE Josh Harris 2-17DT Austin Mullins 2-6LB Shawn Lebsock 1-8DE Bobby Alt 1-8DT Carson Bender 1-3

InterceptionsCB Trumaine Johnson 5-14, long 11, 0 TDsFS Shann Schillinger 4-6.0, long 24, 0 TDsCB Andrew Swink 3-6.0, long 9, 0 TDsDE Severin Campbell 2-23.0, long 32, 1 TDSS Erik Stoll 2-21.0, long 29, 0 TDsLB Brock Coyle 2-21.0, long 26, 0 TDs

DE Jace Palmer 1-57, 1 TDDT Tyler Hobbs 1-18, 0 TDsLB Caleb McSurdy 1-17, 0 TDsDT Austin Mullins 1-11, 0 TDsDE Bobby Alt 1-6, 0 TDsLB Josh Stuberg 1-4, 0 TDsFS Mike Cummings 1-0, 0 TDsLB Shawn Lebsock 1-0, 0 TDs

Fumbles forced-recoveredDT Tyler Hobbs 3-3DE Jace Palmer 3-0DE Severin Campbell 2-1DT Austin Mullins 2-1LB Alex Shaw 2-1LB Jordan Tripp 0-2DT Tyler Hobbs 1-1FS Shann Schillinger 1-1DE Josh Harris 1-1

Pass breakupsCB Trumaine Johnson 12FS Shann Schillinger 7DE Jace Palmer 6CB Keith Thompson 6DT Austin Mullins 5LB Brandon Fisher 5FS Erik Stoll 4LB Shawn Lebsock 3LB Alex Shaw 3DT Tyler Hobbs 3SS Mike McCord 3CB Donny Lisowski 34 with 2

SpECIAL TEAMS LEADERSPATs/Field goals

Brody McKnight 64-67/15-25, long 54, 3 blocked, 109 points

PuntingSean Wren 58-41.2, long 65, 17 inside 20, 1 blocked

Punt returnsMarc Mariani 32-15.8, long 82, 1 TDSam Gratton 1-31, 0 TDsJabin Sambrano 1-26, 0 TDsPeter Nguyen 5-10.6, long 33, 0 TDs

Kickoff returnsJabin Sambrano 28-24.8, long 50, 0 TDsPeter Nguyen 14-23.7, long 61, 0 TDsMarc Mariani 5-39.8, long 98, 1 TD


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desperation drive at ISU – even as they slid down the Sports Network Top 25. Montana would end its unbeaten regular season with a 33-19 win at Montana State, and earn the top seed into the FCS playoffs.

And then came South Dakota State, with power runner Kyle Minett and touchdown-happy tight end Colin Cochart. The Jacks led 17-0 early in the second quarter, 34-14 at halftime, and 48-21 in the third.

Then Mariani did his thing. If one play sums up Montana’s

season, that is it. Mariani hadn’t returned a kick in almost a year, but subbed in for Peter Nguyen as SDSU’s lead grew.

The Grizzlies typically run “alert-convert” on kickoffs, running to the side of the field the ball is kicked to. So if it’s a “return right,” and the ball is kicked to the left hash mark, the blockers yell, “Convert!” and try to get on the opposite shoulder of their assignments, setting up an alley on the left side of the field.

In this case, head coach Bobby Hauck – also UM’s special teams’ coach – called off the alert-convert. It was return-right, period.

“Just out of a kind of desperation,” said Cole Lockwood, a Missoula Sentinel product who blocked on the front five on the kickoff. “I was looking down field and it seemed like just about every guy had their block. I’m on the right side, and I felt all the big guys getting closer to me. Then Marc went screaming by.”

Mariani had two men to beat. One

WhereContinued from Page G2


Montana quarterback Andrew Selle runs for yards against Cal Poly.See Where, Page G8


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Montana receiver Jabin Sambrano catches the first of his two touchdown passes against Villanova in the FCS championship in Chattanooga, Tenn.

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got a piece of his shoe; the other fell in behind but couldn’t gain ground. Hauck said they’d had to go over the blocks on the sideline, and that everybody lined up right.

“Makes you wonder why we practice,” he cracked.

“On a play like that,” wondered Lockwood, an all-Big Sky player on special teams, “that we hadn’t practiced once – not once ever. For us to execute it perfectly was great.”

As the kickoff tumbled through the

air, running back Chase Reynolds tracked it.

“I started watching a little closer,” he said. “Because I knew something was going to happen.”

Andrew Selle was standing around the 25 when Mariani took the kickoff on the far hash, started forward and cut to the right, more or less straight at him.

“I saw him come to our sideline and break a tackle,” said the junior quarterback. “After that I knew he was gone.

“I remember turning to (Alex) Verlanic and saying, ‘Well, that helps.’ ”

At that point the game became a dizzying series of quick Griz scores and SDSU three-and-outs. A Mariani TD catch. Two Reynolds scoring runs. Another Mariani TD put the Griz up 55-48.

“When he took that kickoff back, that was a huge momentum swing,” said receiver Ty Palmer. “That’s basically all we needed to get us going. We got our confidence back. After that it was off to the races.”

After Severin Campbell finished off the 61-48 win with an interception

return, the Griz kept the surge going the next Saturday in a 51-0 pasting of Stephen F. Austin.

That set up the semifinal classic against Appalachian State, a snow-swept battle in which the Mountaineers’ Armanti Edwards was every bit as good as advertised, but the Griz still found a way to win, 24-17.

Selle, who threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Jabin Sambrano, called it arguably the best game in Griz history. It’s hard to argue.

But Montana had a game left, against Villanova, in the FCS chipper. The Grizzlies led 14-3, but lost 23-21.

It was a tough finish. Only one other team had lost back-to-back in the

championship before UM.A few days later the Griz could

celebrate an excellent season, though some, like Reynolds, are not sated.

“It was good, but I don’t know – it don’t mean much to me to get there and lose,” he said. “We had great comebacks and memorable games. But it’s hard to be satisfied with just that.”

Spoken like a true senior-to-be.

For those who are graduating, there are no more second chances. They have to be satisfied with what they accomplished, and they are, upon reflection.

“It would’ve been better if we’d won the last one, but it’s in the past,” said

Hillesland. “You’ve got to move on.”“It was a blast with these guys,” said

Horn, who like the rest of the seniors suffered just one Big Sky Conference loss in four years, and had an overall record of 51-6. “I wouldn’t change anything for the world. For the rest of my life I’m going to be like, ‘Wow.’ I can’t get over that – we have such high standards.’ We held ourselves accountable, and that made everybody better, including me.”

As of this writing Hauck has accepted the head coach job at UNLV. A new coach awaits the Grizzlies, with their 12 straight Big Sky titles and 17 straight FCS playoff appearances. He won’t have Mariani to throw to, or Steven Pfahler or Palmer or Dan Beaudin. Shawn Lebsock won’t be clogging run lanes, Keith Thompson won’t be making bone-rattling hits, Shann Schillinger won’t be running down the ball and Austin Mullins and Jace Palmer are done batting down passes.

But how much can change? Will the Griz work any less hard, or start believing that they’re out of any game? Sambrano, Selle, Verlanic and Reynolds are back to lead a talented offense. Campbell, Tyler Hobbs, Trumaine Johnson, Alex Shaw and Erik Stoll are back on defense.

The Griz always seem to be ready in November, if not September.

Well, OK, one change: It figures that McNulty – who rented a plane pulling a “Go Griz” banner at the title game, though it was grounded by weather – won’t again leave early. Even if there is convincing evidence of the Grizzlies’ demise.

Like that SDSU touchdown that made it 48-21.

“It’s hard not to give up right then,” allowed Horn. “We don’t give up period, anyways, on that sideline.

“But when Mariani took that back, I was like, ‘Wow. Is this possible? Is this

WhereContinued from G5


Montana tight end Dan Beaudin pulls in a touchdown pass as Montana State’s Jordan Craney defends.


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By the numbers14

Wins by the Montana Grizzlies in 2009. In their 109 seasons of football the Griz have won 14 games just four times: 1996 (14-1), 2001 (15-1), last season (14-2) and

this season (14-1).

80Wins by Montana coach Bobby Hauck, in seven seasons. That is No. 2 in Griz history

(Don Read, 85 from 1986-95) and third in Big Sky Conference history (Read and Nevada’s Chris Ault, 111 from 1979-91).

17Consecutive playoff seasons for the Griz, an FCS record, including all seven

season under Hauck.

7Appearances in the NCAA Division

I Football Championship for the Griz, with three coming under Hauck. The Griz have

won two, in 1995 and 2001.

45Big Sky Conference wins by the Griz

under Hauck, against 6 losses. Montana’s senior class lost one league game in four

seasons.

28Touchdown passes this season by

Andrew Selle. Only seven Montana quarterbacks have thrown as many in a season; Selle did it while splitting time

with Justin Roper in several games.

36Total TD passes by the Griz in 2008,

including 8 by Roper. The total is the most in a season since they threw 38 in 2000.

3,043Passing yards this season for Selle. It’s the 13th 3,000-yard season for a

UM quarterback. Selle has a chance to become just the second Griz to do it twice.

55Sacks allowed by the 2008 Montana

Grizzlies, including 7 in the Division I Football Championship.

19Sacks allowed by the 2009 Montana

Grizzlies, including 2 in the FCS title game.

321rushing attempts by Chase Reynolds

in 2009, a UM single-season record.

Yohance Humphery had 303 carries in 2001, when postseason statistics weren’t

counted; Humphery had 89 playoff carries for a total of 392.

241Yards for reynolds against Weber State in a 31-10 showdown win over

the Wildcats on Oct. 31. The total is the second-highest in Griz history; Humphery

had 265 yards against Weber in 2001.

44Career rushing TDs for Reynolds,

including 22 in 2009. Only Lex Hilliard has more: 50 from 2003-07.

24Total TDs this season for Reynolds,

including two receiving. He has 282 career points, including a record 144

this season. Dan Carpenter holds UM’s career mark of 413 points (2004-07).

3,085Career rushing yards for Reynolds. The junior has a year to catch Hilliard

(4,018 yards) and Humphery (4,070) in UM’s annals.

2Field goals made by Montana’s Brody McKnight from beyond 40 yards, in 10

attempts.

13Field goals by McKnight from 40 yards

and less, in 15 tries.

109Points by McKnight in 2009, the eighth-highest total in UM history.

3Special teams touchdowns by the Griz in 2009: Marc Mariani took a punt and a kickoff for a score, and Jordan

Tripp recovered a bad Portland State punt snap for another TD.

5UM’s ranking among 125 FCS teams in punt returns (15.8-yard average) and kickoff returns (24.6) in 2009. The Griz also ranked 8th in net punting (37.5).

5,451Career all-purpose yards, a

UM record, for receiver Marc Mariani – including 1,253 in punt returns, 1,158 in

kickoff returns and 22 rushing.

2,443MORE BY ThE NuMBERS pAGE G22

KURT WILSON/Missoulian

Montana defensive lineman Austin Mullins celebrates a play against Eastern Washington. The Grizzlies won, 41-34.


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Montana running back Thomas Brooks-Fletcher runs for yards against Eastern Washington.

Sept. 5, 2009

MONTANA 38, WESTERN STATE 0

The Division II Mountaineers were overmatched, never getting closer than the Montana 29-yard line. Western State picked up just six first downs and 116 total yards, 59 rushing and 57 passing.

Griz tight end Steven Pfahler hauled in two touchdown passes and player of the game honors for Montana. The home-opening win was Montana’s ninth consecutive.

The Washington-Grizzly Stadium record crowd of 25,698 saw Montana shake off a slow start in the first quarter to score 38 unanswered points against their first-time foe from Gunnison, Colo. The Griz had 444 yards of total offense, 183 rushing and 261 passing, and 25 first downs.

Sept. 12, 2009

MONTANA 17, uC DAvIS 10

The Griz survived another slow start


GRIZZLY GAME DAY / Game-by-game

Season recapCompiled by BILL SPELTZ/Missoulian

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Montana defensive end Jace Palmer pursues Cal Poly’s Jono Grayson.See reCAP, Page G16


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GRIZZLY GAME DAY / Season recap

and a light failure to notch a come-from-behind win.

The game was in question with less than a minute to go. UC Davis was knocking on the door, sitting at the Montana 12-yard line, down 17-10, when things went haywire in Davis, Calif. The stadium lights failed with 57 seconds left, causing a lengthy delay going into fourth-and-7.

Following the delay, cornerback Trumaine Johnson out-jumped Davis receiver Chris Carter in the end zone to snag the game-securing interception.

Like its first game, Montana went with

a QB rotation. Justin Roper started the game, going 9-for-19 for 143 yards and a touchdown, and Andrew Selle threw for 83 yards on 7-of-10 passing. Running back Chase Reynolds had a game-high 90 yards on 25 carries.

Sept. 19, 2009

MONTANA 49, pORTLAND STATE 17A record crowd of 25,726 fans saw host

Montana outscore the Vikings 42-3 in the final three quarters.

The Viking offense looked potent early, scoring on consecutive drives to start the game. The Griz found themselves with a 14-0 deficit.

Montana punted on its first

possession and looked to have another lackluster possession when PSU safety Jordan Brown stopped Roper to force 4th down. But Brown was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, drawing a 15-yard penalty, an automatic first down and the ire of the Griz.

On the next play, Roper hit Marc Mariani for a 56-yard touchdown to put the Griz on the board. By halftime Montana had a 28-17 lead and the Vikings didn’t score a point in the second half.

Sept. 26, 2009

MONTANA 41, NORThERN ARIZONA 34 (OT)

Montana held a 27-14 lead until late

in the third quarter when host Northern Arizona launched a comeback, starting with a 21-yard TD pass from Michael Herrick to Curt Sweeney. NAU added a Matt Myers 37-yard field goal and another Herrick-to-Sweeney TD to complete a run of 17 unanswered points that put the Jacks up, 31-27, with 3:52 left in regulation.

The Grizzlies roared back, starting with a Jabin Sambrano kickoff return of 50 yards that gave the offense the ball at midfield. Sam Gratton reeled in a pass from Selle and took it 45 yards for a TD, putting Montana up 34-31 with 2:37 to go. But NAU rallied to force OT with a field goal.

Montana running

back Chase reynolds runs

for yards against Appalachian

State in the FCS semifinals at Washington-Grizzly Stadium

recapContinued from Page G14

See reCAP, Page G17




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Ty Palmer took a Selle screen pass 25 yards for the touchdown on the first play of overtime. NAU nearly answered on its first play, with Herrick connecting with Alex Henderson for 22 yards to the Montana 3. But Shann Schillinger slammed the door on the next play, intercepting a Herrick pass tipped by Trumaine Johnson in the end zone.

Oct. 10, 2009

MONTANA 35, CAL pOLY 23

Montana spotted visiting Cal Poly a 10-0 lead and then rallied. A homecoming crowd of 25,694 endured a game-time temperature of 25 degrees to see a high-scoring game that produced seven turnovers.

Montana had 453 total yards of offense, compared to 317 for the Mustangs. The Griz picked up 278 yards in the air, led by Mariani’s 200 receiving yards and two TDs. Reynolds had 109 rushing yards, 44 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

Austin Mullins paced the UM defense with 10 tackles. Brandon Fisher and Jordan Tripp had fumble recoveries.

Oct. 17, 2009

MONTANA 41, EASTERN WAShINGTON 34

Montana’s defense came through in the clutch, holding off Eastern Washington in the closing seconds.

The game was knotted at 27 going into

the fourth quarter. Then Montana went on top, 34-27, on an 82-yard punt return by Mariani with 10 minutes to play.

Eastern Washington responded with a 74-yard drive capped by Taiwan Jones’ 1-yard dive to again tie the game.

Montana took possession at the 45-yard line with 4:50 left and was fearless, gambling on fourth down twice. The second time resulted in a Reynolds 1-yard TD dive in which he drove Eastern defender Dante Calcote into the end zone.

Oct. 24, 2009

MONTANA 45, SACRAMENTO STATE 30

Chase Reynolds and Thomas Brooks-Fletcher combined for 245 rushing yards and four touchdowns to lead the No. 2-ranked Grizzlies.

Sac State cut Montana’s lead to 38-28 with five minutes left in regulation on a 28-yard pass play. But Jabin Sambrano helped extend the Grizzlies’ lead with a 57-yard TD, making it 45-28 with 3:35 left. Sambrano led UM with 114 receiving yards.

Montana finished with 471 yards of total offense. Selle started the game at QB and went 9-for-15 passing for 109 yards. Roper rotated in, going 9-for-11 for 127 yards.

Oct. 31, 2009

MONTANA 31, WEBER STATE 10

In a clash of Big Sky Conference titans, Montana held the Wildcat offense more than 140 yards under its season average and the Griz, led by Reynolds’ 241 yards rushing, ran over Weber’s defense.

Montana put together a balanced offensive attack, gaining 288 yards on

the ground and 218 passing compared to Weber’s 56 and 243. Selle took most of Montana’s snaps at QB, going 13-for-26 for 214 yards and two TDs. Mariani caught four passes for 98 yards.

The Griz defense picked off WSU quarterback Cameron Higgins four times. Weber star running back Trevyn Smith had just 64 yards rushing.

Nov. 7, 2009

MONTANA 12, IDAhO STATE 12

Brody McKnight’s 33-yard field goal as time expired boosted Montana to a 12-10 win over Idaho State. The victory earned Montana at least a share of the Big Sky Conference title, Montana’s 12th straight.

Montana’s final possession began at its 17 with 1:25 to go and the Griz trailing, 10-9. Selle, 3-for-5 passing on the last drive, had three big-gaining completions, including a 39-yard strike to Mariani to move Montana to the ISU 15.

Reynolds followed up with a 14-yard carry to the Idaho State 1. A Reynolds goal line dive couldn’t break through, and after Selle spiked the ball to stop the clock at :09, an offensive pass interference penalty moved the field goal try back 15 yards.

ISU called two timeouts to ice McKnight, but the sophomore kicker stayed perfect from inside 40 yards and sealed the game for the Griz.

Nov. 14, 2009

MONTANA 38, NORThERN COLORADO 10

Reynolds scored three touchdowns as the Griz secured the Big Sky automatic bid to the FCS playoffs as outright

conference champions.Selle started at QB for Montana,

going 6-for-9 passing for 72 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Roper was 13-of-20 for 123 yards and a touchdown.

Reynolds ran for 151 yards on 23 carries and added 26 yards on three catches. Northern Colorado rushed for only 54 yards on 24 carries.

Nov. 21, 2009

MONTANA 33, MONTANA STATE 19Selle threw for three touchdowns,

going 17-for-22 and 163 yards, and the Griz killed the Bobcats’ playoff hopes.

Montana State played Montana tough in the first half and the Griz lead was 9-5 at the break. But the Grizzlies put together an 11-play scoring march to start the second half. The drive was highlighted by a 6-yard Selle-to-Mariani TD pass.

A long Mariani punt return set up Montana with great field position at the MSU 31. A 25-yard Roper-to-Sambrano pass set up a 1-yard Dan Beaudin TD catch from Roper. The 31-yard drive extended the Griz lead to 23-5.

The third quarter was unkind to the Bobcats. MSU did not pick up a single first down.

pLAYOffS

Nov. 28, 2009

MONTANA 61, SOuTh DAkOTA STATE 48

The game featured Montana’s greatest comeback in a playoff game. The Griz trailed 48-21 with 5:40 left in the third quarter before scoring 40 unanswered


See reCAP, Page 18

points.Marc Mariani kick-started the

comeback, returning a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. The Griz defense then forced a punt, and Montana drove 79 yards in 3:05 to score when Mariani caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Selle to narrow the gap to 48-34 with 14:56 left.

Montana followed that up with two Reynolds 1-yard touchdown runs on drives of 66 and 52 yards to tie the game with 4:11 left. The defense served up another three-and-out, and the offense again answered the call, moving 41 yards down the field on the shell-shocked Jack defense to score the go-ahead touchdown, a 4-yard Selle-to-Mariani strike.

Severin Campbell provided the coup de grace, intercepting a pass tipped by Shann Schillinger and taking it for the touchdown.

Dec. 5, 2009

MONTANA 51, STEphEN f. AuSTIN 0

The Lumberjacks turned the ball over a shocking 10 times in the FCS quarterfinal.

Montana defensive tackle Tyler Hobbs led the way defensively with five tackles, a pass breakup, a pick, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.

Selle threw for 281 yards and three touchdowns, going 19-for-30. Mariani led all receivers with 111 yards and a touchdown on six catches, and Thomas Brooks-Fletcher led the game in rushing with 89 yards in his backup role.

Reynolds had two touchdowns. Both backs outrushed the Lumberjacks, who finished with just 51 yards on the ground.

Dec. 12, 2009

MONTANA 24, AppALAChIAN STATE 17

Montana held off a last-minute drive by Appalachian State to win in front of 24,207 fans and a national television audience at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

The win qualified the Griz for the title game in Chattanooga for the second year in a row.

Montana was seven plays into a 9-play, 61-yard drive, highlighted

by Reynolds’ 33-yard rush into ASU territory, as the fourth quarter began. The drive bogged down and McKnight kicked a 32-yard field goal to knot the game at 17 with 14:50 remaining.

App State was moving the ball following the Griz touchdown. Senior quarterback Armanti Edwards found Matt Cline for a 26-yard gain to set the Mountaineers up in Montana territory, but on the next play, Schillinger stepped in front of Edwards’ pass at the UM 10 and returned the pick to the Montana 34.

Later ASU took over at its 19 and put together a 12-play drive, but again the Griz defense stiffened. Jason Vitaris came up short on a 44-yard field goal attempt, leaving the game tied 17-17 with 3:46 left in the game.

Montana took the ball and drove 73 yards on four plays. Selle found Sambrano streaking down the sideline in the end zone for a 25-yard scoring pass. ASU answered by driving all the way to the UM 3, but a fourth-down pass dropped incomplete, and the Griz were Chattanooga-bound.

Dec. 18, 2009

vILLANOvA 23, MONTANA 21The Griz led 14-3 late in the first half,

but Nova shut them down in the second, limiting them to just six first downs after intermission. The Wildcats also shut down Mariani, who didn’t catch a ball after piling up 178 yards and a TD on nine catches in the first half.

All-American Matt Szczur had 14 carries for 159 yards and two touchdowns to go with 68 receiving yards and 43 return yards to lead the Wildcats, who had two 100-yard rushers. Quarterback Chris Whitney rushed for 102 yards while completing 10-of-13 passes for 142 yards, a touchdown and a pick.

Montana got two touchdowns from Sambrano, who caught five passes for 79 yards. Selle was 27-for-35 for 351 yards and three touchdowns and was sacked twice. Reynolds rushed 64 yards on 15 carries.

The Griz scored a touchdown with 1:07 left to make the score 23-21. Although the onside kick went out of bounds, Montana had all three timeouts remaining and still had hope if the defense could force the Wildcats into a three-and-out.

However, a 10-yard Szczur rush for a first down ended Montana’s chances for the title.

The Griz finished up with a 14-1 record.



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By the numbers1,486

Yards receiving in 2009 by Mariani, a UM record. Counting playoff stats, only Joe Douglass (1,966 yards in 1996) and Jimmy Farris (1,561 in 2000) rank higher.

389All-purpose yards by Mariani in the 61-48 playoff win over South Dakota State, a single-game school record: 171 receiving,

178 on kickoff returns and 40 by punt return.

5Playoff TD catches by Marc Mariani in

2009. He had 8 during the regular season.

164Career receptions for Mariani, which

ranks him eighth all-time at UM.

18.4Yards per catch by Mariani for his career.

That’s the highest among the Grizzlies’ career leaders. Joe Douglass is next: He averaged 15.9 yards on his 145 catches.

33Career touchdowns for Mariani: 29 through the air, 3 by punt return and 1

kickoff return.

499Playoff receiving yardage for Mariani

in 2009, on 30 catches.

257Career tackles for senior free safety

Shann Schillinger. The Baker grad leaves ranked 20th in UM history. He also leaves

with 10 career picks.

27Career tackles for loss for defensive

end Jace Palmer. The Missoula Big Sky product finished 10th in school history.

His 16 sacks rank him 11th.

294Career tackles for linebacker Shawn Lebsock. “Beef” ended up ninth in UM

history.

10Turnovers gained in a 51-0 thrashing

of Stephen F. Austin on Dec. 5 – five interceptions and five fumbles.

26Interceptions by the Griz defense, led by sophomore Trumaine Johnson’s 5.

Fourteen different Griz had picks in 2009.

98Straight playoff points scored by the Grizzlies this season: The last 40 points

against South Dakota State and the first 7 against App State, with a 51-0 shutout of

Stephen F. Austin in between.

93Straight playoff points by UM from

1994-95.

10.5Team-leading tackles for loss this

season by junior DE Severin Campbell.

12Team-leading passes broken up by

sophomore CB Trumaine Johnson.

3hits of the game by senior cornerback

Keith Thompson, including a snot-knocker against App State on Dec. 12

that was ESPN’s “Top Play.”

351Passing yards for UM’s Andrew Selle in

the FCS title game.

351rushing yards for Villanova in the same

game.

18rushing first downs for Villanova,

compared to 4 for Montana.

3Carries by Montana’s Chase Reynolds in

the second half of the title game.

0Catches by Marc Mariani in the second

half of the title game.

291Average yards rushing by James

Madison, Richmond and Villanova in title-game wins over the Griz in ’04, ’08 and ’09.

112Average yards rushing allowed by the Griz in the other 43 games in those

seasons.

4Playoff TD catches by sophomore Jabin Sambrano; he had 3 during the

regular season.

7Appearances in the Division I Football Championship by the Griz. Only Georgia

Southern has more, with 8.

5Losses in the FCS title game. No

program has had more. Marshall had 3. The Griz won titles in 1995 and 2001.


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Griz

Griz TriviaAndrew Selle’s three touchdown passes

in the FCS title game gives him 33 for his career, which is one behind what former Griz QB for 10th all-time?

a. Sean Davisb. Brad Leboc. Drew Millerd. Brent Pease

Chase reynolds didn’t score in the championship game, but he is only seven touchdowns shy of UM’s career rushing TDs mark, which is 50 and held by whom?

a. Tony Riceb. Yohance Humpheryc. Lex Hilliardd. Del Spear

Jace Palmer had Montana’s only sack in the championship game, which gave him 16 for his career. Palmer’s sack total is the best by a Missoula native. Who has the all-time record at 34.5?

a. Kroy Biermannb. Tim Bushc. Mike McGowan d. Andy Petek

Answers: d, c, b


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Griz Game Day, December 26