UR’s defense dominates

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - It was fitting.

With Montana trailing 24-7 and facing a fourth-and-7 late in the fourth quarter of Friday night's Football Championship Series title game, Grizzlies quarterback Cole Bergquist stepped up in a collapsing pocket and attempted to force a first-down pass into traffic.

The ball never crossed the line of scrimmage.

Richmond defensive tackle Martin Parker swatted Berquist's pass to the Finley Stadium turf, appropriately punctuating the Spiders' first national title.

Berquist's pass, like many of the team's previous plays, stopped in the backfield.

Richmond's defensive line swarmed Montana's backfield, and the Spiders offensive line battered the Grizzlies' front seven for 210 rushing yards - 162 on 23 carries from big senior tailback Josh Vaughan.

Montana, which averaged nearly 185 yards on the ground in its first 15 games, finished Friday with 39 yards on 25 runs.

"They really kind of did to us what we've been doing to people lately," Grizzlies coach Bobby Hauck said of the Spiders. "In particular, in the first half, they really pounded the rock and ran the ball very effectively, and we didn't stop it real well.

"Consequently, they were up 21-0 going into halftime."

And the Spiders' defensive front helped keep them in front.

Parker and senior defensive end Lawrence Sidbury led an effort that at least temporarily knocked Bergquist and two of his offensive linemen out of the game.

"We really didn't do anything special," Sidbury maintained afterward. "We just did what we were coached to do."

And what their coach thought they would do.

Mike London said he compared Montana's linemen to the Green Bay Packers all week, but a Friday night epiphany lifted his spirits.

The Spiders quickly validated those thoughts.

"It was truly something emotional, and it was something special that we talked about and shared with each other," London said. "I just thought coming off the bus and coming out to the game that Goliath wouldn't have made a difference.

"We played with that energy and passion on both side of the ball, as far as the line is concerned. I think we used our quickness to do some things to negate their size, and that showed up."