Dec 20, 2008 - 1:13 AM
0 shoutsCHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (Ticker) -- The dream has come true for Richmond and first-year coach Mike London.
The Spiders splattered Montana, 24-7, on Friday to capture the FCS Championship. The title was Richmond's first national championship in any sport.
Richmond dominated Montana from start to finish in completing a dream run that saw the team roll to the title after a 4-3 start to the season.
The Spiders took a 7-0 lead on a trick play as running back John Crone hit quarterback Eric Ward with a 23-yard touchdown pass six minutes into the game.
As the Richmond defense stifled Montana, the offense added two more touchdowns in the second quarter. Josh Vaughan scored on a 5-yard run and Ward hit Garrett Wilkins with a 13-yard scoring pass.
The Richmond defense was staunch, not letting the Grizzlies on the scoreboard until the fourth quarter when Chase Reynolds capped a 69-yard drive with a 4-yard run.
Montana was moving again, but Eric McBride picked off Cole Bergquist's pass and returned it deep into Grizzly territory. It was the 29th interception by Richmond on the season and the 14th in the last five games.
The Spiders also had seven sacks.
"We did nothing special," said Lawrence Sidbury, who had four sacks. "We just did what we are coached to do. We were able to get pressure on them."
Richmond's Brian Radford added a 39-yard field goal to make it 24-7.
Vaughan finished with 162 yards on 23 carries and the touchdown.
"I'm very blessed," said London, a Richmond alumnus. "Very blessed."
Richmond reached the semifinals of the FCS playoffs last season with a team dominated by freshmen and sophomores, but appeared to be going nowhere this year after dropping to 4-3 following a 38-31 home loss to James Madison. After that, however, the Spiders (13-3) reeled off nine straight wins.
The Grizzlies were making their record 16th straight playoff appearance. With the loss, Montana is 2-4 in championship games. The Grizzlies (14-2) reached 14 wins for only the third time in school history.
Montana had hoped to equal the school record for wins set in 2001, when it went 15-1 and won its second and most recent national title.
"They did a really nice job, doing to us what we've been doing to people we've played lately," Montana coach Bobby Hauck said. "They played great defense and didn't let us back in the game."
