Griz made football fans proud in '08

There’s no denying it: The 2008 Grizzly football season was something special.

As fall and football season came to Western Montana, many fans whispered “rebuilding year.” Twenty-four seniors had graduated from the 2007 squad.

But those who remained were ready to shine.

Cole Bergquist, from San Clemente, Calif., was outstanding at quarterback, throwing for 3,156 yards. Junior wide receiver Marc Mariani, from Havre, had 1,308 receiving yards — the second-most ever for a Grizzly. Senior safety Colt Anderson of Butte finished his career with 313 tackles — the fifth-best in UM history. And Chase Reynolds, the sophomore running back from Drummond, set single season records for touchdowns (23) and points (138).

The Griz silenced any doubters as the regular season came to a close and the team roared into the playoffs with a No. 5 seed. Texas State went down, and then UM avenged its only loss of the regular season with a mauling of Utah’s Weber State.

But the fun wasn’t over yet.

The Griz earned a 35-27 victory over No. 1-ranked James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., on Dec. 12. It was the first semifinal road victory in UM history.

Griz Nation turned out in force for the Football Championship Subdivision title game in Chattanooga, Tenn. Thousands of fans traveled more than 2,000 miles to see the Griz make a run at the championship for the first time since 2004.

The Grizzlies lost to the Richmond Spiders 7-24 on Dec. 19. Despite some outstanding performances — Mariani snagged seven passes for 172 yards and junior linebacker Shawn Lebsock tallied 13 tackles — the Griz were defeated, finishing the season 14-2.

Despite their No. 2 finish, coach Bobby Hauck spoke highly of his 2008 Grizzlies.

“They're a great group of young men,” he said after the game. “They came a million miles from August. I'm privileged to be their coach.”