On Saturday, Dec.16, the Montana Grizzlies secured a place in the FCS championship game for the first time since 2009, with a 31-29 victory over the North Dakota State Bison. 

The game started off exciting when North Dakota’s Griffin Cosa scored a 30-yard field goal. The rest of the quarter remained at 3-0. At minute 11:55 in quarter 2, Griz’s Eli Gilman scored a 3-yard touchdown, setting the score at 3-7. Grant Glasglow gave the Griz 3 points with a 46 yard field goal, soon to be followed by a 35-yard North Dakota field goal, making the score 6-10 going into halftime. At minute 5:09 of the third quarter, North Dakota’s Cosa scored a 38-yard field goal which set the score at 9-10 for the rest of the 3rd quarter.

Things started getting interesting going into the fourth quarter. Griz quarterback Junior Bergen returned a punt for a 47-yard touchdown. Then with 51 seconds left in the fourth quarter, North Dakota’s Eli Green scored a 9-yard touchdown which set the score at a 16-16 draw ending regulation. Tensions started to rise as North Dakots, Cole Payton scored a 25-yard touchdown, but a 22-yard touchdown from Montanas Junior Bergen ended the first overtime with another tie at 23-23. Second overtime started off strong with a 13 yard touchdown from Eli Gilman, and a made field goal giving the Griz 8 points over North Dakota. This was pretty much a game at this point, Griz fans erupted as the possibility of securing a place in the championships became clear. A touchdown from North Dakota brought them up 6 points but a missed 2 point attempt finally ended the game and sealed the deal for Montana. An intense double overtime and a new record attendance made this a Griz game for the books.