Montana, Furman in 1AA championship

CHATTANOGA, Tenn., Dec. 20 (UPI) -- While top-seed Montana made its way back to the Division I-AA championship game for the second year in a row, the Grizzlies will not get a chance to avenge last year's 27-25 loss to Georgia Southern.

But they will be facing another Southern Conference team in Friday's title game as they meet No. 3 seed Furman, which ended Georgia Southern's bid for a third straight title last week in the semifinals.

Montana (14-1) and Furman (13-2) clash for the first time Friday at 5:30 p.m. EST.

"It's so hard to get back to the championship game and to do it twice in a row says a lot about the football program here, and how the kids believe, and how they buy into the system," Montana coach Joe Glenn said.

Montana is 1-2 in previous championship game appearances. The Grizzlies beat Marshall, 22-20, in the 1995 game before losing to the Thundering Herd, 49-29, in the finals the following year.

Furman split its previous two title games, both against Georgia Southern. The Paladins captured their lone title with a 17-12 victory over the Eagles in 1988.

Montana reached the championship with a 38-0 victory over Northern Iowa, its best performance of the postseason. The Grizzlies shut down a team that averaged 52 points in its first two playoff wins.

Montana is led by running back Yo Humphery, who has rushed for a school-record 1,658 yards this season. He ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries last week.

While the Grizzlies have had a relatively easy path to the championship, Furman has had to come from behind in two of its three wins, including last week, when the Paladins overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to upset Gorgia Southern, 24-17.

Furman also has overcome the absence of All-America tailback Louis Ivory, who has missed the last two games after suffering a sprained MCL in his left knee in Furman's first-round victory over Western Kentucky.

But Ivory was cleared to rejoin the team on Wednesday and is expected to be in the lineup Friday. He returned to practice Monday and "has looked pretty good", according to Furman coach Bobby Johnson.

During the regular season, Ivory ran for 1,492 yards, claiming his second straight Southern Conference rushing title. Prior to the injury, he made 36 straight starts with 31 career 100-yard games.

Last week, Furman rushed for 186 yards without Ivory, while Billy Napier completed all 12 passes of his passes for 159 yards and a touchdown.

"They come from an excellent football conference and they play good football teams every week," Glenn said. "Certainly they can run the football. They've proven that, but Napier was 12-for-12 Saturday, so they can obviously throw the ball well, too."

A key to Friday's game could be how well the Paladins contain Humphery. Last week, the Paladins held Adrian Peterson, the all-time leading rusher in Division I-AA, to just 68 yards on 18 yards, only the third time in 57 career games Peterson was held under 100 yards.

In its two come-from-behind victories, Furman's defense was dominant in the second half. In a 24-20 first-round win over Western Kentucky, the Paladins overcame a 17-7 halftime deficit by holding the Hilltoppers to just 76 yards in the second half. Last week, Furman yielded just 55 yards over the final 30 minutes.

The Paladins are 3-0 all-time at Finley Stadium, including a 42-10 victory over Chattanooga on November 10 that gave Furman a share of their 11th Southern Conference title.