By Madhuri Dey
Missoula, Montana, Dec. 13, (THAINDIAN NEWS) In what ended up as a nail biting finish, Montana whisked past Appalachian State by a score of 24-17 on Saturday. The win marks the entry of Montana in the Football Championship Subdivision title game.

It was definitely not an easy ride for Montana, who battled hard to cope up with the snow covered field and extremely cold weather conditions. However, even the extreme weather conditions were not able to refrain Montana Grizzlies to secure a win against the Appalachian State. The win now posts the Grizzlies in a match against Villanova on Friday. The semi-final match marked the Mountaineers’ fifth consecutive appearance in the semi-finals. The Mountaineers seemingly had a great chance to tie the game during the final seconds of the match. Armanti Edwards’ stupendous performance nearly clicked for the Appalachian State to secure a tie with their opponents. The final seconds of the match posed as a threat for Montana, as Armanti Edwards played with utmost grit and suddenly it seemed as if the Mountaineers will be able to pull it off. However, their hopes dashed as Armanti Edwards’ final shot with only two seconds left, misfired.

Montana Grizzlies were firm on their defense, thereby refraining the Appalachian State Mountaineers’ offense from scoring any points. Montana took control of the game during the early stages of the match as Reynolds put up an early lead with a 39 run scamper. However, Appalachian State soon regained motivation with Moore and Jason Vitaris scoring before the half time. It was the defense of Montana however, which had the last laugh as they refrained their opponents offense from scoring. Montana Grizzlies will now face Villanova on Friday.