Grizzlies lay claim to title

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- No. 2 Butler laid claim to the NJCAA national championship with a dominating 56-27 win over No. 1 Snow College in the Top of the Mountains Bowl played Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium here.

"It feels awesome; very awesome. It's unbelievable," said Coach Troy Morrell, who also led Butler to the 2003 national championship. "I felt like our guys played really good from beginning to end. They were bound and determined that they were going to find a way to get it done."

The win will most likely give the Grizzlies, 12-0, the fifth national championship in school history when the national polls come out on Dec. 11. The Top of the Mountains Bowl matched the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams in the nation.

Snow, 11-1, never led in a game in which Butler rolled up an astounding 529 yards of total offense.

The first half of the game was played under a heavy snowfall. Tractors were brought on to clear the field, but they could not keep up with the snow, which reached an accumulation of two inches on the field.

Early on, the weather seemed to affect Snow the most. The Badgers were stopped on their first possession and had to punt, but managed a kick that went just six yards.

That short kick gave Butler a short field, and Beau Johnson capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead.

Snow would answer with a controversial drive that led to a touchdown. Butler defensive back Shaunquez Powell came up with an interception and appeared to take a knee and throw the ball down in celebration. The officiating crew, however, ruled that Powell had fumbled the ball, giving it back to Snow. The Badgers scored on a two-yard run Niu Takai to make the score 7-7.

Butler, as it did all day, cranked up its powerful offense once again. Mike Garrison completed a 35-yard pass to Andre Jones, setting up a seven-yard touchdown run by Randell Bell.

Snow would score another touchdown, getting within a point, but could not tie the game when the extra point kick was blocked by Butler's Markus White.

The Grizzlies then extended the lead when Garrison threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Wayne Bonner to make it a 21-13 game heading to halftime.

Butler opened up the game in the second half. On the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter, Beau Johnson broke his longest touchdown run of the season, racing 80 yards to make the score 28-13.

After forcing another Snow College punt, Butler's offense again put on a show, this time with a 64-yard touchdown pass to Wayne Bonner that gave Butler a 35-13 lead.

The Grizzlies continued to roll, as Garrison threw his third touchdown pass of the game, this one a 36-yard scoring pass to Sam Jacobsen, who made the catch despite defensive interference.

Butler led 42-20 at the end of the third quarter, but Snow made one final charge, getting another touchdown run by Takai to get within 15.

The Snow defense made a stop and got the ball back, but the Badgers blew their chance to win when quarterback John Eastman mishandled a shotgun snap. Butler's Chris Campa recoveved the fumble at the 9-yard line, and on the very next play, Beau Johnson ran in for a touchdown, pushing the Butler lead back to 22 at 49-27.

Johnson scored once more, on a two-yard run late in the fourth quarter, and Butler led by 29. The touchdown run was the fourth of the game by Johnson, who was named the Offensive Most Valuable Player for Butler. He ran the ball 26 times for 223, an average of nearly nine yards per carry.

Butler's Defensive MVP was Markus White, who six tackles, including two tackles for a loss, a quarterback sack, a pass deflection and a blocked kick.

The national title -- should the national votes follow the usual procedure -- is the fifth for Butler, which also won NJCAA championships in 1981, 1998, 1999 and 2003.

The Grizzlies are now 12-9 all time in bowl games, and paired with last year's 57-0 win over Vermilion (Minn). in the Dalton Defenders Bowl, have won two bowl games in a row. The Grizzlies also avenge a 17-14 loss to Snow College in the 2005 Top of the Mountains Bowl.