Best holiday spirit: Villanova’s cheerleaders wore Santa hats throughout the game.
Best ovation: Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards drew huge applause when he was introduced as the Walter Payton Award winner at the start of the second quarter.
Best playoff performer: With his second-quarter touchdown, Villanova receiver Matt Szczur continued his streak of scoring at least one TD in every Wildcats playoff game he’s played in. He finished with two TDs, 159 yards rushing and 68 yards receiving.
Worst fireworks decision: Two fireworks were set off at the close of the national anthem, leaving fans to wonder where the rest were. Actually, there was one firework fired for each competing team in its school colors, as had been planned beforehand.
Worst reaction to seeing a Colonial Athletic Association team in title game: Montana has now lost three straight to CAA schools.
Worst second-half slide: Montana gained 293 yards in the first half but just 132 after the break, and 53 of those came on their final touchdown drive with 1:07 left to play.
Mark Wiedmer started work at the Chattanooga News-Free Press on Valentine’s Day of 1983. At the time, he had to get an advance from his boss to buy a Valentine gift for his wife. Mark was hired as a graphic artist but quickly moved to sports, where he oversaw prep football for a time, won the “Pick’ em” box in 1985 and took over the UTC basketball beat the following year. By 1990, he was ...
Or login with:
New Account