Stoll playing for a national championship tonight

SANDPOINT - Former Sandpoint football standout Erik Stoll will participate in what every college athlete strives for - playing for a National Championship - tonight when his Montana Grizzlies face Richmond in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly 1-AA) Championship Game in Tennessee.

Stoll, a sophomore safety who played one year as a true freshman at Idaho State before transferring to Montana, will play primarily in the nickel package and on all special teams. Last Friday in a 35-27 win over Montana, Stoll was credited with causing a fumble that led to a Griz touchdown, and is hoping to make even more contributions tonight.

"Going to the National Championship game is what you work all season for," said a thrilled Stoll earlier this week. "Hopefully we can go down there and get it done."

The No. 5 Grizzlies (14-1) are making their sixth appearance in the FCS championship game, where they'll face No. 7 Richmond (12-3) after each team advanced through the playoff bracket. The unlikely matchup, at least according to seeds, is further proof that major college football also needs a playoff system instead of the reviled and flawed Bowl Championship Series currently in use in the Division 1 ranks.

"It's awesome; look at all of that BCS stuff," Stoll said, referring to an arcane system that uses computers to decide a champion. "I'm just grateful to be able to go through a playoff system and have a shot at the National Championship."

Stoll's playing time at safety has been limited of late for two reasons. One, the last two opponents the Griz will face this season are almost exclusively running teams, which renders a nickel back a little like the Maytag repair man.

Secondly, he's currently playing behind senior Colt Anderson, a Walter Camp FCS All-American strong safety and burgeoning NFL prospect. The long-haired safety from Butte, Mont. is reminiscent of another Griz safety from back in the day named Tim Hauck, who had a nice NFL career as a hard-hitting safety and special teams maven. If the name sounds familiar, Tim is the older brother of current Griz coach Bobby Hauck.

Stoll, who says he loves to "knock the crap out of people," counts himself lucky to play behind Anderson, and hopes he can step in and fill those shoes next year at strong safety. However, he's far too humble to say he'll be the starter next year, only saying he can see himself competing for the spot next year.

"Right now I'm just grateful to be playing behind a guy like Colt Anderson, who should get a shot at the NFL next year," explained Stoll, who has learned much watching Anderson up close. "How to be relentless in both play and work ethic. He's fearless, and I'm starting to pick up on that."

Stoll, who starred at Sandpoint along with his younger brother Kurt, wears No. 4 for the Grizzlies. Former Sandpoint head football coach Sean Dorris, who coached both of the Stoll brothers, also played safety for the Griz back in the day.