Post by thedarkknight on Jun 25, 2009 8:51:21 GMT -5
By: Matthew Hester
matthew@columbuslions.netThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
COLUMBUS, GA (June 24, 2009) – After enjoying a weekend learning they had been crowned the south division champs, the Columbus Lions (10-3) of the American Indoor Football Association will travel to Fayetteville in a post-season preview to take on the Fayetteville Guard (8-5) in their regular season finale.
With a 61-12 win over Florence last Friday night, the Lions were under the assumption that the division crown was going to come down to the last game of the season against Fayetteville. That was before the Carolina Speed’s 45-40 defeat of the Guard last Saturday night, helping clinch the division title for the Lions.
With division in hand, Columbus now can concentrate on winning Saturday to hold home-field advantage up to the championship game set to either take place in Wyoming or Utah. With a win, the Lions can secure the tiebreaker over the Northern Division Champ Reading Express (10-3), a club that has only lost one home game since 2007 (25-1). “Not to steal a quote but we play to win the game,” says Head Coach Jason Gibson. “Last year we clinched a playoff birth and had nothing to play for but ended up in a dog fight with the Guard, I expect much of the same.”
If it wasn’t for the fourth quarter from the last matchup between these two teams, Columbus would be in whole different situation. Looking back to June 13th, the Lions were trailing the Guard 41-32 behind quarterback Shawn Withy-Allen’s four touchdowns in the first three quarters. Led by the defense’s four fourth quarter interceptions, the Lions held Fayetteville scoreless except for a blocked PAT attempt return by Deleon Raynor.
Last weekend, the Columbus offense began to finally roll behind rookie quarterback Todd Spitzer’s four touchdown passes, three going to wide receiver Tirone Morris. More impressively, in the past three starts for Spitzer the Lions have only committed one turnover and have averaged 6.1 yards per play while also seeing an increase in rushing yards averaging 79 per game.
The Guard was forced into a must-win situation against Carolina. Starting the game up 10-0 after the first quarter, the Guard soon found themselves trailing the Speed thanks to a safety and fumble recovery by linebacker Roosevelt Benjamin. Going into the second half, the Speed was forced to put fullback Jimmy Bell in at quarterback with starter Tribble Reese knocked out of the game. Bell led Carolina with three touchdown passes while adding another two from the ground in their 45-40 victory.
Fans can listen to South Division Champion Columbus Lions take on the Fayetteville Guard this Saturday night at 7:30 PM live from Fayetteville, North Carolina. Log onto www.columbuslions.net and click on the listen live icon to cheer on the Lions as they make their March Towards the Championship!
Source:
www.columbuslions.net//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=114&Itemid=14
GO :smileylions:
Cant wait to watch some playoff football!
matthew@columbuslions.netThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
COLUMBUS, GA (June 24, 2009) – After enjoying a weekend learning they had been crowned the south division champs, the Columbus Lions (10-3) of the American Indoor Football Association will travel to Fayetteville in a post-season preview to take on the Fayetteville Guard (8-5) in their regular season finale.
With a 61-12 win over Florence last Friday night, the Lions were under the assumption that the division crown was going to come down to the last game of the season against Fayetteville. That was before the Carolina Speed’s 45-40 defeat of the Guard last Saturday night, helping clinch the division title for the Lions.
With division in hand, Columbus now can concentrate on winning Saturday to hold home-field advantage up to the championship game set to either take place in Wyoming or Utah. With a win, the Lions can secure the tiebreaker over the Northern Division Champ Reading Express (10-3), a club that has only lost one home game since 2007 (25-1). “Not to steal a quote but we play to win the game,” says Head Coach Jason Gibson. “Last year we clinched a playoff birth and had nothing to play for but ended up in a dog fight with the Guard, I expect much of the same.”
If it wasn’t for the fourth quarter from the last matchup between these two teams, Columbus would be in whole different situation. Looking back to June 13th, the Lions were trailing the Guard 41-32 behind quarterback Shawn Withy-Allen’s four touchdowns in the first three quarters. Led by the defense’s four fourth quarter interceptions, the Lions held Fayetteville scoreless except for a blocked PAT attempt return by Deleon Raynor.
Last weekend, the Columbus offense began to finally roll behind rookie quarterback Todd Spitzer’s four touchdown passes, three going to wide receiver Tirone Morris. More impressively, in the past three starts for Spitzer the Lions have only committed one turnover and have averaged 6.1 yards per play while also seeing an increase in rushing yards averaging 79 per game.
The Guard was forced into a must-win situation against Carolina. Starting the game up 10-0 after the first quarter, the Guard soon found themselves trailing the Speed thanks to a safety and fumble recovery by linebacker Roosevelt Benjamin. Going into the second half, the Speed was forced to put fullback Jimmy Bell in at quarterback with starter Tribble Reese knocked out of the game. Bell led Carolina with three touchdown passes while adding another two from the ground in their 45-40 victory.
Fans can listen to South Division Champion Columbus Lions take on the Fayetteville Guard this Saturday night at 7:30 PM live from Fayetteville, North Carolina. Log onto www.columbuslions.net and click on the listen live icon to cheer on the Lions as they make their March Towards the Championship!
Source:
www.columbuslions.net//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=114&Itemid=14
GO :smileylions:
Cant wait to watch some playoff football!