Post by lionsroar on Jun 28, 2009 9:06:28 GMT -5
www.columbuslions.net//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=115&Itemid=14
Lions Clinch Home Field With 44-25 Win Over Guard
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 28, 2009) – With their 44-25 victory over the Fayetteville Guard on Saturday night, the southern division champion Columbus Lions (11-3) of the American Indoor Football Association secured the right to home field advantage all the way thru the championship game.
“We just needed to play our style of football and not get caught up in all the emotion,” says Head Coach Jason Gibson. “Our guys knew that our job wasn’t done and now know all that happened in the regular season is in the past, because the playoffs starts a whole new season.”
Saturday’s game got off to a slow start with both teams opening drives stalling in the red zone due to turnovers. Columbus opened the scoring in the second quarter with an Anthony Merritt 8 yard touchdown run putting them ahead 7-0. Fayetteville evened the score with a rushing score of their own by quarterback Shawn Withy-Allen. The Lions went into the break with a 15-7 after Joel Babb brought in a 7-yard touchdown grab in closing seconds of the half.
Towards the middle of the third, Fayetteville pushed the deficit down to six with a Chris Johnson 26 yard touchdown run. But on the first play on the ensuing drive, Lions quarterback Todd Spitzer nailed wide receiver Tirone Morris for a 30-yard strike putting the Lions back up by 13. Led by kicker Carlos Martinez’s three uno’s, Columbus scored 19 points in the third putting them up by as much as 20. Martinez would finish the night with 14 points collecting four uno’s, four extra points and two field goals.
In what was probably the play of the game, the Lions defense stalled a Guard drive forcing Fayetteville to kick a long 60-yard field. The attempt by Fayetteville kicker Brandon Gilbert fell short of the uprights hitting the bass of the wall in the back of the end zone where it bounced directly into the hands of Lions return man Tirone Morris. Morris, with some key blocking, promptly returned it 58 yards for a touchdown giving Columbus the 34-13 going into the fourth quarter.
Fayetteville’s offense never seemed to gain any momentum as either turnovers or sacks halted a number of drives. Lion’s defensive backs Damian Daniels, Chris Goffer, and Jason Perry all collected INT’s while defensive lineman Maurice Jones finished the game with four sacks. The mere bright spot the Guard offensively was running Chris Johnson supplying two rushing touchdowns while back-up quarterback Nicolas Gildersleeve came in and led Fayetteville to two scoring drives.
“Even though this game seemed fairly easy for us, I’m not expecting much of the same next week considering it will be the third time we play Fayetteville in less than a month,” continues Head Coach Jason Gibson. “I was very pleased with all facets of our game tonight, but in order to beat them again we still must improve and stop some making mistakes with penalties and turnovers in the red zone.”
Securing of home field advantage means the road to the 2009 AIFA championship game will travel through Columbus. The Lions, who finished 7-0 at home during the regular season, can now take comfort in knowing that they will be hosting Fayetteville (8-6) for the first round on July 6th and quite possibly Reading (11-3) or Baltimore (9-5) for the second round of the playoffs tentative for July 13th. During the regular season, those three clubs were a combined 17-4 as the Lions fell victim to Baltimore and Fayetteville’s home field advantage earlier in the year.
The Lions are offering a discounted pricing structure for all playoff games with Jungle seats rows A, B, and C reduced to $30. Lower Level seats are $15 and Upper Level seats will be $10. The 2009 postseason kicks off on Monday July 6th at 7:30 PM with the 2009 southern division champion Columbus Lions hosting the Fayetteville Guard. Call 706-322-3336 to get in the action and reserve your seats today. March right along with the Lions as they try to capture the AIFA championship!
:smileylions:
Lions Clinch Home Field With 44-25 Win Over Guard
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 28, 2009) – With their 44-25 victory over the Fayetteville Guard on Saturday night, the southern division champion Columbus Lions (11-3) of the American Indoor Football Association secured the right to home field advantage all the way thru the championship game.
“We just needed to play our style of football and not get caught up in all the emotion,” says Head Coach Jason Gibson. “Our guys knew that our job wasn’t done and now know all that happened in the regular season is in the past, because the playoffs starts a whole new season.”
Saturday’s game got off to a slow start with both teams opening drives stalling in the red zone due to turnovers. Columbus opened the scoring in the second quarter with an Anthony Merritt 8 yard touchdown run putting them ahead 7-0. Fayetteville evened the score with a rushing score of their own by quarterback Shawn Withy-Allen. The Lions went into the break with a 15-7 after Joel Babb brought in a 7-yard touchdown grab in closing seconds of the half.
Towards the middle of the third, Fayetteville pushed the deficit down to six with a Chris Johnson 26 yard touchdown run. But on the first play on the ensuing drive, Lions quarterback Todd Spitzer nailed wide receiver Tirone Morris for a 30-yard strike putting the Lions back up by 13. Led by kicker Carlos Martinez’s three uno’s, Columbus scored 19 points in the third putting them up by as much as 20. Martinez would finish the night with 14 points collecting four uno’s, four extra points and two field goals.
In what was probably the play of the game, the Lions defense stalled a Guard drive forcing Fayetteville to kick a long 60-yard field. The attempt by Fayetteville kicker Brandon Gilbert fell short of the uprights hitting the bass of the wall in the back of the end zone where it bounced directly into the hands of Lions return man Tirone Morris. Morris, with some key blocking, promptly returned it 58 yards for a touchdown giving Columbus the 34-13 going into the fourth quarter.
Fayetteville’s offense never seemed to gain any momentum as either turnovers or sacks halted a number of drives. Lion’s defensive backs Damian Daniels, Chris Goffer, and Jason Perry all collected INT’s while defensive lineman Maurice Jones finished the game with four sacks. The mere bright spot the Guard offensively was running Chris Johnson supplying two rushing touchdowns while back-up quarterback Nicolas Gildersleeve came in and led Fayetteville to two scoring drives.
“Even though this game seemed fairly easy for us, I’m not expecting much of the same next week considering it will be the third time we play Fayetteville in less than a month,” continues Head Coach Jason Gibson. “I was very pleased with all facets of our game tonight, but in order to beat them again we still must improve and stop some making mistakes with penalties and turnovers in the red zone.”
Securing of home field advantage means the road to the 2009 AIFA championship game will travel through Columbus. The Lions, who finished 7-0 at home during the regular season, can now take comfort in knowing that they will be hosting Fayetteville (8-6) for the first round on July 6th and quite possibly Reading (11-3) or Baltimore (9-5) for the second round of the playoffs tentative for July 13th. During the regular season, those three clubs were a combined 17-4 as the Lions fell victim to Baltimore and Fayetteville’s home field advantage earlier in the year.
The Lions are offering a discounted pricing structure for all playoff games with Jungle seats rows A, B, and C reduced to $30. Lower Level seats are $15 and Upper Level seats will be $10. The 2009 postseason kicks off on Monday July 6th at 7:30 PM with the 2009 southern division champion Columbus Lions hosting the Fayetteville Guard. Call 706-322-3336 to get in the action and reserve your seats today. March right along with the Lions as they try to capture the AIFA championship!
:smileylions:
