Post by lionsroar on Jul 10, 2009 14:57:58 GMT -5
The Real Championship? Lions vs. Express
By: Matthew Hester
matthew@columbuslions.netThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
COLUMBUS, GA (July 10, 2009) – In the most anticipated game of the season, the Southern Division Champion Columbus Lions (12-3) of the American Indoor Football Association take on the Northern Division Champion Reading Express (12-3) in the AIFA Eastern Conference Championship game.
Coming off stellar 2008 seasons which saw both clubs reaching the playoffs, the Lions and Express started the 2009 campaign with high expectations. Many have called this upcoming game the “Real AIFA Championship Game” rather than the one that is set to take place a few weeks from now. That’s no knock to the teams out in the western conference, it’s just Columbus and Reading have gone through the rigors playing some of the leagues toughest teams while the west continues its round robin play of four teams.
The Express have been one of the few team to actually have success against teams from the south as they finished the season 3-1 against Southern division opponents. As a whole the North was 6-14 in inter-conference games with Harrisburg the only team not to secure a win over a Southern division opponent. For Columbus their record versus the north this season was 3-1 with their only defeat coming against Baltimore.
Despite finishing the season with an even record, Columbus ended up with the home field advantage thanks to the slight edge over Reading in common opponents. With this matchup looming for weeks, gaining home field advantage was important for both clubs considering their combined record at home this season is 13-1.
This will be Reading’s second visit to “The Jungle” with the first coming back over a year ago on April 12th where the Lions were victorious 50-25. In that game the Columbus defense reined supreme gathering four turnovers including two that were returned for touchdowns. The Lions offense also rolled over an Express team on their way to collecting 220 yards of total offense with wide receiver Anthony Merritt bringing in seven receptions for 88 yards and two touchdowns.
For Reading the path to the championship game started back on July 2nd where the Express avenged two regular season losses to defeat the Baltimore Mariners 50-20. After allowing two early field goals, the Express held the Mariners scoreless until nine minutes were left in the fourth quarter, by then Reading was already up 47-6. Led by quarterback Rob Flowers 20 of 33 passing night for 262 yards and five touchdowns, Reading had 318 yards of offense while only surrendering one turnover.
Columbus’ route to the Eastern conference title game began with the Lions third victory in a month over Fayetteville in the Divisional round. Although their offensive struggles continued, Columbus found other ways to score including a 56 yard missed field goal return for a touchdown by Damian Daniels to help lead Lions to the 45-36 win over the Guard. The Lions defense has been the mainstay of this club all year and sustained that trend last Monday holding Fayetteville to 185 yards of total offense in spite of running 52 plays.
Led by their high octane offense, the Express are making their fourth consecutive trip to the Eastern Conference Championship game. Leading the Express has been the receiving tandem of Carmelo Ocasio and Jeff Willis, as they are the only receiving pair to achieve over 1,000 yards combining to collect 193 receptions, 2,406 yards, and 51 touchdowns, ranking 1 and 2 respectively in the league in receiving yards. Tossing them the rock has been quarterback Rob Flowers who finished the season in the top five in most passing categories including number one in total offense with 3,669 total yards and tops in total touchdowns with 84.
Columbus has had a rotating door at quarterback all season starting three different rookie quarterbacks while finally settling on rookie Todd Spitzer. In his five starts, Spitzer has led the Lions to a total of 19 touchdowns while only giving up two turnovers. Also since taking over Todd’s running ability has brought another element for opposing defenses to worry about. Since starting, the Columbus rushing attack is averaging 38 yards more per game.
But for the Lions, to reach this point it began early in the season with the revamping of a defense that is now the number two scoring defense (33 points/game) and which has allowed the second fewest passing touchdowns (40) all year. With the re-signing of key veterans like Damian Daniels who leads the league in interceptions with 17, or the tackling presence of linebacker Justen Rivers mixed in with the additions of defensive end Maurice Jones and linebacker Eric Johnson, the Lions have turned around a defense that was ranked dead last in 2008.
“This game is just another step we have been building towards since our season ended early in the playoffs last season,” says Head Coach Jason Gibson. “Our entire organization starting with our owners down to our ball boys is not looking forward to the season ending this week. We think we still have two wins left in our tanks.”
The Eastern Conference Championship game is set to take place on Monday July 13th at 7:30 PM at the Columbus Civic Center. A reduced pricing structure is in place for the playoffs as Rows A, B, and C are just $30 while Lower Level seats are $15, and Upper Level are $10. Call the Lions front office at 706-322-3336 to reserve your seats Jungle seats today and come cheer on them on as they March Towards the Championship!
For those fans that are unable to come to the game, the Eastern Conference Championship game will be broadcasted live. Fans can log on to www.aifafans.com with Lions play-by-play announcer Matthew Hester taking the microphone along with guest co-host Rachel Baribeau this Monday night with the broadcast set to start at 7:00 PM as kickoff is slated for 7:30PM.
:smileylions:
By: Matthew Hester
matthew@columbuslions.netThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
COLUMBUS, GA (July 10, 2009) – In the most anticipated game of the season, the Southern Division Champion Columbus Lions (12-3) of the American Indoor Football Association take on the Northern Division Champion Reading Express (12-3) in the AIFA Eastern Conference Championship game.
Coming off stellar 2008 seasons which saw both clubs reaching the playoffs, the Lions and Express started the 2009 campaign with high expectations. Many have called this upcoming game the “Real AIFA Championship Game” rather than the one that is set to take place a few weeks from now. That’s no knock to the teams out in the western conference, it’s just Columbus and Reading have gone through the rigors playing some of the leagues toughest teams while the west continues its round robin play of four teams.
The Express have been one of the few team to actually have success against teams from the south as they finished the season 3-1 against Southern division opponents. As a whole the North was 6-14 in inter-conference games with Harrisburg the only team not to secure a win over a Southern division opponent. For Columbus their record versus the north this season was 3-1 with their only defeat coming against Baltimore.
Despite finishing the season with an even record, Columbus ended up with the home field advantage thanks to the slight edge over Reading in common opponents. With this matchup looming for weeks, gaining home field advantage was important for both clubs considering their combined record at home this season is 13-1.
This will be Reading’s second visit to “The Jungle” with the first coming back over a year ago on April 12th where the Lions were victorious 50-25. In that game the Columbus defense reined supreme gathering four turnovers including two that were returned for touchdowns. The Lions offense also rolled over an Express team on their way to collecting 220 yards of total offense with wide receiver Anthony Merritt bringing in seven receptions for 88 yards and two touchdowns.
For Reading the path to the championship game started back on July 2nd where the Express avenged two regular season losses to defeat the Baltimore Mariners 50-20. After allowing two early field goals, the Express held the Mariners scoreless until nine minutes were left in the fourth quarter, by then Reading was already up 47-6. Led by quarterback Rob Flowers 20 of 33 passing night for 262 yards and five touchdowns, Reading had 318 yards of offense while only surrendering one turnover.
Columbus’ route to the Eastern conference title game began with the Lions third victory in a month over Fayetteville in the Divisional round. Although their offensive struggles continued, Columbus found other ways to score including a 56 yard missed field goal return for a touchdown by Damian Daniels to help lead Lions to the 45-36 win over the Guard. The Lions defense has been the mainstay of this club all year and sustained that trend last Monday holding Fayetteville to 185 yards of total offense in spite of running 52 plays.
Led by their high octane offense, the Express are making their fourth consecutive trip to the Eastern Conference Championship game. Leading the Express has been the receiving tandem of Carmelo Ocasio and Jeff Willis, as they are the only receiving pair to achieve over 1,000 yards combining to collect 193 receptions, 2,406 yards, and 51 touchdowns, ranking 1 and 2 respectively in the league in receiving yards. Tossing them the rock has been quarterback Rob Flowers who finished the season in the top five in most passing categories including number one in total offense with 3,669 total yards and tops in total touchdowns with 84.
Columbus has had a rotating door at quarterback all season starting three different rookie quarterbacks while finally settling on rookie Todd Spitzer. In his five starts, Spitzer has led the Lions to a total of 19 touchdowns while only giving up two turnovers. Also since taking over Todd’s running ability has brought another element for opposing defenses to worry about. Since starting, the Columbus rushing attack is averaging 38 yards more per game.
But for the Lions, to reach this point it began early in the season with the revamping of a defense that is now the number two scoring defense (33 points/game) and which has allowed the second fewest passing touchdowns (40) all year. With the re-signing of key veterans like Damian Daniels who leads the league in interceptions with 17, or the tackling presence of linebacker Justen Rivers mixed in with the additions of defensive end Maurice Jones and linebacker Eric Johnson, the Lions have turned around a defense that was ranked dead last in 2008.
“This game is just another step we have been building towards since our season ended early in the playoffs last season,” says Head Coach Jason Gibson. “Our entire organization starting with our owners down to our ball boys is not looking forward to the season ending this week. We think we still have two wins left in our tanks.”
The Eastern Conference Championship game is set to take place on Monday July 13th at 7:30 PM at the Columbus Civic Center. A reduced pricing structure is in place for the playoffs as Rows A, B, and C are just $30 while Lower Level seats are $15, and Upper Level are $10. Call the Lions front office at 706-322-3336 to reserve your seats Jungle seats today and come cheer on them on as they March Towards the Championship!
For those fans that are unable to come to the game, the Eastern Conference Championship game will be broadcasted live. Fans can log on to www.aifafans.com with Lions play-by-play announcer Matthew Hester taking the microphone along with guest co-host Rachel Baribeau this Monday night with the broadcast set to start at 7:00 PM as kickoff is slated for 7:30PM.
:smileylions:
