Crum's Last Second Field Goal Gives Lions One Point Win
April 10, 2011 - Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL)
Columbus Lions News Release
COLUMBUS, GA (APRIL 10, 2011) - Overcoming a late 28-13 deficit, the defending champion Columbus Lions (3-1) defeated the Fayetteville Force (3-1) 29-28 behind a last second 27-yard field goal by kicker Trey Crum.
Much like the previous two games, the first half was a struggle for the Lions offense as quarterback Chris McCoy's one-yard keeper for a touchdown was their only offense score. After a failed extra point attempt, this would be the only time Columbus held a lead up until Crum's final kick.
After going scoreless on their first four offensive series, Fayetteville finally went ahead with 6:03 left in the half behind a 23-yard pass from Lamar Little to Chris Schubert. The Force would go on to score two more touchdowns to close out the half with 21 unanswered points, one on an 22-yard interception return by defensive back Jerome Mann and the other on a 10-yard rush by fullback Chris Johnson taking a 21-6 lead into the half.
"We went into the half with our offense continuing to struggle," says Columbus Lions Head Coach Jason Gibson. "But I had faith that our defense would continue to give our offense opportunities by any means necessary."
Coming out of the break, the Lions offense would have to wait almost nine minutes before they even touched the field as Fayetteville's opening second half drive was marred by a combined ten penalties, two ejections, and concluded with an interception by Lions defensive back Kirkston Edwards.
After the interception, Columbus offense began to show signs of life as Anthony Merritt grabbed a touchdown pass seemingly reaching over a defender to haul down the 32-yard pass from McCoy getting the Lions within eight. Fayetteville answered back as Lamar Little threw his second touchdown pass, this time hooking up with Tymere Zimmerman giving the Force a 28-13 lead. Now with some confidence, Chris McCoy responded back on a fourth down play in which he nailed wide receiver Gerald Gales on 19-yard touchdown pass to get the Lions back within eight.
With time running out on the Lions, the defense desperately need to come up with a stop and who better to do so then Damian "The Nighthawk" Daniels. Daniels grabbed his league-leading sixth interception of the season as Force QB Lamar Little was aiming for another hook-up with Schubert but was instead picked off in the end-zone.
With 3:01 left to play, Columbus would score on their third consecutive series of the second half when McCoy threw his third and final touchdown of the night to Brandon Horace on a nine-yard score getting his club within two. After a failed two point conversion was intercepted by Jerome Mann, the Lions defense would need to come up with one more hold and did so by forcing the Force to attempt a 42-yard field by kicker Derek Scott that sailed wide left.
Columbus would take possession over with just 55 seconds left and one timeout in their pocket. On a second down play McCoy hit Gales for a 19-yard pass play that almost ended the contest if not for an ankle grabbing tackle by Force defensive back Roger Williams. After a play in which quarterback Chris McCoy ran the ball to the middle of the field, the Lions used their final timeout with just two seconds to spare. After the timeout, kicker Trey Crum nailed the game winning 27-yard field goal to complete the 16 point comeback win.
Columbus will look to carry some of this last second win momentum into next weekend's matchup against the Mobile Bay Tarpons (2-2) who come into the contest on a two-game losing streak after falling 73-32 to the Louisiana Swashbucklers on Saturday night. Stay tuned to www.columbuslions.net for all the up-to-date news for the Lions.
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Southern Indoor Football League Stories from April 10, 2011
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- Crum's Last Second Field Goal Gives Lions One Point Win - Columbus Lions
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