Hammers Win 63-60 in Columbus
March 31, 2012 - Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL)
Alabama Hammers News Release
COLUMBUS, Ga. - The Alabama Hammers pulled off a little road magic Saturday night in Columbus.
Quarterback Arvell Nelson's 5-yard pass to Mico McSwain with 26 seconds left in regulation won it for the Hammers, who held on for a 63-60 win and handed the Columbus Lions their first regular season home loss in a year and a half.
But a lot happened in that final 26 seconds. The Lions (2-2) had a chance to tie the game with a 24-yard field goal but opted to go for the win on fourth down and long.
It didn't work out.
An offensive pass interference call negated Randy Hippeard's 17-yard scoring strike to London Crawford and a last-ditch heave fell incomplete as the Hammers celebrated their first win of the season after an 0-2 start.
"It was a great win for this franchise - especially on the road and especially after we lost a game to them last week that we could have easily won,'' said Hammond, whose team avenged a 56-43 home loss to the Lions.
"Now it's time to keep building and take all these positives and move ahead. We played well on both sides of the ball. It was a good night."
Former UNA standout McSwain had five touchdown catches and Nelson added a pair of rushing touchdowns to go with over 250 yards passing. Maurice Dupree - a former Hammer and another ex-UNA star - had five touchdown receptions for Columbus.
Former Alabama A&M standout Al Donaldson had a pair of interceptions for the Hammers, while fellow ex-Bulldog Darrian Payne had a 27-yard interception return that gave Alabama a 56-54 lead with just over 10 minutes to play.
A hot Hammers offense settled for Jamie Whitworth's 28-yard field goal to lead it 43-34 midway through the third quarter before the Lions roared back behind Hippeard's two rushing scores for a 54-49 edge heading to the final quarter.
The Hammers had trailed by three points late in the first half after Dupree's 10-yard touchdown catch from Hippeard, but the extra point was blocked by Eric Scott. Hammers linebacker Julius Johnson scooped up the deflection and returned it the length of the field for a two-point score to make it a 34-33 game with just over 30 seconds left before intermission.
Nelson then backed that up with a quick 36-yard scoring strike to McSwain, Whitworth added the extra point, and Donaldson's second interception of the half for a stop sent Alabama to the break ahead by six.
The Hammers are idle next weekend before heading to Richmond April 14. Alabama returns to the Von Braun Center's Propst Arena to face Knoxville on April 21.
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