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Hawks, Venom Vie for 2014 PIFL Championship Cup

July 6, 2014 - Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) News Release


NASHVILLE, TN (July 6, 2014) - Months of preparation, hard-work, and sweat will finally come to an end this Saturday July 12th at 8:15 ET when the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (7-6) and the Nashville Venom (11-2) oppose one another for the 2014 PIFL Championship Cup.

For the third year the PIFL will crown a new champion as well as crown a first-time champion. Months spent on preparing for training camp, filling out rosters, dealing with injuries, filling ticket requests, summoning sponsors, will come to a head this Saturday for both the Hawks and Venom.

The 2014 PIFL Championship Game will feature two clubs who very much took different paths in reaching their first finale.

Under Head Coach Billy Back and company, Nashville has preached family and unity since the output of the season which ultimately led them to ending the regular season with the PIFL's top overall record and home-field advantage. Eating together, practicing together, having touchdown celebrations together, the expansion Venom have shown most of all shown their unity on the field winning a PIFL record eight consecutive games.

This past Saturday, their unity was put to the test by a gritty veteran laden Columbus squad who at one point lead by 14. Behind two second half turnovers, the Venom overcame the deficit scoring 16 unanswered points as well as intercepting the Lions on a potential go-ahead score in the games waning seconds to clinch the American Conference Championship and a berth in the Championship.

Vice versa, Lehigh Valley's road to the Cup stymies from last season's heartbreak in their inaugural PIFL season losing in the final seconds in the first round of the playoffs. With that memory fully implanted in their frontal lobe, the Hawks finished the first month of this season hot as a July 4th fire cracker racing to the league's best record at 4-0. Following the scorching start, the Hawks went through a tail-spin losing six of their next seven contests needing a 51-41 victory over Richmond on the final day of the regular season just to qualify for the playoffs.

Facing a deficit of their own, one quarter in Lehigh fell behind by ten to Trenton having let up a safety and two touchdowns. In just his fourth start, QB McSweeny passed for a team season-high 278 yards completing 16 of 24 passes accounting for five touchdowns including the eventual game-winning score on a one-yard keeper.

Lehigh is just the first road team in eight tries to come away with a playoff win, meanwhile Nashville makes it 5-0 for the three clubs who earned home-field advantage. In their lone previous meeting back in Week 8, Charles McCullum picked up his first start of the season leading the Venom to the 53-38 win. Despite having the ball three less minutes as well as surrendering 48 yards rushing, Nashville created two turnovers including a 27-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown by LB Anthony Kelly.

With that matchup taking place well over two months ago as well as down to the wire exciting finishes in both Conference Championship games, spectators can expect another thriller. To track the 2014 PIFL Championship Game between Lehigh Valley and Nashville, stay tuned to www.proifl.com.



Professional Indoor Football League Stories from July 6, 2014


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