Lions Battle for Sole Possession of First Place in PIFL this Weekend
April 30, 2015 - Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL)
Columbus Lions News Release
COLUMBUS, GA (April 29, 2015) - In a battle for first place, the Columbus Lions (4-1) of the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) venture north this weekend to take on the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (4-1) serving as the first of back-to-back meetings between the two clubs.
After Saturday the Lions will have crossed the midway point of the 2015 season, and if they leave Allentown, PA victorious they will be sitting in first place this late in the season for the first time since 2011.
Since the Hawks joined the PIFL in 2013 the two teams have only faced off against one another three times with the home team ending up victorious all three times. In fact, historically the Keystone state has been unkind to the Lions having ended up on the losing end of their last two decisions in the state that produced NFL greats such as Dan Marino and Jim Kelly.
After previously calling Stabler Arena home, Saturday will mark the third home game for the Hawks in their new nest called the PPL Center. The new state of the art arena located in Allentown, PA opened in late 2014 and the Hawks have enjoyed some home cooking having outscored opponents by a margin of 34 points in their first two games.
Currently with the league's longest winning streak, the Hawks won their third consecutive game by barely hanging on to defeat Trenton 54-51. Up by 33 at halftime, Lehigh Valley nearly let the Freedom complete the largest comeback in PIFL history with Trenton scoring the game's final 21 points. If not for a Joe Powell interception in his own end-zone in the game's final seconds, the Hawks would certainly enter this week's contest with more questions than answers.
After splitting their recent two-game home stand, Columbus for the second time this season will hit the friendly skies. Having worked the first time, the Lions will once again fly into Trenton and will then take the hour bus ride over into Pennsylvania.
"Traveling is like playing a small football game," says Head Coach Jason Gibson. "We just try to avoid the domino effect of one bad thing leading to another, do your job and let's head home with a victory, simple message for the guys this week."
After nearly letting a big lead of their own last week, Columbus scored 27 4th quarter points thanks in large part to creating four turnovers in the same quarter alone. DB Chris Pickett picked off two passes while both LB Larry Edwards and DL Jerry Willis recovered fumbles help Coach Gibson grab his 75th career regular season win with the Lions.
Saturday's matchup between the Hawks and Lions features two of the PIFL's stingiest teams with clubs sitting 1- 2 in turnover margin respectively. Lehigh's QB Shane McSweeny has completed over 60% of his passes and now owns the longest streak in PIFL history having not thrown not an INT in his first 148 pass attempts this season. Contrast that with Lions QB Casey Kacz who since breaking out in Week 3, has struggled protecting the ball over the past two weeks having thrown six picks while fumbling the ball away twice.
To hear all of Saturday's action against Lehigh Valley, log on to www.columbuslions.net and click on the Listen Live icon and for more ticket information about next week's rematch against the Hawks contact the Lions front office at 706-322-3336.
Professional Indoor Football League Stories from April 30, 2015
- Raiders Head to Alabama in Search of First Road Win - Richmond Raiders
- Venom Hope to Explode Again Versus Erie - Nashville Venom
- Venom's Reed Gets Second Honor of the Year - Nashville Venom
- Lions Battle for Sole Possession of First Place in PIFL this Weekend - Columbus Lions
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