Lions Begin 2012 Season In Richmond
Published on March 8, 2012 under Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL)
Columbus Lions News Release
COLUMBUS, GA (March 7, 2012) - With almost an entirely new core, the Columbus Lions of the Professional Indoor Football League open their sixth indoor football season this Saturday night on the road against the Richmond Raiders at 7:00 PM.
The faces have changed over the past six years, but none have changed as much like they did during this 2011 off-season. With a cast of 18 rookies along with just nine veterans, the Columbus Lions will begin a quest for their fourth division championship and more importantly a second championship.
"I am extremely confident in the group of guys we have brought to start the season," says Columbus Lions Head Coach Jason Gibson who has guided the Lions to an overall record of 54-19 including five consecutive playoff trips. "You've got to have the right guys, you've got to have good guys who want to come to work every day."
Leading all-time tackler Justen Rivers is back for his sixth season and will be the lone returning starter on a defense that was tops in takeaways (42) and sacks (41) in 2011. Without the familiar names like Damian Daniels and Ryan Babb, the 2012 defense will rely on a different group of home-grown talents like defensive back Jeff Lemon and linebacker Matt Dunham.
Much of the defenses concentration will be pointed towards Richmond quarterback Antwon Young. For much of the 2011 season, the quarterback position was a revolving door for the Raiders starting five different quarterbacks before finally settling on Young.
Antwon started the final four games throwing for 646 yards and 12 touchdowns. A considerable amount of his offensive damage can be attributed to his running ability, Young also ran for 200 yards and eight touchdowns.
For Columbus, 2012 also begins a new era on offense as at the end of camp came the news that McCoy decided to retire, and the starting quarterback position would go to Randy Hippeard. Hippeard signed with the Lions late in the 2011 season playing in limited action but impressed the coaching staff during training camp and threw four touchdowns in the exhibition win this past Sunday.
Hippeard will have a strong receiving core to pitch the ball around to as three of the top four receiving targets from a year ago return. Both Gerald Gales and Anthony Merritt hauled in over 70 receptions a piece while Brandon Horace came on strong at the end of the regular season and during the Lions 2012 post-season run.
Saturday's game will not only mark the Lions season opener, but it will be the inaugural game of the newly formed six-team Professional Indoor Football League. The league consists of the Albany (GA) Panthers, Louisiana Swashbucklers, Knoxville (TN) Nighthawks, Alabama Hammers, and Richmond (VA) Raiders.
After playing Richmond, the Lions will return home to host the Knoxville Nighthawks for their season opener on March 17th at 7:30 PM. To follow all of Saturday's action, log on to www.columbuslions.net and click on the listen live icon.
Professional Indoor Football League Stories from March 8, 2012
- Lions Begin 2012 Season In Richmond - Columbus Lions
- Raiders Fans Look Forward to a Rematch with the Lions on March 10 - Richmond Raiders
- Louisiana Swashbucklers Team with Team Green of Southwest Louisiana - Louisiana Swashbucklers
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