Lions Get Back On Road for Division Test
April 20, 2011 - Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL)
Columbus Lions News Release
COLUMBUS, GA (APRIL 20, 2011) - After watching their offense unleash for 106 points this past weekend, the defending champion Columbus Lions (4-1) head back out on the road to take on their South Division rival Alabama Hammers (0-4) on a Thursday night game.
Officially one month into their defense of the 2010 championship, the Columbus Lions have scathed a bumpy road and come this Thursday will come full circle as they make another trip to Hunstville, AL a place where the season began with a 67-20 opening victory. It has been a road that featured a tough win and loss to current division leaders Richmond and Albany respectively, and if not for a second half comeback capped by a last second game-winning field goal the Lions could be sitting below .500 going into Thursday's game.
"Once we got our schedule, we knew that the first half of the season would be the toughest stretch for us," says Columbus Lions head coach Jason Gibson. "Another win this weekend and we pass the half-way mark of the season with a lot of home games left to play, I like our chances especially when we play in the Den."
But first, the Champs should not overlook a team that is still searching for their franchise's first win as Alabama is one of two teams in the SIFL who are winless. For Alabama, it's been the same song and note as both the offense has been unable to score (27.5 points/game) and the defense hasn't been able to stop anyone (58.8 points/game), both rank in the bottom half of the SIFL.
One key has over that stretch is ability to not create any turnovers, the Hammers are at the very bottom in turnover margin (-7) and are allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete for the second highest passing percentage (61.4%) in the SIFL. Last weekend, the Hammers fell 47-26 to Albany with the Panthers passing for 332 yards.
Those numbers bold well for a Columbus offense coming off an onslaught of the Mobile Bay Tarpons in which the Champs rolled out 350 yards of total offense as well as quarterback Chris McCoy throwing for an SIFL record 10 touchdowns. All Mr. Everything Anthony Merritt pitched in with six total touchdowns while the defense gathered ten sacks and three total turnovers.
As both clubs come in on short weeks rest, much of their preparation will be concentrated on their last meeting in which the Columbus defense held former Lion's quarterback Bill Ashburn to just 18-36 passing for 134 yards while throwing three interceptions. In that game, the Hammers offense fumbled the ball five times with many coming on bad center to quarterback exchanges as Columbus went on to win 67-20.
"A lot changes in a month," continues Coach Gibson. "We have changed so much in a month; Alabama has gotten a lot better and just because they have still not won a game doesn't mean our preparation level will get lower."
Fans can hear all the action of this Southern Division battle between the Columbus Lions and Alabama Hammers this Thursday night by logging on to www.columbuslions.net and clicking on the Listen Live icon. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. CT (8:30 p.m. EST) and fans can also get live updates by logging on to the Lions Facebook page.
Southern Indoor Football League Stories from April 20, 2011
- SIFL Names Players of the Week - SIFL
- Lions Get Back On Road for Division Test - Columbus Lions
- Raiders Sign QB Mike Potts - Richmond Raiders
- Stampede Give away Four Days in Cancun for First 500 - Harrisburg Stampede
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