Lions Look To Avenge Sole Loss At Augusta
April 20, 2007 - World Indoor Football League 2 (WIFL 2)
Columbus Lions News Release
COLUMBUS, GA, April 19 -- The league-leading Columbus Lions (5-1) return to James Brown Arena in Augusta Friday evening, three weeks after suffering their only defeat of the season to the Spartans (3-3). Gametime is 7:30 p.m. for the third meeting between the WIFL teams.
"We're focusing on trying to beat a very good Augusta team in front of their large and loud crowd," said Lions Head Coach Jason Gibson. "We've got to expect a game more like our first one here (a tight 49-45 Augusta win on March 24) than the type of game we had in Columbus since then (a one-sided Lions 69-30 blowout on April 7)."
The Lions are still somewhat banged up after their rugged 46-39 win over the Daytona Beach last Saturday. Gibson reports linebackers Jauron Dailey has a broken middle finger and Calvin Arnold a sprained knee, defensive back Roshard Gilyard suffered a high ankle sprain that will sideline him for up to four weeks, backup quarterback Chinedu Okoro remains on ther mend from a sprained knee, and medical wonder Eugene Goodman will continue to carry the load at running back despite a broken left thumb.
Statistically through six weeks, Columbus ranks a close second to the Osceola Ghostriders (3-3) in both average points scored and allowed. The Lions' biggest advantages over the other WIFL teams come in the kicking game (49 points scored, no other team has more than 35) and in turnover ratio, where they are a hefty +14. Augusta, by contrast, is -12 for the season, for the largest differential in any league category.
Interestingly, the Lions also lead the league in both offense and defense in the "Red Zone," defined as percentage of touchdowns scored in drives beginning inside the opponent's 10-yard line. Quietly and efficiently, Columbus has produced TD's on 82.4% of such possessions, yielding only 60.9% on defense.
Individually, the Lions have five players among the WIFL's top ten scorers: Goodman (5th at 54 points), kicker Wes Wilson (7th, 35 points), and wide receivers Silas Daniels, Juval Winston and Jarwarski Pollock (tied for 8th, 30 points).
Goodman also leads the league in rushing, with 58 carries for 256 yards and 7 touchdowns, averaging almost 43 yards a game in a pass-oriented sport. Largely due to his 531 yards in kickoff returns, he also tops the WIFL in all-purpose yards with 899, two more than Augusta's Marvin Stone.
On the defensive side, Damian Daniels of the Lions has a league-high seven interceptions, more than twice as many as the next leaders with three, including linebacker Mahlon Carey. Daniels also has the most passes defended in the WIFL with 11, and Jauron Dailey's 6 1/2 tackles for loss is a league best, too. Justin Rivers, another Lions linebacker, is tied for the league lead in fumble recoveries with two, and has scored three touchdowns as well.
Friday's Lions-Spartans game will be webcast on www.wifl.us. Just log on at 7:20 p.m. and click on "Internetwork" for live play-by-play. The Lions play Sunday afternoon, April 29 at Osceola before returning home Friday, May 4 against Daytona Beach.
World Indoor Football League 2 Stories from April 20, 2007
- Rathe, Stone, Defense Key Spartan 48-19 Rout Of Columbus - Augusta Colts
- Thunder Will Make Most Of Cortez' Time - Daytona Beach Thunder
- No nice neighbors in the WIFL - WIFL 2
- Lions Look To Avenge Sole Loss At Augusta - Columbus Lions
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