Lions Prepare To Face Richmond In Home Opener
April 3, 2014 - Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL)
Columbus Lions News Release
The Columbus Lions of the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) prepare to take on the Richmond Raiders in the home opener of the 2014 season on Saturday night at the Columbus Civic Center.
Both teams are coming off Week 1 road losses. The Lions dropped a 71-54 decision on the road in Pennsylvania against the Harrisburg Stampede on Sunday afternoon with the Raiders losing 52-17 in neighboring New Jersey against the Trenton Freedom on Sunday as well. While the Lions' game against Harrisburg was a seesaw affair, the Freedom jumped out to a 34-0 lead on Richmond in the first half before the Raiders finally got on the board via a field goal as the clock expired for halftime.
"Richmond's loss means nothing. Coach [James] Fuller is a good coach, and his team has been to the championship two years in a row for a reason. Everyone has a bad game every now and then. Sunday's loss isn't indicative at all of their style of play. We've always played them close with the home team coming out on top, so hopefully that will work out in our favor again on Saturday," said Lions head coach Jason Gibson.
Columbus traded touchdowns with the Stampede and held a 10-point lead late in the first half before Harrisburg quarterback E.J. Nemeth caught fire, scoring a PIFL record eight rushing touchdowns and adding two more through the air to give the Stampede the win over the Lions in their first PIFL game.
"We're not yet where we want to be, obviously; I have a lot of veterans trying to mesh together," said Gibson. "However, some of the bright spots from Sunday's game are that we have great veteran leadership, our defensive backs played well, Antwon Young had as good a game as advertised at quarterback, and [fullback] Kendrick Perry is a force to be reckoned with in this league," said Gibson. Perry finished the game with 30 yards on the ground and four receptions for 110 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the loss to Harrisburg, while Young was 16 of 31 passing for 313 yards and seven touchdowns.
Saturday's game marks the 100th game in Columbus Lions franchise history, with Gibson at the helm for all of those games. He brings a 64-35 career mark into this weekend's tilt with the Raiders.
"What sticks out to me is all of our sponsors and season ticket holders who have been around for all eight years. Our biggest kudos go out to our ownership group who has been around for eight years as well. They deserve a lot of credit for what they've done to help make Columbus a better community."
Tickets for Saturday's contest are still available at the Columbus Civic Center box office and area TicketMaster outlets. The game is the 100th in franchise history. Kickoff is at 7 PM at the Columbus Civic Center, and doors open at 6 PM.
For more information on home games, season ticket packages, and other ways to get involved with exciting Columbus Lions indoor football, contact the team at 706.322.3336.
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