Lions Sneak Past Trenton, Set-up Showdown With Albany
June 19, 2011 - Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL)
Columbus Lions News Release
COLUMBUS, GA - In a game in which they never trailed and were out-gained 418-283, the defending SIFL Champion Columbus Lions (12-1) showed some of that championship grit in a 62-60 nail bitter over the Trenton Steel (8-5) on Saturday night.
Featuring the top passing and scoring offense, the Trenton Steel packed that entire arsenal on Saturday night and still ended up with a two-point loss. Steel quarterback E.J. Nemeth tossed 391 yards completing 31 of 49 passes and eight total touchdowns. Nemeth's primary focus was on a two receivers with both Dan Huff and Oderrick Turner getting multiple touches as well as topping the century mark in yardage with Turner grabbing a game-high 184 yards.
Columbus defense may have surrendered the most points they have all season, but they didn't break grabbing three interceptions including one early in the second quarter that was returned 43 yards by linebacker Ryan Babb for a touchdown. "This defense has a lot of veterans who stepped up big tonight," says linebacker Ryan Babb. "We had guys go down but others stepped up, that is what champions are made of."
In a game that had many crucial plays down the stretch, one that turned the tide the most was a late fourth quarter interception in the end-zone by Ramone Nickerson. Down by 8, Trenton QB E.J. Nemeth was trying to get his team back within one for the fourth time in the second half alone, but a tipped pass by Damian Daniels into the hands of Nickerson changed the momentum.
Columbus promptly took the turnover and turned it into the final six the Lions would need to close out the game. Gales scored on a 30-yard broken play in which quarterback Chris McCoy initially had no one open but rolled to his right before finally settling on a sail route for the score. McCoy finished the game completing 25 of 38 passes for 247 yards and six touchdowns.
Even though Trenton was racking up the yardage, Columbus had one other edge on their side and that was the play from their special teams, most notably kicker Trey Crum and his 14 points including a personal best five uno's. In all, Lions special teams made some critical plays down the stretch including recovering two onside kicks while also being prepared for the low kicks that Trenton likes to deliver on kickoffs.
An hour and half south of the Columbus Civic Center, the Albany Panthers (11-2) took care of business with a 68-43 victory over the Erie Explosion setting up a showdown with the Lions next Saturday June 25th at 7:30 p.m. for the SIFL Eastern Conference Championship and the winner moving on to the SIFL Championship game.
For player interview interviews from linebacker Ryan Babb, defensive back Ramone Nickerson, kicker Trey Crum as well as Lions Head Coach Jason Gibson tune into LionsTV by logging on to www.columbuslions.net For ticket information about next weekend's Eastern Conference Championship showdown with the Albany Panthers, contact the Lions front office at 706-322-3336.
• Discuss this story on the Southern Indoor Football League message board...
Southern Indoor Football League Stories from June 19, 2011
- Swashbucklers Sink Hammerheads Playoffs Hopes - Corpus Christi Hammerheads
- Lions Sneak Past Trenton, Set-up Showdown With Albany - Columbus Lions
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
