Lions to Close Out Season in Albany
June 19, 2013 - Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL)
Columbus Lions News Release
COLUMBUS, GA - Now fully out of the playoff picture, the Columbus Lions (4-7) of the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) will close out the 2013 regular season this Saturday June 22nd with a trip to a more than familiar venue the Albany Civic Center to take on the Albany Panthers (6-5).
Who cares if the Lions have officially been knocked out of playoff contention for the first time in team history? Who minds that with their loss last weekend to Lehigh means the Panthers will have to defend their PIFL Championship crown on the road?
Usually when you talk Lions, Panthers the matchup is usually hinged on playoff seeding or in fact taking place in the playoffs, but come Saturday the 14th overall meeting in this series contest will have bare meaning on the overall aspect of the 2013 season.
Just don't mention that to a Lions squad that still has the bruise marks of a gut punch from two weeks ago when the Panthers ended any hopes of extending their playoff appearances streak to seven with a 35-15 victory.
"Even though our goal of making the playoffs cannot be achieved we still have much to play for," says Columbus Lions Head Coach Jason Gibson. "Other than the proverbial pride of the game, some guys are playing for potential jobs for next season and we just want to flat out beat those guys."
For Columbus beating âthose guys' has become few and far between having lost four straight and five out the last six in the series. In the loss two weeks ago the offense struggled to get just 94 total yards of offense while turning the ball over five times including two interceptions by former Lions franchise interception leader Damian Daniels.
With the playoffs around the corner, it is hard to know what to expect from a Panthers squad reeling from last weekend's shocking 53-49 loss at the hands of the Steelhawks. Lehigh's victory did a load of damage of which includes ending a 15-game Panthers home winning streak dating back over two years. It also means that Albany's title defense will take place on the road, something they have struggled with all season going 2-4 including at one point losing three straight.
Even if they were to beat Columbus again, the Panthers will fall into a three-way tie with Richmond and Lehigh but fall on the short-end due to losing the three-way tie breaker scenarios with both squads.
PIFL mandates that teams can only carry a maximum of 27 players on their roster making it virtually impossible for Albany to rest all of their starters. With that said, Columbus can assume that they won't get the full plethora of players thrown at them on Saturday. "We desperately have the need to get this heavy burden off our backs," continues Gibson. "Since beating us in 2011 they have owned this series, we can begin to take back some momentum and maybe even cause them some derailment as they enter the playoffs."
After Saturday's game, Albany will begin their title defense on Monday July 1st in Huntsville, AL against the 2013 PIFL Division Champion Alabama Hammers (9-2). Meanwhile the PIFL's 2nd seeded Richmond Raiders and 3rd seeded Lehigh Valley Steelhawks will meet up for a third time this season per the Hawks looking to avoid the sweep. That game will also take place on Monday July 1st with Richmond serving as the host.
Saturday's game between Columbus and Albany will kickoff at 7:30 PM ET and fans can catch the action by logging on to www.columbuslions.net and clicking on the Listen Live icon. Also be sure to stay up on all the team's updates by logging on to their Facebook page.
• Discuss this story on the Professional Indoor Football League message board...
Professional Indoor Football League Stories from June 19, 2013
- PIFL Will Not Reschedule Alabama/Louisiana Match From May 25 - Knoxville NightHawks
- Lions to Close Out Season in 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.
