Mariners Tamed By Lions In 82-19 Loss

Published on April 6, 2009 under American Indoor Football Association (AIFA)
Baltimore Mariners News Release


(Baltimore, MD) The Baltimore Mariners (2-2) turned in what could be the worst game of their season on Saturday, against the Columbus Lions (3-1) and that is saying something with ten games still left to play. The Lions convincingly defeated the Mariners 82-19. Having come off of a close loss to the Harrisburg Stampede last week, the Mariners hoped to regain their momentum and put another win on the board as they faced off against Columbus. The Lions had other plans.

The first quarter alone saw the Lions take a quick lead, putting up 29 points. Baltimore's only points in the first quarter came off of a safety, when DB Joe Taylor pressured Lions' QB Bill Ashburn (17Att, 10 Comp, 2 Int, 142 Yds, 4 TD) into intentionally grounding the football while backed up in their own endzone. Taylor would prove to be one of the few bright spots in the lopsided Mariners' loss, as he notched another interception on the season. Taylor has logged an interception in each of the last three games.

By halftime, the Lions held a hefty 51-12 lead, and showed no signs of slowing down. In the second half, the Lions put up another 31 points in the game. The only Mariners score in the second half came off of an E.J. Nemeth (27Att, 5 Comp, 3 Int, 62 Yds) 1-yd rusher. Nemeth left the game in the fourth quarter due to a shoulder injury, affording backup QB Matt Folke (14Att, 5 Comp, 1 Int, 35 Yds) some valuable playing time. His professional debut did not start off as well as he would have hoped for; throwing an interception on his first pass that was returned for a TD. Folke is in good company with that specific stat. Baltimore Colts' QB Johnny Unitas accomplished the same feat in his first professional football appearance.

In the loss to the Lions, the Baltimore Mariners turned the ball over six times, with five of the turnovers coming off of interceptions. "We can not turn the ball over that many times against a team likes Columbus" said defensive line coach Bryan Milburn. "They capitalized on our mistakes and we let the game get away from us" he added. The Baltimore Mariners head into a bye week, where they hope to collect themselves from this loss and recover from their injuries. "We were banged up coming into this game, and we were banged up even more during the game" said assistant coach Greg Justice. "The bye week will give us time to re-focus, recover, and prepare for another physical game against Reading" Justice added.

The Baltimore Mariners return to the field Saturday, April 18th as they take on the Reading Express in Reading, PA. Kickoff is at 7:00 PM.

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