Behind six turnovers, the Columbus Lions defense helped push through a lackluster performance by the offense giving the defending champs the 44-30 win over the Richmond Raiders in their home opener. It was a performance the home crowd wasn't used, well partly thanks in large part to the defense and their five turnovers. Just like last week, the Lions defense caused two turnovers in the first two Richmond possessions and once again linebacker Ryan Babb returned one for a score via a 48 yard interception return. Despite never trailing in the game, the offensive numbers for Columbus are excruciating to look as quarterback Chris McCoy spent majority of the game on his back only completing 17 of 28 passes for 185 yards. Frequent debauched center-to-quarterback exchanges in addition to 17 penalties kept the offense stagnant for majority of the night as the Lions could only convert on four of nine red-zone chances. Early in the 4th quarter, Richmond was within grasp only down by six but a defensive stop forced the Raiders into a 50-yard field goal attempt that fell short and was promptly returned for a score by defensive back Anthony Merritt putting Columbus up by 12. Merritt finished the night by racking up seven receptions for 60 yards and two touchdowns to go with a fumble recovery on defense. One constant customary has been the stellar play of the Lions defense and three-time Defensive MVP Damian "The Nighthawk" Daniels who added another three interceptions to his career total of 63. Richmond's offense clearly was missing starting quarterback Bryan Randall and kicker Chris Segaar as the Raiders coughed up the ball in five of their first six possessions to go with a total offensive output of just 146 yards. The Columbus Lions turn around and get right back into this Saturday night as they travel to take on their bitter division rivals in the Albany Panthers. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. and fans can hear all the action by logging on to www.columbuslions.net and clicking on the listen live icon. There they can also tune into Lions TV and watch all of tonight's post-game interviews featuring Lions players Damian Daniels, Anthony Merritt, and Head Coach Jason Gibson.
