Behind eight turnovers including three returned for touchdowns, the SIFL defending champion Columbus Lions (1-0) kicked off their title defense on the road with a 67-20 victory over the Alabama Hammers (0-1). Before the Columbus Lions offense even touched the field, the defense staked them to a 12-0 lead behind two fumble recoveries for touchdowns both by linebackers Ryan Babb and Justen Rivers. In fact, it was another quarter before the offense found the end-zone when All-SIFL 1st Teamer Chris McCoy hooked up with Gerald Gales for the first of his five touchdown passes. Alabama's first two scores came on a pair of field goals by kicker Kenny Spencer as the offense led by quarterback Bill Ashburn struggled all night to find any rhythm. Ashburn finished the evening completing 18 of 36 passes for 162 yards with two touchdowns but did throw three costly interceptions. Under-fire majority of the game, the former Lion quarterback was sacked six times including three by linebacker Justen Rivers, along with botching a number of snaps from the center causing majority of the clubs eight fumbles. Despite not having one wide receiver gain over 100 yards, McCoy managed to connect with five different receivers finishing the night 22 of 38 for 228 yards. Receivers Josh Smith, Tirone Morris, and Anthony Merritt all grabbed five receptions while Maurice Dupree made a huge indoor debut snagging three touchdowns. Even though the time of possession was lop-sided, 38 minutes to 21 in favor of the Hammers, Columbus made the most of their possessions compared to Alabama who had many botched snaps and never seemed to get in tempo going 4 for 10 on third down's and 0-3 on fourth down conversions. Another huge reason for the time of possession difference was in large part to three defensive scores. Three-time Defensive MVP Damian "Nighthawk" Daniels came away with hisfirst two interceptions on the year along with causing and recovering a fumble."It's always comforting to come out on offense and already have a two touchdown lead," says Columbus Lions Head Coach Jason Gibson. "Even more so doing it on the road was huge, but as a team we must continue on the path of getting better cause I know this team can do so much more." For an entirety of the coach Gibson's post-game interview along with some comments made by defensive back Damian Daniels be sure to log on to www.columbuslions.net and view the Lions TV. The Lions will be back in action next weekend when they host the Richmond Raiders (1-0) next Sunday March 27th for "Military Appreciation Night." Doors open at 3:00 with kickoff slated for 4:00 p.m., contact the Lions front office at 706-322-3336 for all military discounts.
