Southern Indoor Football League: Columbus Lions fall to Albany Panthers 51-45
3-yard run with 56 seconds left ruins first-place hopes
By CHRIS WHITE
cwhite@ledger-enquirer.com
Albany quarterback Josh Lester did most of the damage to the Columbus Lions through the air on Saturday, but it was his short run that finally put to rest Columbus’ hopes of moving into a tie for first place.
Lester, who had 199 passing yards at the end of the first half and finished with 255 and four touchdowns, led the Panthers down the field with 21- and 20-yard passes late in the fourth quarter, finally punching in the go-ahead score on a 3-yard run with 56 seconds remaining.
Columbus (5-3) moved quickly from its 5-yard line, but a fourth-down hook-and-ladder play failed to yield a first down, allowing Albany (7-1) to run out the final 11 seconds of the game for the 51-45 victory at the Civic Center.
It was the first time in franchise history the Lions have lost back-to-back games.
For now, the Lions are content with second place in the regular-season Southern Indoor Football League standings, Columbus coach Jason Gibson said.
“To be honest with you, I’m not that worried about the regular season at this point,” Gibson said. “I’ve been down this road before. We’re already in the playoffs; we’re going to get a home playoff game. I hate to say it, but with those things, the regular season isn’t as important. What’s important is the playoffs.”
While Albany went ahead 17-14 after one quarter and led 39-31 at halftime, the Lions were able to keep the Panthers’ offense mostly silent in the second half. Lester was limited to a combined 56 yards passing through the third and fourth quarters, and the Panthers managed only 12 points.
“We came out and tried to just eliminate all the big plays,” Lions defensive back Damian Daniels said. “We made some adjustments at halftime, and I think we were able to do that.”
Daniels finished with three interceptions, including two in the second half, and Anthony Merritt ran back a blocked field goal for a touchdown in the first half.
The Lions were scoreless in the third quarter, but a 2-yard Merritt run on a direct-snap cut into the Panthers’ lead before a short pass to lineman Josh Beard turned into a 15-yard touchdown that put the Lions ahead 45-43 with 3:21 remaining in the game.
Columbus quarterback Chris McCoy went 22-for-39 for 248 yards and three touchdowns but threw five interceptions, including one for a touchdown in the final seconds of the first half. McCoy said the Lions’ small mistakes snowballed as the game went on.
“We had a lot of little mistakes tonight that caused a lot of big plays,” McCoy said. “As we prepare this week, I think we’ll work on some things that we should have executed tonight.”
Columbus will host Greenville on Friday, then play at Lafayette on June 19 and return to host Albany in the regular-season finale on June 26.
@z-BR Agate Bold Centered:Saturday at Civic Center
@z-BR TabQuarters 1col:Albany 17 22 1 11 — 51
Columbus 14 17 0 14 — 45
@z-BR Agate Bold Centered:First Quarter
A — Antwone Savage 21 pass from Cecil Lester (Juan Bongarra kick), 11:22
A — Safety, 10:21
C — Chris McCoy 2 run (kick failed), 5:12
C — Trey Crum uno, 5:12
A — Antwontis Cutts 43 pass from Lester (Bongarra kick), 1:54
A — Bongarra uno, 1:54
C — Gerald Gales 42 pass from McCoy (Crum kick), :17
@z-BR Agate Bold Centered:Second Quarter
A — Savage 18 pass from Lester (Bongarra kick), 11:56
C — Lonell DeWalt 10 pass from McCoy (Anthony Merritt run), 7:44
C — Crum uno, 7:44
C — Merritt 35 field goal return (Crum kick), 3:15
C — Crum uno, 3:15
A — John Harris 18 from Lester (Bongarra kick), :33
A — Bongarra uno, :33
A — Melvin Jenkins 10 interception return (Bongarra kick), :10
@z-BR Agate Bold Centered:Third Quarter
A — Bongarro uno, 15:00
@z-BR Agate Bold Centered:Fourth Quarter
A — Bongarro 36 field goal, 14:57
C — Merritt 2 run (Crum kick), 9:21
C — Josh Beard 15 pass from McCoy (Crum kick), 3:21
A — Lester 3 run (Lester run), :56
Team records: Albany 7-1; Columbus 5-2 Next: Albany at Lafayette, Saturday; Columbus vs. Greenville, Friday.
This story was originally published June 6, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Southern Indoor Football League: Columbus Lions fall to Albany Panthers 51-45."