Columbus Lions face off against Jacksonville Sharks in NAL playoffs
Columbus Lions Head Coach Jason Gibson has his healthiest team in months as his team prepares for its National Arena League first-round playoff game against the Jacksonville Sharks, Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.
The Lions (6-8), winners of their last three games, face the red-hot Sharks (13-1) on an NAL record 13-game winning streak.
“I like our direction the past few weeks,” said Gibson as he boarded the team bus Monday morning. “After losing 6 of 7, we handled the New York Streets, 55-19, rallied to beat Orlando in overtime, and at times dominated the defending league champs last week. We’ve had as many as 12 players injured at once, but we seem to be peaking and healing up at the best possible time.”
Should Columbus pull this upset, and they’ve edged ever-closer to beating Jacksonville each Florida trip, they’ll take on the Carolina Cobras on August 17 at the Greensboro Coliseum with a chance to avenge last year’s 66-8 loss in the NAL title game. The Cobras punched their ticket to the championship game by downing the Massachusetts Pirates Saturday night, 30-26, in an unusually intense defensive battle, as arena football goes.
The Lions’ season has been marred by serious injuries at several positions. Quarterback Nick Collis, starter for 10 games, before entering concussion protocol, gave way to backup Mitch Kidd for a week before Gibson reacquired Bryan Hicks from the Orlando Predators. Hicks has engineered all three wins, the latter two comebacks from late 18- and 13-point deficits.
The wide receiver corps, dominant for the first 10 weeks of the regular season before injuries, is ready to go full tilt. Rookies Paris Mack and Chris Sanders-McCollum return with 59 and 50 catches, respectively, with Mack averaging a league-high 17.1 yards per catch. They rejoin Bones Bagaunte, whose 99 catches rank third. His 1,392 combined receiving and return yards led the NAL.
Recent offensive find Desmond Reese (Valley High School, Tuskegee) has emerged as a dynamic multi-purpose threat out of the backfield and returning kickoffs the past few games. Deandre Brown is the Lions’ fifth receiver activated for this game.
Also feeling better are the Lions’ banged-up offensive line and defensive backfield. Since the season-ending broken leg of center A.J. Harmon, Gibson’s obtained veteran big men Shaq Wallen and Bubba Evans upfront. Meanwhile, dominant defensive back Dominick Sanders returns with his former Georgia Bulldog teammates Rico Johnson and Shattle Fenteng, along with ex-Shaw and Duke standout Kyle Griswould. These four have combined for 12 interceptions in 2019.
Fenteng is the team’s leading tackler (47), with linebackers Greg Hall and Kassim Forbes tied for second at 39 each, followed by Martay Maddox (30.5). Hall (5.5), defensive linemen Ulric Jones (5.0) and J.T. Surratt (3.0) are the Lions’ leading quarterback sackmen.
This season, the Lions were beaten soundly by the Sharks at home, 48-24, on April 19 but competed well before being edged 48-41 in Jacksonville on June 8.
The game will be televised by the Sharks, produced locally and carried on YouTube.
Rick Jacobson is co-owner and vice president of sales and marketing for the Columbus Lions.