Home-grown talent key for Lions’ success

The American Indoor Football league has greatly reduced travel for the Columbus Lions this season compared to their past three years in the PIFL. Instead of traveling to cities such as Richmond, Va., Trenton, N.J., and Harrisburg, Pa. as they did in the PIFL, the longest road trip for Columbus this year will be a seven hour one to Myrtle Beach, S.C., on May 23.

The makeup of the team itself, as in past seasons, also carries more of a local flavor.

Veteran defensive back Damian Daniels, the all-time indoor football career leader in interceptions, hails from Columbus. He was a part of the Shaw High football program in the early 2000s, helping to bring home a state title under coach Charles Flowers in 2000 with a perfect 15-0 campaign.

“To play for a guy who had a huge stamp not just in Columbus but in the state of Georgia, to play for Coach Flowers and be under his wing, it was just a blessing,” Daniels said. I wouldn’t have wanted to play for anyone else, to be honest.”

“It’s crazy. I don’t think a lot of guys have that opportunity,” Daniels said of returning home to play professionally. “To be able to do that is a great thing. For your family to be able to support you every game, it’s huge.”

In the past several years since the days of “Shaw U,” as former Raiders and Lions football players such as Daniels and Anthony Merritt have coined their team, Carver has replaced Shaw atop the throne of football powerhouse schools in Columbus. Current Lions wide receiver Jarmon Fortson was a part of two of those Tigers teams, and like Daniels, Fortson also was on an undefeated state championship team at Carver as a senior in 2007, playing under another noteworthy coach in Dell McGee, now the running backs coach at the University of Georgia.

“He taught all of us at Carver to be professionals and stay on the straight line.” Fortson said. “He taught us how to be men and to go get what you want. If you want to be in the NFL, be in the NFL. If you want to be a doctor, be a doctor. Seeing Dell (at UGA), his words are true.

“There’s a lot of kids out here who look up to us,” Fortson said of returning home to play for the Lions. “It’s good for the community. This is where God put me.”

“Both of us were able to do the same thing,” Daniels said. “Both of us have a state championship in Columbus and we both have professional championships here. That’s something that’s unheard of for most athletes.”

“Damian and I had a conversation about who would win out of Carver or Shaw,” Fortson said with a laugh. “And a lot of people reading this might want to comment on that on the Internet.”

Besides Daniels and Fortson, many other Lions have local roots. Quarterback Darren Daniel (Central-Phenix City), center Ryne Holland (Columbus) and wide receiver Kyle Griswould (Shaw) all went to high school in the Bi-City area. Veteran wideout John Harris, who began his indoor football career with the now-defunct Albany Panthers, graduated from Americus High School. Lineman Dion Small played collegiately at Troy, while kicker Lindsey Wolfe attended Fort Valley State.

While some leagues have a “hometown” rule, where a certain number of players on a team’s roster must be from within a given radius of the home venue, the AIF has no such rule. However, the importance of having homegrown talent isn’t lost on Lions coach Jason Gibson.

“It’s great from a fan standpoint,” Gibson said. “They kind of have the lay of the land. You don’t want to bring in 20 guys from out of town. People don’t want to watch players who they have no idea who they are. It also helps build a camaraderie.”

While the Lions embrace local players, they haven’t exactly been kind to nearby teams they have faced so far this season. The Lions opened the season by pummeling the Albany-based Georgia Firebirds 86-0 on March 20, then defeated the Atlanta Vultures by a 65-8 margin in their next home game on April 9. The Lions beat Georgia again last week, 73-19.

They look to make it 4-for-4 at home against Peach State opponents on Saturday as they face the Savannah Steam at the Columbus Civic Center. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Saturday.

Saturday’s game also marks the final regular-season home game for the Lions. To Gibson, finishing the season without a blemish at home would be a huge achievement.

“It’s a big deal, I don’t care what league you’re in. It’s good to win every game in front of your home fans,” Gibson said.

This story was originally published May 6, 2016 at 7:52 PM with the headline "Home-grown talent key for Lions’ success."