Columbus Lions roundup: Lions release 2011 schedule; SIFL and AIFA merge; WR Dewalt signs with AFL champs
The Columbus Lions announced this week that another former Lions players signed with an Arena Football League team and that the SIFL has released its 2011 schedule.
On the signing front, WR Lonnel Dewalt and signed with the reigning AFL champion Spokane Shock. Lions DB Damian Daniels and former Lions and Atlanta Falcons WR Troy Bergeron, both Shaw grads, signed with the Cleveland Gladiators a while back.
Now on to the schedule. The SIFL recently announced it had merged with the American Indoor Football Association, the previous home of the Lions, and will split the league up into divisions between its combined 16 teams. It looks like the Lions will mostly stick to the Southeast against teams that already existed in the SIFL. The Richmond (Va.) Raiders come to Columbus on April 2.
Some highlights:
- The Lions open the season at the Alabama Hammers in Huntsville on March 20 and open the home schedule on March 27 against Richmond.
- The Lions play the Albany Panthers and Alabama Hammers three times.
- The Lions host Albany, considered last year's biggest rival and the league front-runner most of the season, only once - June 4. Columbus goes to Albany twice, but that June 4 home meeting is the second-to-last of the regular season, meaning it could carry some big implications.
Mar 20- Columbus @Huntsville
Mar 27- Richmond @Columbus
Apr 2 Columbus @Albany
Apr 9 Columbus @Fayetteville
Apr 16 Lafayette @Columbus
Apr 22 Columbus@Huntsville
May 1 Columbus @Carolina
May 7 Fayetteville @Columbus
May 14 Columbus @Albany
May 28 Huntsville @Columbus
Jun 4 Albany @Columbus
Jun 11 Carolina @Columbus
Mar 27- Richmond @Columbus
Apr 2 Columbus @Albany
Apr 9 Columbus @Fayetteville
Apr 16 Lafayette @Columbus
Apr 22 Columbus@Huntsville
May 1 Columbus @Carolina
May 7 Fayetteville @Columbus
May 14 Columbus @Albany
May 28 Huntsville @Columbus
Jun 4 Albany @Columbus
Jun 11 Carolina @Columbus
This story was originally published November 17, 2010 at 1:19 PM with the headline "Columbus Lions roundup: Lions release 2011 schedule; SIFL and AIFA merge; WR Dewalt signs with AFL champs."