Post by 50yardfan on Jun 25, 2011 23:27:47 GMT -5
The countdown is over, the pre-game hype has reached its peak and there’s no reason to analyze much of anything else about tonight’s SIFL semifinal showdown between the Lions and Panthers, who head to Columbus this evening with revenge on their minds and one step closer to reaching their goal they set back in March: winning a championship.
www.albanyherald.com/sports/headlines/Lets_do_this_124528124.html
ALBANY — Albany vs. Columbus.
It’s the kind of rivalry that turns ordinary plays into extraordinary ones; meaningless games into ones with purpose; and playoff games into something legendary.
Last year, it was the SIFL Championship game that should have been — but after the Panthers inexplicably lost to Louisiana in the first round, it never was.
There was no let-up in the playoff opener this year for the Panthers, who crushed a high-powered Erie Explosion team last week and are now looking for some redemption as the Panthers-Lions rivalry is taken up a notch in tonight’s Eastern Conference final in Columbus.
And Albany coach Lucious Davis said that with this much on the line, there is no other team he would rather play than the defending SIFL Champions.
“I’m pretty sure that if you go ask them, they want us. And we want them,” Davis said this week at practice. “When you play in the game, you want to play the best. And in my heart, I feel like they are the best. They have proven that they are the best all last year and this year. And if we want to be the best, we have to beat the best.”
The Lions (12-1) have had the Panthers’ number this season, beating Albany (11-2) twice in the regular season, including a 58-39 win on June 4 that gave Columbus the Southern Division title.
But the street goes both ways.
The only thing standing between Columbus and an undefeated record this year? An April 2 loss when Albany rolled to a 46-26 win.
Each of those matchups have had something on the line, but the Panthers insist that none of those contests compare to tonight’s clash at the Columbus Civic Center.
“This is the biggest,” Panthers receiver Antwone Savage said. “We are going into Columbus to play them to get to the championship game. There is no game bigger than this one.”
No game bigger, and no game with this much pressure to go along with it. During practices leading up to tonight’s showdown, the Panthers used words like “hostile,” “intense” and “nerve-wracking” to describe the type of environment they expect at the often-raucous Columbus Civic Center.
Davis said all the pressure that has been mounted on his team’s shoulders could have an effect on the players early in the contest.
“I think in the beginning they will be more uptight,” he said. “As the game goes on, they will loosen up some. I think all 21 of them will be uptight at the beginning.”
And Davis said the best way to make those butterflies disappear is to score — early and often.
“We have to set the tone, whether it’s offense first or defense first. But we have to start with special teams,” he said. “This last game (against Erie), we set the tone on the opening kickoff.”
Placekicker Geoff Boyer opened up the Erie game with an uno, and after a defensive stop, Panthers quarterback Cecil Lester threw one of his seven touchdown passes to Savage, who finished with four.
Lester enters the game with 2,626 yards for 64 touchdowns and just 15 interceptions, and he is handling the hype by looking at tonight as just another game.
“I mean, (it’s) a good rivalry,” Lester said. “But, you know, one game out of the way. We’ve got two more to go. (The Lions) just so happen to be the second game we’ve got to go through. So one down, two to go.”
In the last game against the Lions, Lester threw a season-high four interceptions. They were all to Damian Daniels — and they were all in the end zone. On Thursday, Lester wouldn’t comment on those interceptions, only saying, “that’s the past.” But the Panther quarterback who is going up against a Columbus team that owns a plus-21 turnover margin knows the importance of protecting the ball.
“It’s very important,” he said. “You always want to go into the game and minimize mistakes, make sure you capitalize on their mistakes and just put points on the board.”
On the other side of the ball, Lions quarterback Chris McCoy doesn’t make many errors. During the contest in which Columbus clinched the Southern Division title, McCoy threw no interceptions and was barely touched by Albany’s pass rush.
“We got to put pressure on (McCoy),” Davis said. “We got to force him to make bad decisions. We got to rush him from all angles, and we got to hit him.
“Last game, we didn’t get many hits on him, and he burned us. We have to make sure we do a better job.”
But Davis said what makes Columbus even better is their top-ranked defense that allows just 39 points a game.
“Their defense is awesome, and their offense is very efficient,” Davis said. “You have a team like that, and you can’t make mistakes against them. If you make mistakes, they are going to kill you.”
And for Davis, tonight is personal. He blamed himself for the Panthers’ 20-point loss three weeks ago, and talked Thursday about how much a trip to the SIFL title game would mean to him after the dream matchup between Albany and Columbus never happened a season ago.
“(Tonight’s game) means a lot. I don’t want to lose. I don’t want to go home,” he said. “I want what they have — and that’s a championship. Right now, they are the champions. They have rings. That’s what I want.”
www.albanyherald.com/sports/headlines/Lets_do_this_124528124.html
ALBANY — Albany vs. Columbus.
It’s the kind of rivalry that turns ordinary plays into extraordinary ones; meaningless games into ones with purpose; and playoff games into something legendary.
Last year, it was the SIFL Championship game that should have been — but after the Panthers inexplicably lost to Louisiana in the first round, it never was.
There was no let-up in the playoff opener this year for the Panthers, who crushed a high-powered Erie Explosion team last week and are now looking for some redemption as the Panthers-Lions rivalry is taken up a notch in tonight’s Eastern Conference final in Columbus.
And Albany coach Lucious Davis said that with this much on the line, there is no other team he would rather play than the defending SIFL Champions.
“I’m pretty sure that if you go ask them, they want us. And we want them,” Davis said this week at practice. “When you play in the game, you want to play the best. And in my heart, I feel like they are the best. They have proven that they are the best all last year and this year. And if we want to be the best, we have to beat the best.”
The Lions (12-1) have had the Panthers’ number this season, beating Albany (11-2) twice in the regular season, including a 58-39 win on June 4 that gave Columbus the Southern Division title.
But the street goes both ways.
The only thing standing between Columbus and an undefeated record this year? An April 2 loss when Albany rolled to a 46-26 win.
Each of those matchups have had something on the line, but the Panthers insist that none of those contests compare to tonight’s clash at the Columbus Civic Center.
“This is the biggest,” Panthers receiver Antwone Savage said. “We are going into Columbus to play them to get to the championship game. There is no game bigger than this one.”
No game bigger, and no game with this much pressure to go along with it. During practices leading up to tonight’s showdown, the Panthers used words like “hostile,” “intense” and “nerve-wracking” to describe the type of environment they expect at the often-raucous Columbus Civic Center.
Davis said all the pressure that has been mounted on his team’s shoulders could have an effect on the players early in the contest.
“I think in the beginning they will be more uptight,” he said. “As the game goes on, they will loosen up some. I think all 21 of them will be uptight at the beginning.”
And Davis said the best way to make those butterflies disappear is to score — early and often.
“We have to set the tone, whether it’s offense first or defense first. But we have to start with special teams,” he said. “This last game (against Erie), we set the tone on the opening kickoff.”
Placekicker Geoff Boyer opened up the Erie game with an uno, and after a defensive stop, Panthers quarterback Cecil Lester threw one of his seven touchdown passes to Savage, who finished with four.
Lester enters the game with 2,626 yards for 64 touchdowns and just 15 interceptions, and he is handling the hype by looking at tonight as just another game.
“I mean, (it’s) a good rivalry,” Lester said. “But, you know, one game out of the way. We’ve got two more to go. (The Lions) just so happen to be the second game we’ve got to go through. So one down, two to go.”
In the last game against the Lions, Lester threw a season-high four interceptions. They were all to Damian Daniels — and they were all in the end zone. On Thursday, Lester wouldn’t comment on those interceptions, only saying, “that’s the past.” But the Panther quarterback who is going up against a Columbus team that owns a plus-21 turnover margin knows the importance of protecting the ball.
“It’s very important,” he said. “You always want to go into the game and minimize mistakes, make sure you capitalize on their mistakes and just put points on the board.”
On the other side of the ball, Lions quarterback Chris McCoy doesn’t make many errors. During the contest in which Columbus clinched the Southern Division title, McCoy threw no interceptions and was barely touched by Albany’s pass rush.
“We got to put pressure on (McCoy),” Davis said. “We got to force him to make bad decisions. We got to rush him from all angles, and we got to hit him.
“Last game, we didn’t get many hits on him, and he burned us. We have to make sure we do a better job.”
But Davis said what makes Columbus even better is their top-ranked defense that allows just 39 points a game.
“Their defense is awesome, and their offense is very efficient,” Davis said. “You have a team like that, and you can’t make mistakes against them. If you make mistakes, they are going to kill you.”
And for Davis, tonight is personal. He blamed himself for the Panthers’ 20-point loss three weeks ago, and talked Thursday about how much a trip to the SIFL title game would mean to him after the dream matchup between Albany and Columbus never happened a season ago.
“(Tonight’s game) means a lot. I don’t want to lose. I don’t want to go home,” he said. “I want what they have — and that’s a championship. Right now, they are the champions. They have rings. That’s what I want.”