2016 Columbus Lions season

The 2016 Columbus Lions season was the tenth season for the indoor football franchise, and their first in American Indoor Football.[1]

2016 Columbus Lions season
Owner	John Hargrove Keith Norred Kike Seda Skip Seda Rich Jacobson
Head coach	Jason Gibson
General manager	Tanema Willock
Home field	Columbus Civic Center
Results
Record	8–0
Division place	1st
Playoff finish	Won Southern Semifinals (Stars) 49–37 Won Southern Championship (Tarpons) 79–66 Won AIF Championship (Ironmen) 74–32

Schedule

Key:   Win   Tie   Loss   Bye

Regular season

All start times are local to home team

Week	Day	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results		Location
					Score	Record
1	BYE
2	BYE
3	BYE
4	Sunday	March 20	4:00pm	Georgia Firebirds	W 86–0[2]	1–0	Columbus Civic Center
5	Saturday	March 26	7:05pm	at Central Florida Jaguars	W 90–42[3]	2–0	Lakeland Center
6	BYE
7	Saturday	April 9	7:05pm	Atlanta Vultures	W 65–8[4]	3–0	Columbus Civic Center
8	Saturday	April 16	7:05pm	Myrtle Beach Freedom	W 65–15[5]	4–0	Columbus Civic Center
9	Saturday	April 23	7:05pm	Florida Tarpons	W 68–54[6]	5–0	Columbus Civic Center
10	Saturday	April 30	7:05pm	at Georgia Firebirds	W 73–18[7]	6–0	Albany Civic Center
11	Saturday	May 7	7:05pm	Savannah Steam	W 100–21[8]	7–0	Columbus Civic Center
12	BYE
13	Monday	May 23	7:05pm	at Myrtle Beach Freedom	W 52–15[9]	8–0	Myrtle Beach Convention Center
14	BYE

Standings

2016 AIF Southern standings
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	PF (Avg.)	PA (Avg.)	STK
Columbus Lions	8	0	0	1.000	599	174	74.9	21.8	W8
Florida Tarpons	7	1	0	.875	489	202	61.1	25.3	W4
Myrtle Beach Freedom	4	4	0	.500	259	307	32.4	38.4	L1
Savannah Steam	3	5	0	.375	264	336	33.0	42.0	L1
Georgia Firebirds	3	5	0	.375	236	350	29.5	43.8	L2
Central Florida Jaguars	2	6	0	.250	219	483	27.4	60.4	L1
Atlanta Vultures	1	5	0	.167	67	141	11.2	23.5	L5

Playoffs

All start times are local to home team

Round	Day	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Score	Location
Div. Semifinals	Saturday	June 4	5:05pm	New Mexico Stars	W 49–37[10]	Columbus Civic Center
Div. Championship	Saturday	June 11	7:05pm	Florida Tarpons	W 79–66[11]	Columbus Civic Center
AIF Championship	Saturday	June 18	7:00pm	West Michigan Ironmen	W 72–34[12]	Columbus Civic Center

Roster

2016 Columbus Lions roster
Quarterbacks 16 Darren Daniel 12 Casey Kacz -- Cecil Lester Running backs Currently vacant Wide receivers 19 Byron Dickerson  6 Jarmon Fortson 11 Kevin Fuller  5 Kyle Griswould  1 John Harris 20 Jamon Langford 18 Michael Reeve		Offensive linemen 72 Ryne Holland -- Robert Jones 75 Brandon Thomas 58 Dion Small 55 Aaron Wheeler Defensive linemen 44 Logan Ingle 98 Trey Jacobs 13 Joe Marshall 50 Shonquez Nelson  7 Kendrick Washington		Linebackers 34 Larry Edwards 10 Davin Hawkins 21 Zach Vallafskey Defensive backs  4 Damian Daniels 15 Rashad Greene  3 Jerome Junior  2 Roshawn Marshall -- Chris Smith  9 Tracy Wilson Kickers -- Trey Crum		Injured reserve  8 David Toussaint DB (IR) Refuse to report Currently vacant Exempt 14 Lindsey Wolfe K (Exempt) Rookies in italics Roster updated May 25, 2016 30 Active, 2 Inactive

References

1. Keith Groller (September 14, 2015). "Steelhawks moving to a new indoor football league for 2016". www.mcall.com. The Morning Call. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
2. Dana Barker (March 20, 2016). "Lions trounce Firebirds". www.mcall.com. Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
3. "Columbus Lions defeat Central Florida 90-40". www.mcall.com. Ledger-Enquirer. March 27, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
4. Dana Barker (April 9, 2016). "Columbus Lions remain undefeated with rout of Atlanta". www.ledger-enquirer.com. Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
5. Dana Barker (April 9, 2016). "Lions remain undefeated with another rout". www.ledger-enquirer.com. Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
6. Dana Barker (April 24, 2016). "Columbus Lions remain undefeated with win over Florida Tarpons". www.ledger-enquirer.com. Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
7. "Lions rout Firebirds, remain undefeated". www.ledger-enquirer.com. Ledger-Enquirer. May 1, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
8. Dana Barker (May 7, 2016). "Lions score 100, steamroll Savannah". www.ledger-enquirer.com. Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
9. "Columbus Lions tuneup for playoffs with win over Myrtle Beach". www.ledger-enquirer.com. Ledger-Enquirer. May 24, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
10. Dana Barker (June 5, 2016). "Lions overcome slow start to win playoff opener over Stars". www.ledger-enquirer.com. Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
11. Dana Barker (June 12, 2016). "Columbus Lions advance to AIF championship game with win over Florida Tarpons". www.ledger-enquirer.com. Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
12. Dana Barker (June 19, 2016). "Lions capture AIF title in bizarre, blowout fashion". www.ledger-enquirer.com. Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved June 20, 2016.