The Carolina Cobras (10-5) defeated the Columbus Lions (8-7) with a score of 56-35 in the final week of the regular season.

This victory for the Cobras momentarily puts them in second place after a Massachusetts Pirates (11-5) victory over the winless Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (0-15) on Saturday.

Though on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. ET, the Jacksonville Sharks and Maine Mammoths will face off in a game that will determine the top three playoff seeds.

Carolina Cobras sneak by Columbus Lions 56-35

Cobras Quarterback Charles McCullum had a better start this week against the Lions than he has had in previous weeks against the Lions. He finished the night 20-of-30 for 246 yards and four touchdowns.

On the ground, McCullum rushed three times for 28 yards and one rushing touchdown. Wide Receiver Fabian Guerra piled up seven receptions for 75 yards and two touchdowns on the night, being McCullum’s top receiver of the night.

Up next is Phillip Barnett with six receptions for 46 yards and two touchdowns. Jordan Jolly hauled in four catches for 66 yards while Tyrell Goodman piled up three receptions for 58 yards.

For the Lions, an injured Mason Espinosa gave Quarterback Jeremy Johnson his first start of the season. Johnson was 16-of-35 for 189 yards and three touchdowns. He had a couple rushes for five yards.

Johnson got the ball to almost everyone on the Lions offense, as Jarmon Fortson was their top receiver with six receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns. Durron Neal had four receptions for 50 yards and one touchdown.

London Crawford played his second game with the Lions and got the ball three times for 32 yards. Kyle Griswould didn’t see a catch until late in the game, where he only had one for 10 yards.

Penalties may as well be the name of the game, as there were a total of 28 penalties for a total of 183 yards. The Cobras got a total of 12 penalties for 87 yards while the Lions got 16 penalties for 96 yards.

Interesting First Half

To start the game, Tyler Rausa kicked off for the Lions and made a deuce, giving the Lions an early 2-0 lead with just seconds off the clock. On the first drive for Carolina, the Cobras used two of their three timeouts before they scored a point.

On the play after their second timeout, McCullum rushed for a one yard touchdown to put the Cobras up 7-2. Johnson had a rough start to the game, as they turned the ball over on downs on their opening drive and allowed the Cobras to score another touchdown from 27 yards out.

Second Half Woes for Lions

To start the second quarter, Johnson got things into gear, scoring a touchdown in just two plays; one for 10 yards and the other for a 20 yard touchdown to Neal.

After exchanging two touchdowns, the Cobras finally took advantage of a sloppy Lions offensive drive. The Lions would turn the ball over on downs and then the Cobras would quickly score.

With just less than a minute to go in the first half, the Cobras recovered their own onside kick, but couldn’t do anything with the ball. Going into halftime, the Cobras were barely hanging on to the Lions with a 26-17 lead.

Penalties started to take their toll on Columbus in the second half. Their penalties and a dominating Cobras team is what made the Cobras pull away with a victory.

The Cobras defense bent, but didn’t break as they held the Lions to a 29-yard field goal on the opening drive in the second half.

Lions Kicker Tyler Rausa nailed a deuce, to ultimately give the Lions five points on that opening drive. The score slowly came to a 26-22 lead for the Cobras. A Cobras touchdown and a defensive stop gave them a huge advantage going into the fourth quarter, as they were ahead by 13.

The Cobras and Lions exchanged touchdowns twice in the fourth quarter until the Cobras found the end zone from a recovered onside kick.

This touchdown put the icing on the cake and gave the Cobras all of the momentum, as they were up by 21 with a 56-35 score.

Tempers flared for the Lions as Fortson made contact with an official on what could have been a defensive pass interference. At this point in the game, the Lions entire team and coaching staff gave up and killed the clock.

Playoff Implications

This game sends the Lions to the number four spot for the playoffs.

It is unknown as to who the Lions will face in the first round, due to Sunday’s game not being played yet.

If the Sharks win, then they will take the number one spot and will host the Lions in the first round.

If the Sharks lose, then the Pirates will take first spot and host the Lions while the Cobras would stay in second place and host the Sharks.

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