Up next on our NAL Top Five series, we have our number three game. Before we take a look at our number three game, let’s briefly review what our number five game is and what our number four game is.
No. 5: Monterrey Steel @ Corpus Christi Rage
The Steel and Rage fought a long battle until the Steel’s defense showed that they could be the one to have the most impacting defense in the game, having a game-securing interception with under a minute to go, beating the Rage 33-30.
No. 4: Monterrey Steel @ Jacksonville Sharks
The Monterrey Steel were looking to finish the season strong, facing the undefeated Jacksonville Sharks. The Steel were trailing most of the game, but came back late in the third quarter, being the first team to lead against Jacksonville in 2017. The Steel continued their lead and recovered the game-securing fumble in the end zone for a touchback with less than a minute to go, beating Jacksonville 44-37.
NAL Top Five: No. 3 – Columbus Lions @ Lehigh Valley Steelhawks
On June 24, 2017, the Columbus Lions were set to go to Allentown, PA to face the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks the second time this season.
To start the game, Columbus was having a rough time, turning the ball over, allowing scores, and having costly penalties.
Lehigh Valley got up to a 21-0 lead before Columbus could get on the board.
However, the Lions held the Steelhawks to no points for the remaining 11:27 of the second half while the Lions scored nine points in that time.
The third quarter was much more entertaining as Columbus slowly closed the gap on Lehigh Valley. The Lions found a scoring rhythm, but couldn’t quite stop the Steelhawks from scoring. Lehigh Valley lead 49-23 and was looking to quickly ending the game and securing a win to go to the NAL Championship.
That didn’t quite go as planned because the Lions fought hard in the fourth quarter, forcing turnovers, scoring on turnovers, and scoring on regular possessions.
The Lions came back in the fourth quarter to end the game with a 52-50 win. The Lions pulled what fans called the Super Bowl 51 of the NAL Playoffs.
Not only was this a great finish for Columbus, it came down to one kickoff.
Lehigh Valley scored a quick touchdown, making the gap close to a score of 50-52 with Columbus on top. With just seconds remaining, the Steelhawks can kick a deuce to send the game into the first NAL Overtime game. Lehigh Valley kicked the ball, but instead of kicking a deuce, they kick a squib kicked into the crowd, locking up a victory for the Lions.
Statistics
Lehigh Valley Steelhawks:
For the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks, Quarterback Warren Smith Jr. threw 22-of-38 for 277 yards, six touchdowns and one interception.
Wide Receiver Brandon Renford caught 10 passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns.
Wide Receiver Darius Prince caught seven passes for 127 yards and four touchdowns.
Columbus Lions
For the Columbus Lions, Quarterback Mason Espinosa threw 25-of-35 for 311 yards, seven touchdowns, and zero interceptions.
Wide Receiver Durron Neal caught 14 passes for 150 yards and three touchdowns.
Wide Receiver Michael Reeve caught six passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns.
Individual Winners
At the Quarterback possition, the winner from the two teams goes to Espinosa. Having a higher throwing percentage with more yards, more touchdowns, and less interpections has proven to win games when they need to be won.
For the Wide Receivers, the winner of the four is Neal. Just like the quarterback battle, Neal had more catches, yards, and touchdowns than any of the other three receivers. The stats Neal had showed that the Columbus Lions were the dominant ones in the battle.
Stay tuned to the Top Five countdown as we look at the number two game of the 2017 NAL season later this week. Has your team made the list so far?
