2017 Columbus Lions season

The 2017 Columbus Lions season was the eleventh season for the professional indoor football franchise and first in the National Arena League (NAL). The Lions were one of eight teams that competed in the NAL for its inaugural 2017 season.

2017 Columbus Lions season
Owner	Rick Jacobson Skip Seda Duke Liberatore Jan McBarron Keith Norred John Hargrove Kike Seda
Head coach	Jason Gibson
Home field	Columbus Civic Center
Results
Record	9–3
Conference place	3rd
Playoff finish	Won NAL Semifinals 52–50 (Steelhawks) Lost NAL Championship 21–27 (Sharks)

Led by head coach Jason Gibson, the Lions played their home games at the Columbus Civic Center.

Standings

2017 National Arena League standings
	W	L	PCT	PF	PA	GB	STK
z – Jacksonville Sharks	11	1	.917	697	299	—	L1
y – Lehigh Valley Steelhawks	9	1	.900	610	349	1.0	W7
x – Columbus Lions	9	3	.750	689	412	2.0	W6
x – Monterrey Steel	7	4	.636	478	364	3.5	W1
High Country Grizzlies	3	7	.300	449	484	7.0	L4
Georgia Firebirds	2	9	.182	372	576	8.5	L5
Dayton Wolfpack	0	7	.000	125	478	8.5	L7
Corpus Christi Rage	0	9	.000	166	624	9.5	L9

z – clinched home field advantage

y – clinched home playoff game

x – clinched playoff spot

Schedule

Regular season

The 2017 regular season schedule was released on December 9, 2016

Key:   Win   Tie   Loss   Bye

All start times are local time

Week	Day	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results		Location
					Score	Record
1	Friday	March 17	7:00pm	Jacksonville Sharks	L 41–56	0–1	Columbus Civic Center
2	Sunday	March 26	7:00pm	at Corpus Christi Rage	W 85–18	1–1	American Bank Center
3	Sunday	April 2	7:00pm	Georgia Firebirds	W 63–50	2–1	Columbus Civic Center
4	Sunday	April 9	7:00pm	at Lehigh Valley Steelhawks	L 54–60	2–2	PPL Center
5	BYE
6	Saturday	April 22	7:00pm	High Country Grizzlies	W 57–44	3–2	Columbus Civic Center
7	Saturday	April 29	7:00pm	at Jacksonville Sharks	L 28–37	3–3	Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
8	Saturday	May 6	7:00pm	Monterrey Steel	W 48–18	4–3	Columbus Civic Center
9	BYE
10	Saturday	May 20	7:00pm	Dayton Wolfpack	W 77–0	5–3	Columbus Civic Center
11	Saturday	May 27	7:00pm	at High Country Grizzlies	W 56–41	6–3	George M. Holmes Convocation Center
12	Saturday	June 3	7:00pm	Corpus Christi Rage	W 81–12	7–3	Columbus Civic Center
13	Monday	June 12	7:00pm	at Monterrey Steel	W 49–42	8–3	Arena Monterrey
14	Saturday	June 17	7:00pm	at Georgia Firebirds	W 50–34	9–3	Albany Civic Center

Post-season

Round	Day	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results		Location
					Score	Record
First Round	Friday	June 23	7:30pm	at Lehigh Valley Steelhawks	W 52–50	1–0	PPL Center
Championship	Monday	July 10	7:00pm	at Jacksonville Sharks	L 21–27	1–1	Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena

Roster

2017 Columbus Lions roster
Quarterbacks  1 Darren Daniel 15 Mason Espinosa Running backs Currently vacant Wide receivers  6 Jarmon Forston  5 Duron Neal  8 Tristan Purifoy 18 Michael Reeve		Offensive linemen 75 David Griffin 72 Ryne Holland 66 Brandon Lathrop 58 Dion Small Defensive linemen 95 Corey Crawford 44 Logan Ingle 13 Joe Marshall 19 Toby Jackson 11 Kendrick Washington 55 Dalvon Stuckey		Linebackers 24 Larry Edwards 10 LeRon Furr Defensive backs  9 Kyle Griswould  7 Chris Pickett 12 Marte Sears  3 Chris Smith 21 Tyler Stephenson Special teams 14 Lindsey Wolfe		Reserve lists -- Tovar Allen OL (IR) -- Kendrick Perry RB (DNR) 75 Brandon Thomas OL (IR) -- Gary Wilkins DL (Exempt) Rookies in italics Roster updated July 5, 2017 24 Active, 4 Inactive