Ohio football legend Jim Tressel was honored by Columbus against Houston (Photo by the Columbus Aviators and the UFL)
Columbus gets a big win in front of an Ohio football legend!
Columbus Aviators 24, Houston Gamblers 17
After falling at Houston last week, Columbus was a little desperate for a win as they welcomed the Gamblers to Ohio. The Aviators were honoring Ohio football legend and all-around good guy, Jim Tressel, on Friday night. The Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and former Ohio State and Youngstown State football coach was shown love by Columbus, with the team giving out bobbleheads of Jim Tressel to the Aviators fans at the game.
Columbus got the game off to a very Jim Tressel-like start. Head coach Ted Ginn Jr., called the opening drive like his Buckeye coach would have. The Aviators would go 74 yards on 14 plays and take 8:20 off the clock. Columbus would rush the ball nine times on the drive for 39 yards, including the three-yard John Lovett touchdown. Over half of the first quarter would be over, and Houston would be trailing 7-0 without ever having touched the football.
The Gamblers would tie the score at 7-7 with an opening touchdown drive of their own, going for 66 yards in 4:14.
Second Quarter
Columbus would respond immediately. This time, the Aviators would fly high behind quarterback Jalan McClendon. McClendon would complete five of his seven passes for 44 yards, including the nine-yard touchdown pass to Antwane Wells to give the Aviators the 14-7 lead. This drive would go for 67 yards on 11 plays and take 6:05 off the game clock.
Houston would get a field goal off of their next drive to cut the lead to 14-10. Columbus would start their third drive of the game off with an air strike. The pass from Jalan McClendon to Tay Martin for 52 yards would look like an old Ohio State, Troy Smith to Ted Ginn Jr., strike.
The Aviators would then get back to some Tresselball, and four straight ZaQuandre White rushes would plow ahead for 20 yards and the score. The 72-yard drive would take 5 plays and 2:17. Houston and Columbus would finally cool off offensively, and the Aviators would lead, 21-10, at the half.
Second Half
In their first three drives of the game, the Aviators were practically perfect. They racked up 213 total yards of offense and scored three touchdowns. Their 222 total yards in the first half were their most of the season in any half. So, it made sense that it would be tough to maintain that level of play in the entire game. The third quarter started well, but a promising drive stalled after 37 yards, and Columbus settled for a field goal to make the game 24-10.
The defense was great, forcing Houston to go three-and-out twice in the third quarter, allowing only six yards on those two possessions. Columbus had things humming again, but on fourth down at the Houston 47-yard line, they ran into trouble. Jalan McClendon got four yards when he needed five, and Houston forced a turnover on downs. The Gamblers scored a touchdown in just about two minutes, and the score was 24-17 heading into the fourth.
Flying to the Finish
The Columbus offense would struggle in the fourth quarter, punting twice and getting no points when a 38-yard drive ended with a missed field goal. The Aviators’ defense, however, dropped a bomb on any and all Houston ball movement in the final quarter. Houston would have three possessions that would result in a total of minus four yards, and the game would end with a Kendrick Whitehead Jr. interception!
Columbus will drive west on Interstate 70 until they cross the Mississippi River into St. Louis for an air war next Friday. The Aviators and the Battlehawks will fight for aerial superiority as my favorite UFL teams see who flies the highest. Columbus will try to get their first back-to-back wins in team history in St. Louis!
