Even though they play in a league dominated by offense, the Columbus Destroyers arena football team won their first game in their inaugural season on the strength of their defense. The Destroyers used two interception returns for touchdowns to overcome a 13-point second half deficit to defeat the Indiana Firebirds 54-48 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis Saturday.
With the Destroyers trailing 48-47 with just over four minutes to play, Destroyer defensive specialist JoJo Polk intercepted Firebird quarterback Tony Zimmerman’s pass and returned it four yards for the score that put Columbus ahead for good.
The Destroyers found themselves trailing 34-21 in the third quarter before igniting a comeback. Wide receiver/linebacker Sedrick Robinson returned a kickoff for a 57-yard score to cut into the Firebird lead.
The Destroyers dominated the fourth quarter, scoring 26 points. They tied the game at 41 when wide receiver/linebacker Cornelius White returned an interception nine yards for a touchdown, setting the stage for Polk’s heroics.
Destroyer rookie quarterback Ryan Vena completed 19 of 25 passes for 202 yards and four touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter. His first career Arena Football League pass attempt was a 13-yard touchdown to White to even the score at 7 in the first quarter.
White had two touchdown catches in the win.
The Destroyers will have their first home game at 7 p.m. Friday against the Carolina Cougars at Nationwide Arena.
The Firebirds set a record for home attendance. The 14,007 fans in attendance were the most in the team’s 15-year history.
