Sacramento Mountain Lions: Friday Is a Must-Win Game Against the Destroyers

While one team is sitting on top of the mountain and breathing in the fresh air that the peak brings, the other is on its third attempt to even start climbing said mountain. The Sacramento Mountain Lions (0-2) will visit the Virginia Destroyers (2-0) Friday night in a game where the unbeaten will thrive to stay that way and the beaten must win to stay alive in the championship race.

It’s always funny to hear someone call the third game of a season a “must-win”, because in any other league, that’s an exaggeration. However, the Mountain Lions don’t have the luxury of a 16-game regular season. The United Football League has a short six-game season that will send the two top teams to the championship game.

I’m sure you can do the math. Point blank—the Mountain Lions can’t afford to start 0-3.

The two teams kick off at 7 p.m. (EDT) at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex Friday night, a matchup that (at least on paper) looks to favor the Destroyers.

But you should never count out a team that has its back against the wall.

Last season, the Mountain Lions started the season 1-3, being outscored 54-93 by their opponents in the first four games (including a win over the Florida Tuskers, who are now the Destroyers).

With their backs against the wall and looking to push towards the championship game, they defeated the Tuskers in Florida before winning three of their last four games.

Unfortunately for them, they needed the Omaha Nighthawks to defeat the Tuskers in the final game of the regular season, which did not happen. That sent the Tuskers and the Las Vegas Locomotives to the championship game while the Molos sat at home to watch.

The Mountain Lions have nothing to be ashamed of in their loss to the Nighthawks last week. They went toe-to-toe with them without their star running back, Cory Ross, and had the game taken away from them in the final seconds of the game.

The biggest mistake the Mountain Lions made in that game was giving the Nighthawks the ball with a full two minutes on the clock. That was just enough time for the Nighthawks to steal the game away. If the Mountain Lions could do their final drive all over again, I’m sure they do their best to prevent their quarterback Ryan Colburn from being sacked, which ultimately led to them punting the ball away.

Mistakes like that don’t seem huge when they happen, but could ultimately lead a team to a loss rather than victory. And a veteran team like the Destroyers knows how to capitalize on its opponents’ mistakes regardless of how big or small they are.

A key to the Mountain Lions pulling an upset Friday night will be to minimize those mistakes and make some big plays on defense. Chris Greisen has yet to throw an interception this season, and if the Mountain Lions can force the veteran quarterback to show a chink in the Destroyer armor, it could lead to a victory.

The Fleet (Destroyers fan club) will have the Sportsplex loud and proud as their team tries to stay undefeated. But for the Mountain Lions, this is a must-win situation. They either beat the Destroyers, or stay in the basement of the UFL.