Entering Sunday night, the Columbus Aviators and Louisville Kings were headed in opposite directions. Louisville continued its late-season surge, defeating Columbus 42-27 to close out the Aviators’ inaugural season.

While the Kings walked away with the victory, one of the day’s most memorable performances belonged to Columbus kicker Jonah Dalmas. Dalmas connected on field goals from 58, 61, 49, and 51 yards. The 61-yard four-point field goal set the longest field goal mark in the UFL this season and helped keep the Aviators within striking distance throughout the afternoon.

The Kings came into the regular-season finale riding a three-game winning streak and looking every bit like a team preparing for a playoff run. Louisville finished the day with 205 rushing yards and wore down Columbus defensively. 

Offensively, the key to the game for Louisville was its dominant rushing attack, led by the dynamic duo of Ian Wheeler and Jaden Shirden. Wheeler had a standout day with 99 rushing yards and a touchdown, including a 61-yard run that helped put the game away in the fourth quarter. Shirden was equally effective, rushing for 53 yards and two touchdowns.

Shirden was pretty open about how much fun he was having on the field.

“You know, we just wanted to dominate going into the playoffs. Coach said it doesn’t matter who’s in, so we had to go out there and dominate. We knew we were going to run the ball, and really, we just had fun. The O-line did a great job. All glory to God. We just had fun, honestly.”

The game got off to a chaotic start. Louisville opened the scoring when Eric Garror intercepted Jalen Morton on the game’s first play from scrimmage and returned it for a touchdown. Columbus answered quickly behind the leg of Dalmas, who drilled a 58-yard field goal, Morton then found Keke Chism for a 23-yard touchdown following a forced fumble on the ensuing kickoff.

The first quarter continued to deliver fireworks. After Louisville regained the lead on a Chandler Rogers touchdown run, Dalmas etched his name into the UFL record books with his 61-yard four-point field goal, tying the game at 14-14.

The two teams continued trading blows throughout the first half. Toa Taua added a rushing touchdown for Columbus, but Louisville carried a 28-21 lead into halftime after Isaiah Winstead hauled in a remarkable one-handed touchdown reception from N’Kosi Perry.

Columbus refused to go away in the second half. A 49-yard field goal and a 51-yard field goal from Dalmas trimmed Louisville’s lead to just one point entering the fourth quarter.

The Aviators later had an opportunity to take the lead when Dalmas lined up for a 60-yard attempt, but his only miss of the afternoon allowed Louisville to maintain its advantage.

That opened the door for the Kings to deliver the knockout punch.

Louisville’s rushing attack took over in the fourth quarter. Mike DiLiello engineered a scoring drive that ended with a 17-yard touchdown run from Shirden before Wheeler ripped off a 61-yard run that set up another Shirden score to put the game away.

Defensively, Kedrick Whitehead Jr. led Columbus with 10 tackles, including a tackle for loss and half a sack.

Louisville will now carry its momentum into next week’s playoff matchup against the St. Louis Battlehawks.  Louisville head coach Chris Redman believes his team is peaking at the right time heading into the postseason.

“So that’s where our mindset is right now. We just want to continue to get better every week in practice. We’re coming to the end here, and I think we’re playing some good football. Now it’s about continuing to ride that wave, making sure we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot, making sure we don’t make mistakes or go backwards, and taking care of the ball. Those are all things we keep harping on.”

For Columbus, the end of its inaugural season brought a sense of reflection for head coach Ted Ginn Jr., who made it clear he expects to return to the Aviators sideline next season.

More than 10,000 fans packed Historic Crew Stadium on Sunday to receive a bobblehead honoring the first-year head coach, another sign that the UFL has found a home in Columbus despite the team’s 3-7 finish.

Ginn was candid about one of the biggest lessons he learned during his first season as a professional head coach: preparing as a coach is far different than preparing as a player.

“I mean, preparation. I always prepared to play the game. I was never prepared to coach the game. I had 10 weeks to really go out and learn how to be prepared to coach young men. I always coached kids, but so much goes into this. I’m just taking all the notes I can take and going back to the drawing board. That’s really all we can do.”

Still, Ginn is ready to decompress before turning his attention toward next season.

“Man, it’s just like any season. Just like anything you do, you’re going to take the proper time, spend time with your family and friends, and then when that clock hits, it’s time to get back to work. We’ll probably be back around February, I would say, so I’ll get things rolling somewhere around then.”

The Aviators finish their inaugural season with a 3-7 record, while Louisville heads into the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the league.

The UFL playoffs kick off next week, with the season concluding in the United Bowl on June 13.