The Montgomery Maulers continued their string of come-from-behind wins with a 53-46 victory over the Beaumont Drillers in National Indoor Football League action.

The win also put the Maulers securely into first place in the NIFL’s Atlantic Conference.

Before the Maulers took the field to open the game, former World Boxing Association champion Evander Holyfield was on hand for the coin toss.

Montgomery relied on their defense to keep things under control and it did just that. With under 1:30 left in the game, Montgomery’s David Philyaw intercepted an Aubrey Jones pass, taking it the opposite direction for 22 yards. The former Troy University Trojan finished the game with a trio of deflected passes and three tackles.

Philyaw wasn’t the only member of the Mauler’s defense to step up and have a big day. John Harrell, who played college football at Northern Iowa, recorded seven tackles, one for a loss of six yards, a fumble recovery that he returned for 10 yards as well as an interception. Selma’s Richard Rowe also found his name in the stat column with three pass deflections and 65 return yards.

Offensively for Montgomery, J.R. Richardson stepped things up from the quarterback position, finishing the day 18-of-25 passing for 162 yards and two picks. He also threw for three touchdowns. One of the touchdown bombs found itself in the hands of wide out Shaun Holmes.

Holmes, who played his college ball in the Capital City at Alabama State, finished the day with seven catches for 71 yards and a td.

For the visitors to Garrett Coliseum – the Beaumont Drillers were led by their runningback, Roland Hayes.

Hayes finished the day with 17 carries for 48 yards and three touchdowns.

He also caught a pair of balls and turned one into a touchdown scamper.

The Drillers did leave their mark on Garrett Coliseum when kicker Chris Stropolo split the uprights from 55-yards out with 3:07 on the clock in the second quarter.

Montgomery has Memorial Weekend off and will return to action in two weeks when they play host to the Lakeland (FLA) Thunderbirds on June 4th. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

After the Thunderbolts come to town, the Maulers will return the favor with a road trip to Lakeland on June 11. From their they will travel out west to Texas and face the Drillers again before ending their season at home on June 25 against the Lubbock Lone Stars.