Lions tame Swarm; Hammers destroy PT

While the outcomes of the three Week 5 Kraft Family IFL contests couldn’t really be called close, the lopsided results didn’t at all hamper the excitement of the offensive onslaughts and the hardhitting action that was on display across the country.

On Thursday night in the capital, the Big Blue Jerusalem Lions denied the Travel Leaders Beersheva Black Swarm in their attempt to pull off a second consecutive upset at Kraft Stadium following their humbling of the Talpion Judean Rebels just seven days earlier.

The Lions were paced by Chaim Schiff’’s gem of a performance that saw him complete 16 of his 25 pass attempts for a record-breaking seven touchdowns (with no picks or fumbles) to lead Big Blue to a statement-making 80-44 home triumph.

The next morning in Ramat Hasharon, the host Hammers took apart the Petah Tikva Troopers piece by piece, with the ensuing 84-0 mauling a result of a total domination on all three sides of the ball, including special teams.

Rookie QB Jordan Curran was transcendent once again for Hasharon, going 10-of- 14 with four TDs through the air, and another pair of scores with his legs.

Adam Kima and Nick Zhiharev each reached the endzone three times, while the Hammers forced a ridiculous eight turnovers (while only losing one themselves) en route to a third consecutive win to open the season after finishing with losing records in each of their inaugural two campaigns.

Meanwhile, Saturday night’s encounter in Ramle between the Rechovot Silverbacks and Nemo’s Haifa Underdogs was a defensive standoff compared to the weekend’s first two games, with the Underdogs getting back to .500 with a 49-6 road conquest.

Beersheva will look to get right back to winning ways this week after its defeat to the Lions (2-1) when it travels to face the Hammers in what will surely be a telling test for both sides.

Black Swarm stars Zac Labby, Tal Assor and Liran were still effective against Big Blue, each scoring a pair of touchdowns, however the defense is too leaky to have a hope in shootouts against the powerhouses in the league, which is what the Hammers are aspiring to become.

They still have a ways to go, though, to match the firepower of Big Blue, which boasts an overload of talent.

In addition to the ageless Schiff, the Lions showed how difficult they are to contain when they are firing on all cylinders.

Binyamin Schultz was all over the place on Thursday night, scoring four touchdowns and racking up over 200 total yards.

Ory Refaelowitz had his second three-TD outing of the season and Shmuel Halperin continued his latecareer breakout with a pair of scores and three more conversion-catches.

All in all, another wild points-packed weekend in the Israel Football League.

This week brings on another four-game slate, kicking off with Wednesday night’s duel between the Black Swarm and the Hammers.

On Thursday at Kraft Stadium, the ISD Jerusalem Kings (1-1) square off against the Rebels in the fourth annual Hanukka Bowl, with the Northern Stars (1-1) visiting the Clal Tel Aviv Pioneers (1- 0) on Friday and the Troopers hosting the Sabres on Saturday night.

For full Kraft Family Israel Football League standings, stats and schedule, as well as for more information on pigskin in the Holy Land, please visit www.israel-football.co.il