Games We Play - IFL: Haifa dogs stun Jerusalem at home

By URIEL STURM
It was only a matter of time. Whether due to the eight injured starters, the early morning bus ride, or simply being beaten by the better team on the field for the day, the end story was the same. In Friday's IFL action, the Real Housing Haifa Underdogs remained undefeated at home, handing Big Blue Jerusalem their first loss of the season while improving their record to 3-2 with a 26-18 victory at Kibbutz Ein Hashofet. Playing behind an inspired defense that just got stronger as the contest went on and an offense that rallied after its starting quarterback went down early, Real Housing kept their composure after going into halftime down 12-0, outscoring Big Blue 26-6 in the second half and overwhelming them in all aspects of the game after the break. All told, the game proved to be an electrifying match-up between two teams that both left it all on the field. The tackling was especially impassioned from both sides and the pace of the game was fantastic. All in attendance were treated to a closely-fought affair that was not settled until an interception deep in the Haifa red-zone with seventeen seconds left on the clock. Real Housing now goes into their three week break on a high note before traveling to visit Tel Aviv, while the Lions (4-1) have a two week hiatus to lick their wounds, both physical and mental, before facing Hasharon at home in the friendly confines of Kraft Stadium on January 10. The IFL gets back underway this Friday with an 11:00 am kick-off between Hasharon (1-2) and Tel Aviv (0-3) at Maccabi Fields in Tel Aviv. Game notes: Big Blue standout linebacker Yonah Misha'an left the game with a back flare-up and is listed at day-to-day; with his 91 yards rushing, Haifa' s Niv Medlinger takes over the IFL lead in that category; Haifa's Itamar Levin picked up two sacks on the day; Jerusalem's Yoni Lehrer added to his IFL scoring lead and has recorded a touchdown in every game this year; the season series between Big Blue and Real Housing stands at 1-1, with the deciding game to be played in Jerusalem on February 7, 2008 - only one game currently separates the two teams in the standings.