Week 13 in the Kraft Family IFL featured a displaced doubleheader in the capital in which both acts turned into lopsided affairs.While the Arthur’s Tel Aviv/Jaffa Sabres’ 48-16 humbling of the Real Housing Haifa Underdogs in the latenight special was slightly less than astounding, the 40-16 appetizer smackdown laid by the Big Blue Jerusalem Lions on the Gush Texas Judean Rebels left most of the 700 frenzied fans at a hopping Kraft Stadium in shock.
A game that, coming in, looked primed to be a bare-knuckled brawl for South Division supremacy ended up being a good ol’ fashioned (Gush) Texas butt whuppin’.Big Blue played almost error-free ball, coming in with an air-tight gameplan and executing it to perfection to jump into sole possession of first place in the division with a much more convincing conquest of the Rebels than the seasonopening two-point squeaker.“They’ve been the best team in the league all season,” said Lions’ coach Yonah Mishaan. “We knew we had to come in ultra prepared to have a chance to beat them. I’m really glad with the way things turned out this time, but I have a feeling this great rivalry isn’t done.”For now, at least, Big Blue continued its dominance of the Rebels, improving to 4-0 in their lifetime head-to-head, and remaining the only team in the league that has shown the ability to disrupt the Gush Texas offense.With a mixture of outside blitzes, physical cornerback play, and plain brute strength, the Lions forced the Rebels into three critical fumbles, while not turning over the ball themselves.if(window.location.pathname.indexOf("656089") != -1){console.log("hedva connatix");document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none";}QB Itay Ashkenazi continued his sparkling run of late, missing on just six of his 21 pass attempts and throwing for 191 yards and five touchdowns, three to Idan Yaron and a pair to Binyamin Schultz.On defense, the Lions (7-1) were just as dazzling, racking up six sacks for 38 yards and holding a vaunted Rebels offense to almost 27 points fewer than its average coming in.Yoni Cooper (10 tackles, 3 sacks) and Scott Eisenberg (20 tackles) led the way, but there was plenty of help all around, including a key Kasey Stewart touchdown on a fumble recovery in the endzone when the game was still tight.The second game of the night had a similar outcome, with the Sabres (7-1) taking control of their own destiny en route to snagging the North’s first-round bye and the Underdogs (1-7) still staying afloat despite another setback.In a contest that was postponed from a week previous due to the closing of the field in Yokn’eam, Tel Aviv/Jaffa employed a very balanced and efficient attack, scoring six touchdowns with six different players, three on the ground and three through the air.Giovanni Nanna (6-11, 58 yds, TD) and Adi Hakami (7-12, 68 yards, 2 TDs and INT) both had solid games under center for the Redshirts, tossing completions to nine different receivers and running the offense with precision and confidence.The IFL is back to a full slate this week as the postseason nears, with each team having two games remaining on the schedule. The Lions and Papagaio Jerusalem Kings (1-7) will do battle in an always delightful derby on Thursday, while the Underdogs visit the Dancing Camel Tel Aviv Pioneers (5-3) on Friday in a Sport5 special, before the Sabres host Leo Bloom’s Herzliya Hammers (2- 6) on Saturday night at their new digs in Neveh Golan.For more information about the IFL and tackle football in Israel, please visit www.ifl.co.il
A game that, coming in, looked primed to be a bare-knuckled brawl for South Division supremacy ended up being a good ol’ fashioned (Gush) Texas butt whuppin’.Big Blue played almost error-free ball, coming in with an air-tight gameplan and executing it to perfection to jump into sole possession of first place in the division with a much more convincing conquest of the Rebels than the seasonopening two-point squeaker.“They’ve been the best team in the league all season,” said Lions’ coach Yonah Mishaan. “We knew we had to come in ultra prepared to have a chance to beat them. I’m really glad with the way things turned out this time, but I have a feeling this great rivalry isn’t done.”For now, at least, Big Blue continued its dominance of the Rebels, improving to 4-0 in their lifetime head-to-head, and remaining the only team in the league that has shown the ability to disrupt the Gush Texas offense.With a mixture of outside blitzes, physical cornerback play, and plain brute strength, the Lions forced the Rebels into three critical fumbles, while not turning over the ball themselves.if(window.location.pathname.indexOf("656089") != -1){console.log("hedva connatix");document.getElementsByClassName("divConnatix")[0].style.display ="none";}QB Itay Ashkenazi continued his sparkling run of late, missing on just six of his 21 pass attempts and throwing for 191 yards and five touchdowns, three to Idan Yaron and a pair to Binyamin Schultz.On defense, the Lions (7-1) were just as dazzling, racking up six sacks for 38 yards and holding a vaunted Rebels offense to almost 27 points fewer than its average coming in.Yoni Cooper (10 tackles, 3 sacks) and Scott Eisenberg (20 tackles) led the way, but there was plenty of help all around, including a key Kasey Stewart touchdown on a fumble recovery in the endzone when the game was still tight.The second game of the night had a similar outcome, with the Sabres (7-1) taking control of their own destiny en route to snagging the North’s first-round bye and the Underdogs (1-7) still staying afloat despite another setback.In a contest that was postponed from a week previous due to the closing of the field in Yokn’eam, Tel Aviv/Jaffa employed a very balanced and efficient attack, scoring six touchdowns with six different players, three on the ground and three through the air.Giovanni Nanna (6-11, 58 yds, TD) and Adi Hakami (7-12, 68 yards, 2 TDs and INT) both had solid games under center for the Redshirts, tossing completions to nine different receivers and running the offense with precision and confidence.The IFL is back to a full slate this week as the postseason nears, with each team having two games remaining on the schedule. The Lions and Papagaio Jerusalem Kings (1-7) will do battle in an always delightful derby on Thursday, while the Underdogs visit the Dancing Camel Tel Aviv Pioneers (5-3) on Friday in a Sport5 special, before the Sabres host Leo Bloom’s Herzliya Hammers (2- 6) on Saturday night at their new digs in Neveh Golan.For more information about the IFL and tackle football in Israel, please visit www.ifl.co.il
