Can you hear the Beersheva buzz?

Can you hear the Beersheva buzz?

Black Swarm run over Rebels in battle of expansion brethren to open IFL preseason
 

Tackle football made a smashing debut on Friday in the South, when the host Beersheva Black Swarm opened their first preseason with a 45-29 victory over the Judean Rebels, the other brand-new team in the Kraft Family IFL.

The Black Swarm were the beneficiaries of five recovered fumbles from the Rebels, who couldn’t seem to hang on to the pigskin all day long. Playing smart and disciplined football on offense while not looking to do too much in their first game as a franchise proved to be the perfect combination for Beersheva, which got a fantastic debut performance from rookie quarterback Sager Patel.

Even when the momentum seemed to shift briefly at the start of the third quarter, as the Rebels were able to put together a number of sustained drives while holding their opponents to minimal yardage on consecutive possessions, the Black Swarm stayed true to their game plan and held strong to pull out the convincing victory.

For two squads who had never before experienced any live-game action, the 74 combined points was somewhat of a surprisingly high total, but after waiting for this moment their entire lives, the players on both the Rebels and Black Swarm were raring to show off their newly-acquired talents. Early on, it became apparent that even though it was the first game of the preseason, not only would the intensity rival a midseason duel, but there seemed to be a half-price sale on scoring, with touchdowns being given away almost by the handful.

Beersheva began with the ball and staged an impressive opening drive to set up a first-and-goal from the Rebels’ three-yard line before an ill-timed interception at the goal line quashed the attempt. However, the Swarm would get another opportunity soon after, as the team from Judea coughed up the ball on their sixth play from scrimmage. A 30-yard touchdown pass from Patel would open the scoring and a surprise drop-kick extra point gave the hosts a 7-0 lead they would not relinquish.

Dozens of curious fans gathered at the natural-grass field on the Neot Lon sports complex to see what all the fuss had been about over the past few months, when a throng of silver-and-black clad athletes showed up and began practicing with their foreign-looking helmets, pads and balls while shouting and bashing each other for hours at a time.

Their new home team would not disappoint, building upon the early advantage to open up a 19-0 lead by the end of the first quarter to leave a shell-shocked Rebels wondering what had happened. A punt-return for six points and another score on a long running-back scamper gave Beersheva touchdowns in three distinct ways to open their first-ever campaign in supreme style. Further, the efficient offensive display put the rest of the league on notice that the Swarm will not be your typical Mickey Mouse expansion team that is just another win to circle on the schedule.

After travelling from the capital anticipating a lopsided victory, the Rebels were proven correct in their expected outcome – unfortunately it was for the other team!

The boisterous players on the Rebels were a little too enthusiastic in some of their tackles throughout the day, drawing the ire of the two-man referee crew as well as their opponents. The penalties were handed out liberally, with a number of 15-yard facemasks and personal foul infractions being assessed to both teams, as is to be expected until the new players get acclimated to the pace of play and speed of game action, as well as proper positioning and tackling technique.

After another lost fumble on their opening possession of the second quarter, the Rebels were once again victimized by Patel, who scrambled 56 yards to set up an easy Beersheva TD. Judea would get that one back when quarterback Joe Marticius, who starred last year for the arch-rival Jerusalem Kings, weaved into the endzone on a 17-yard keeper just before the first half came to a close.

After the interval, the game took on a prize-fight feel, with both teams trading scoring blows almost at will. The Rebels drew to within two TDs on a beautifully spiralled Marticius bomb before Patel responded for Beersheva with one of his own to make it 33-13. The star signal-callers then (seemingly) rewound the clock and led their teams on successive successful drives once again in a quarter that felt like the classic movie “Groundhog Day.”

The hosts took a 39-21 advantage into the final frame and would extend their lead to a beyond-reach mark with another six points midway through the fourth on a exquisite strip-sack of Mariticius and subsequent 45-yard rumble down the field to the house. The Rebels would pick up one more meaningless touchdown to close out the scoring stats and provide the 45-29 final margin.

“Finally, we had the chance to put our hard work into action,” exclaimed a thrilled Black Swarm player following the emotional maiden victory for the first-year club. “It is such an unbelievable feeling to finally be out there in all the pads playing football against a real opponent. We are so excited for the season to start!”

The IFL preseason continues this Thursday evening in Jerusalem with a double-header delight at Kraft Family Stadium. In the evening’s opening match, the Big Blue Jerusalem Lions – last year’s runner-ups – play host to the Mike’s Place Tel Aviv Sabres, followed by a duel between the league’s new coast-to-coast rivals, the Black Swarm and Real Housing Haifa Underdogs, in the neutral environs of the capital.  The action gets under way with an early 7 p.m. start time, with the hard hits and raucous cheers expected to provide a sport fan’s dream soundtrack deep into the warm autumn night.