Beersheva bowled over by the Rebels

Judea climbs over .500 with stylish 43-12 triumph over expansion-brethren Black Swarm

The growth and maturation of the Judean Rebels took a few big steps forward on Thursday night in the capital, and their 31-point victory over the still winless Beersheva Black Swarm was just the beginning.

To witness the sea of Orange and Black jerseys jovially blend together for a post-game spread of pizza and beer was to behold a 180-degree turn from the brash bunch of behemoths that first adorned the Rebels colors at the start of the Kraft Family IFL season.

Well, the 10-game schedule is halfway done and the boys from Judea are not only beginning to exhibit a measure of class, but have also seemingly hit their stride between the lines and now find themselves in the thick of a race at the top of the standings at 3-2.

Joe Martisius once again led the way in Thursday’s 43-12 victory by running for a pair of TDs and throwing for another before taking the second half off and letting his teammates share some of the victory limelight. Mordechai Beasley had a stellar outing in a backup role, throwing for 72 yards and a score while picking up 41 yards and another six points with his legs as the Rebels notched a second consecutive victory for the first time in franchise history.

While the Black Swarm fell to 0-6 on the season in defeat, it was by far the most complete game for the first-year club, which actually topped the Rebels in total yards for the game and was only outscored 13-12 in an evenly-contested second half.

For now, however, the moral victories will have to suffice, and in that regard at least, there were quite a few on the evening.

Koren Cohen had a decent quarterbacking debut, going 8-17 for 71 yards with a TD while completing passes to five different receivers. Yasha Polyakov and Meir Perez combined for 69 yards as a backfield tandem as the team broke 100 for the contest. Gadi Lahav and Stas Ponomalev – each with 1½ sacks – led a ferocious defensive front push that won battles at the line of scrimmage and got to the Judean quarterbacks five times. Beersheva also demonstrated the ability to move the chains and cut down on mental mistakes, while keeping the time of possession close. Bottom line, the Swarm are getting there…slowly, and thanks to the phenomenal job of the dedicated cadre of coaches, the future is looking bright in the South.

Not necessarily the present, though, and certainly not the recent past.

After a back-and-forth start on Thursday night, the Rebels finally opened the scoring with just over two minutes left in the opening frame, when Beasley hit Matan Goldberg in the endzone for a 22-yard strike, which was converted by Zack Miller for an 8-0 lead. Goldberg now has three touchdowns on the season, while Miller is becoming almost automatic from three-yards out with his ability to beat defenders around the corner at the perfect angles. He now has accounted for 9 2-point conversions in addition to his 3 TDs.

While Beersheva only trailed by one score, fumbles on three straight second-quarter possessions quelled any hope of keeping it within striking distance, as the Rebels took advantage of the miscues and burst out in front to 30-0 by the half.

The two clubs traded scores in the third period with the Swarm getting on the board first when Roy Bendor capped a game-high 9-play drive with a short jaunt for six points. Beersheva would only touch the ball once in the quarter, however, as the Rebels went on a long responding drive to retake an even three-decade advantage.

Tzvi Kotler was welcomed back from suspension by the triumphant team from Efrat and he made an immediate impact in his return, scoring once while recording two tackles and recovering a loose ball. The Rebels pounced on four Beersheva fumbles, while intercepting two passes to win the turnover battle 6-0, always a great indicator of the dominant team overall.

Max Barenberg was a super-valuable addition to the defense, forced to play without injured playmaker and sponsor Peretz Rickett. The rookie linebacker compiled 14 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries and an interception to earn Mike’s Place Player of the Game honors, and he will surely continue to provide crucial second-level containment to prevent the always-killer big-plays.

The fourth quarter remained tight as the Black Swarm refused to relent, even while victory seemed out of reach. The Rebels would eventually pound in a final nail in the coffin when Beasley took one in himself just before the two-minute warning.

Beersheva would punctuate the scoring with a Meir Perez TD reception from 9 yards out as the game ended on a high for both teams, albeit coming from different perspectives.

The Black Swarm are still in the Kraft Family IFL basement, although they have two teams in front of them with just one win to their name. With almost a month off before hosting the Rebels in what for them amounts to a staggered home-and-home series, the Beersheva players have a lot to think about over the holidays before coming back to make a desperate push for the playoffs.

The Rebels now sit in fourth place in the seven-team league, although they are just a game back of a trio of 4-1 first-place clubs. Their next action comes on Thursday, January 7^th with a home contest against one of those front-runners, the Mike’s Place Tel Aviv Sabres. The highly-anticipated rematch of an emotionally-charged 66-42 Sabre’s conquest in Tel Aviv last month will surely bring out the best in the since made-over Orangemen, who will have head coach Ty Rogers back prowling the sidelines after his two-game league-imposed break.