Lions beat up on disheveled ’Dogs
Haifa’s losing streak now at three as Big Blue takes care of business 26-6 at Wingate
It’s quickly emerging as a two-horse race for first place in the Kraft Family IFL... and here they come, barreling down the stretch of what is sure to be a heart-stopping, too-close-to-call-it photo finish!
The Big Blue Jerusalem Lions came prepared for an all-out battle on Friday afternoon at the Wingate Institute and took advantage of a Real Housing Haifa Underdogs squad that was flat from the outset and never really got going in a 20-point pasting that could have been worse for the displaced hosts.
Itai Ashkenazi threw for three scores in the victory while receivers Amichai Bergman and Idan Yaron continued their season-long assault on defensive backs throughout the league by combining for 167 yards and all four Jerusalem touchdowns plus accounting for all 11 of their QB’s completions.
On the other side of the ball, the Lions had an army of defenders who played out of their minds, holding Haifa to a harmless six points while forcing seven fumbles and recording four sacks in a display of domination that got the club back atop the standings with just three games remaining in the regular season.
The Underdogs (4-4), now losers of three straight and sitting in a tie for third place with the expansion Judean Rebels, have been going in the wrong direction for a month now, ever since toppling Big Blue in the capital in what seems like eons ago. Friday’s abysmal performance was a perfect example of what has being going wrong with the Northern franchise, with the offense unable to move the chains and putting the ball on the ground too much, coupled with the once-vaunted defense only showing up for about three-quarters of the plays and leaving itself completely vulnerable on the rest.
With the Lions and Mike’s Place Tel Aviv Sabres now holding identical 6-1 records and not scheduled to face each other again (until, maybe…), it will be a tense game of chicken from now until the playoffs to see who will emerge as the top seed. Big Blue was victorious in the clubs’ only meeting, and while both of the top two teams get first-round byes, the final positioning will determine who plays the lower (or “worse”) seed still alive in the semifinals, something that is most definitely an attractive goal in a sport where even the tiniest advantage is paramount.
(Besides, the dream is not winning the championship after finishing SECOND place…at the end of the day, it’s the allure of first place as well as the ring that gives the ultimate, in-your-face, whatcha-gonna-respond-beyotch bragging rights!)
With that in mind, many of the Sabres were given special permission to miss a team practice and take a scouting excursion to Israel's National Centre for Physical Education and Sport on what was a gorgeous day for football that brought out a moderate, but vocal, crowd hoping to witness a repeat of the nail-biting fireworks created in the most recent edition of the storied Lions-Underdogs rivalry.
Um...not exactly what transpired.
The first quarter was a rarity by IFL standards, with both teams punting the ball away on their first two possessions. The last play of the scoreless frame – an audacious 26-yard scramble by Ashkenazi on a crucial 3rd-and-13 – produced as much net offense as the previous 24 attempts from scrimmage combined and laid way for what we be an action-packed, albeit one-sided, ensuing 12 minutes.
On the very first play of the second, Ashkenazi found Bergman up the seam on a laser for the game’s first points and a 6-0 Big Blue lead on the 25-year-old Israeli’s 5th touchdown in the past three games.
Back on defense, Yoni Cooper and Scott Eisenberg gave an early warning to the Haifa attack that there would be no free yards given up on their watch, and they each staged clinics in tackling technique and effectiveness that are likely still being felt early this week by the Underdog ball handlers. Cooper ended the day with 12 tackles and ½ a sack to match nicely with Eisenberg’s 13 tackles as the pair comprised two-thirds of a trio of Mike’s Place Player of the Game honorees from the underrated Lions’ unit.
After Bergman and Ashkenazi worked the shovel pass to perfection for a 26-yard score and 12-0 Big Blue lead (a play normally run through the injured Yonah Mishaan), Ben Lemberg provided the highlight of the game on a thing-of-beauty strip sack of an astonished Roey Ziv that he took off upfield for another 17 yards before being hauled down by the embarrassed Haifa QB.
After spending much of the past year on the IR, Lemberg – a former All-IFLer – looks to be back in top-form without having lost even an eighth of a step. The 31-year-old American was a bona fide difference-maker in this one, with his four tackles including 2½ sacks as well as his fumble recovery/return. Despite the many offensive performances potentially worthy of the coveted beer-and-burger combo, this one was distinctly a defensive-inspired victory, which earned Lemberg and his crew the recognition.
Jerusalem would put another eight notches on the board before the explosive quarter came to a close. Lemberg’s rumble staked his team to fantastic field position (helped by an ill-timed Underdogs facemask) and they did not leave empty-handed. After a long completion along the sideline to Yaron, the dynamic playmaker found a hole on the very next play and walked into the endzone on a 10-yard reverse for his 14th TD of the campaign, which was converted on a Askenazi-to-Bergman dart for two more.
The Underdogs bungled their next two possessions on fumbles and gave the Lions a couple of opportunities to score even more in the first half. Thankfully, Real Housing buckled down on defense and collapsed the Big Blue pocket to prevent any further damage before the break.
Starting with the ball in the second half staring down a 20-0 deficit was not exactly where Haifa thought they would be coming in and a gritty opening drive based around smart play-calling that focused on small chunks finally bore some fruit for the Underdogs. Shachar Yeshurun carried the ball over the goal line for six points, and while Itamar Levin valiantly tried to muscle his way into the endzone for the conversion after a silly illegal substitution infraction, he was denied by Eisenberg about one inch shy of his mark.
Arbel Rom’s kickoff momentarily came free after bouncing off Eisenberg’s chest, but the wily Ilya Pittel recovered with no harm done. Levin would make up for an earlier gaffe by recovering a fumble to give the hosts a glimmer of light and a chance to legitimately get back into the game. However, even after a 21-yard-burst from Yoav Cohen – by far his longest of the season – the offense couldn’t even sniff another first down and Rom shanked a 36-yard field goal that may have had the distance, but was severely lacking in the accuracy department.
While the Real Housing running game was somehow able to scrape together 100 yards on the ground, that was more than offset by the paltry 10 yards passing and gaudy 32 yards lost via sacks. On D, lured in to defend against the run and particularly the reverse gimmick options that Big Blue has a penchant for, the Underdogs secondary was repeatedly gashed for big plays, particularly by the dynamic duo in the slot.
Feeding Bergman underneath and employing Yaron as more of a deep threat this time out, Ashkenazi tossed his third score of the game by putting up a rainbow that there really was no doubt about who would come down with. The 23-year-old college recruit from Kfar Saba out-leapt his defender to haul in his league-leading 10th TD reception and send his sideline into a tizzy by providing the final 26-6 scoreline.
By that time, Coach Jay Armstead and his men were thoroughly whipped and in no mood for another heavy dose of Aryeh “The Animal” Bauman, who accumulated a sack, a takedown and a pressure in the Underdogs’ final drive of the day, which – as happened a season-high five times on the day – resulted in a punt. (Incidentally, one of the only bright spots on the day for Real Housing was the surfacing of Dagan Sadrinas’s punting ability; in his pessed-into-action debut, he racked up a net-average of almost 50 yards and definitely is an option if the injury Rom sustained is anything serious.)
Greg Tepper came in for some mop-up work and brought the Lions all the way to within first-and-goal on four carries before Hanan Stern classily had his team kneel out the game when they could’ve gone for the foot-on-the-throat unnecessary heartbreaker. Big Blue now has a two-week break before a hometown derby against the Papagaio Jerusalem Kings (3-3) on February 18th.
The Underdogs have no such grace period and need to find away to reverse the recent losing tide in a must-win, place-deciding clash against the Rebels this week. Due to the ongoing renovations at the Yoqne’am facililty (which will eventually pay off in a newly, resurfaced field), Friday’s contest between Haifa and Judean will once again kick off from Wingate at 10:30 a.m.
On Saturday night in Holon, the Sabres put their share of first place in the Kraft Family IFL on the line when they host Jon Rubin and the coachless Kings in what has the potential to be a real barn-burner.
You know you better come to both games this weekend… if only so that you don’t have to wait three days to experience what happened! See you there!
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