Rebels rout Haifa, Sabres survive scare

Kings take Tel Aviv the distance but fall on last-minute kick return TD

It was a fittingly phenomenal Super Bowl weekend in the Kraft Family IFL as a pair of wildly different football experiences brought new meaning to the old adage that – as with cats – there is more than one way to skin a pig.

On Friday at the Wingate Institute, the Judean Rebels jumped all over an undermanned opponent and set a new league single-game scoring mark in a 72-20 trouncing of the Real Housing Haifa Underdogs, now losers of four straight.

That proved to be just the table setter for a spectacular Saturday night special in Holon between the Mike’s Place Tel Aviv/Jaffa Sabres and Papagaio Jerusalem Kings, which came right down to the wire before the hosts prevailed 52-46 in a true barn-burning thriller.

With seven combined touchdowns from Rebels QB Joe Martisius and a 232-yard, five TD performance from Kings super-back Jon Rubin, there was plenty of sizzle to go around between the two games. However, it was the Sabres’ all-around talent Adi Hakami who undoubtedly provided the highlight of the weekend with a 46-yard kick return for a touchdown in the final minute of Saturday’s extravaganza that snatched victory from the jaws of the defeat and put Tel Aviv back alone atop the standings at 7-1.

The Rebels took over sole possession of third place with their lopsided victory, the expansion club’s second in a row after consecutive setbacks, and their record now sits at 5-4 with just a game remaining in the regular season.

Papagaio (3-4), which managed to invert a 12-0 early deficit into a 32-20, 12-point lead of its own, turned in a courageous, turnover-free effort on the road, out-gaining the Sabres in almost every category but points and employing its game plan to perfection. All that is of little consolation, however, in the upshot of a heartbreaking defeat that seemed so promising after a successful Rubin two-point conversion following his fifth TD staked the visitors to a 46-44 advantage with just 44 seconds left.

There was no such silver lining in the embarrassing defeat suffered by the franchise from the North, which unbelievably sat in first place as little as six weeks ago. The Underdogs’ spirit seems to have gone the way of the warm weather, and while a roster ravaged by injuries and other absences may be some sort of justification for the recent displays of apathy, there is no excuse for the 52-point egg that was laid on Friday.

The one bright spot for Real Housing (4-5) was the awakening of its dormant aerial game. Shahar Yeshurun started in place of the injured Roey Ziv and finished 8-12 for 126 yards and a season-high three TDs, two to his younger brother Tal. Allan Hearn totalled 137 yards from scrimmage with a 54-yard catch-and-run for six points, but his numbers couldn’t match up to his Rebels’ counterpart, Chris McKinney.

 The 24-year-old go-to Orangeman receiver hauled in another 15 catches for a quartet of touchdowns and 135 yards through the air to earn his third Mike’s Place Player of the Game award. His nine receiving TDs for the season place him in second-place tie for the league lead with teammate Matan Goldberg, who picked up another two on the day as well. (They both sit one back of Big Blue Jerusalem Lions’ Idan Yaron)

The Rebels, who scored on all but two of their possessions in a high-flying display, really were clicking on all cylinders on both sides of the ball. Both Martisius (21-27, 235 yards, 5 TDs passing, 2 TDs rushing, 1 INT) and his backup Mordechai Beasley (3-3, 2TDs, 73 total yards) had sterling outings on offense, while the bend-but-don’t break defense led by a rabid Yossef Widlan (11 tackles, INT, 45-yard TD rumble) and frenetic Max Barenberg (9 tackles) recovered three fumbles (2 by Ramzy Ahmad) and blocked two punts. Even the kicking game was on exhibit, with Cameron Ahmad booting straight and true on both of his fourth quarter extra-point attempts.

Haifa was down 20-6 after one and 28-12 going into the break, but the players still held out hopes for a furious second-half comeback a la what they pulled back in November, when they fought out of a 44-8 hole against the same Rebels. With the coaches of both teams in full gear and out on the field, the Rebels didn’t take their foot of the pedal and stamped out any hopes the hosts had of making a game of it. Four straight Judean TDs spanning the third and start of the fourth quarters made it a 57-12 contest and the rout was on.

Both Haifa and Judea now have just one game remaining on their schedules; the Rebels visit the Dancing Camel Modi’in Pioneers (2-5) this Saturday night, while the Underdogs get a visit from Tel Aviv in two weeks’ time.

If Real Housing has any dreams of getting back to .500 in that one to close out the campaign, it should take a page out of the Kings’ book on how to play the Sabres at home. Saturday night’s thrill-fest had it all and, by all accounts, was one in which the visitors played well enough to pull out what would have been a stunning upset.

The passing game for both sides was on the fritz, with Tel Aviv’s Alex Trafton having an off-night and Josh Flaks not able to get anything going for the Kings as a late replacement for starter David Jesselson. It took Rubin almost a quarter to warm up and by that time, the hosts had opened up a two-score gap courtesy of Tamir Elterman, who rushed for 90 yards and 3 TDs in the heart-stopping victory.

After Rubin got Jerusalem on the board and forced a punt from Tel Aviv, Matthew Markman provided a boost to the Kings by recovering a touched punt in Sabres’ territory (the extremely well-played game’s only turnover). But on the very next play, IFL interception leader Assaf Graif picked off an errant Flaks pass and sprinted 48 yards to the house for a 20-8 Mike’s Place lead and what seemed at the time like a distance-providing score.

The Kings were far from done however, and would channel their energy to storm back with 24 straight points and wrest both the momentum and lead away. Things weren’t looking good for the Sabres, and after Trafton and Rubin traded scoring runs, Papagaio took a 38-28 advantage into the final decisive stanza.

Hammude Kassas would finally break a long rush, motoring 42 yards for his sixth TD of the season, and Hakami connected with Trafton for the follow-up two points to bring the hosts to within two. A back-and-forth quarter saw both teams punt the ball away with neither side wanting to make that game-crushing mistake. The Kings would blink first, deciding to go for it on an ultra-crucial fourth-and-three and sending the wrong personnel onto the field after a timeout.

A botched snap resulted in a turnover-on-downs that the Sabres quickly turned into another eight points and a 44-38 lead on Elterman’s third TD of the day coupled with a Joseph Glickman conversion. With 1:14 on the clock, there was plenty of drama left as Rubin quickly set up a first-and-goal for the Kings after a nice return from Eli Boymelgreen.

All the wind was taken from the Tel Aviv sideline when Jerusalem retook the lead on a patented Rubin TD/conversion combo with the seconds precariously ticking away and a second loss on the season all but assured. However, Hakami spotted a hole in the special teams coverage and weaved untouched through the helpless defense for his heroic run. Graif’s second interception of the game would ice it and the Sabres jubilantly set off celebrating their daring escape.

The Kraft Family IFL now has a moment to catch its collective breath and enjoy Sunday night’s clinic from the big-boys in the NFL before another packed local weekend. The Kings are in Beersheva to face the still-winless expansion Black Swarm on Friday morning at 10 a.m. before Saturday night’s 8:45 meeting in Modi’in between the Rebels and host Pioneers.