Underdogs, Pioneers keep on truckin'; Jerusalem's Lions and Kings blown out of water on the road

It was certainly not much fun to be a Jerusalem player this weekend in the Kraft Family Israel Football League...unless getting spanked up and down a field for a couple of hours is your idea of a good time.

On Friday, in the first-ever game of pigskin to kick off in the town of Yoqneam in the Galilee, the Real Housing Haifa Underdogs lambasted the Big Blue Jerusalem Lions, 38-0, in a rematch of last year’s Israel Bowl I finalists. The next night, the Dancing Camel Modi’in Pioneers served up a bagel of their own as they blanked a team for a second straight Saturday, this time feasting on the Blue Sun Music Jerusalem Kings, 28-0.

Both teams from the capital returned home tails ’tween legs after suffering embarrassing shutout losses on the road to the two teams who are quickly emerging as the cream of the crop in the IFL this year. Meanwhile, the Underdogs (4-0) and Pioneers (4-1) continue rumbling right along, each racking up a fourth straight win to sit atop the standings at the season’s half-way point with no sign of a let-up on either side.

Friday’s mouth-watering appetizer between the Underdogs and Lions (2-2), unfortunately for Big Blue, did not live up to its top-fight billing. The Underdogs continued their ascent to the holiest of football grails – the coveted ‘clicking on all cylinders’ tag – jumping out to a two-score lead with the game barely three minutes old on the help of some slippery fingers by the Jerusalem ball-carriers, who would lose a total of three fumbles on the day.

Once again, quarterback Itai Ashkenazi led his troops on a steady, efficient attack, tossing four touchdowns and no picks. Haifa built a 20-0 first-quarter lead that was added to each subsequent frame as the defense stifled the rudderless Jerusalem offense all day, allowing it but one measly first down.

The Lions’ quarterbacks had no problems with interceptions either. Alas, most of their throws were five yards clear of any player, their own included. They finished a ghastly 2-15 for nine yards and the team combined to produce only 22 yards of total offense. The stats would even look worse if it weren’t for the 98 yards in penalties for the Underdogs, however the infractions didn’t seem to help out Big Blue on the scoreboard, where it truly matters. The only bright spot on the day was linebacker Asher Ingbar, who took part in 12 tackles and continued to instill fear in opposing signal-callers with his bone-rattling, and clean, hits.

After losing only one game all of last season, the Lions have now dropped two of three. While injuries and loss of personnel play a huge factor in where the team is at – the offensive line, where the Moore-Lemberg twin towers once stood, seemed non-existent on Friday, and there is truly no one in the whole Middle East who can be the security blanket that was reigning MVP Moshe Horowitz – such is the game of football and no one in the league is shedding any tears over the .500 record of the defending champs.

As for the first-place team from Haifa, it continued to do everything properly to remain undefeated, protecting the football and playing hard, smashmouth defense to go along with its consistent, well-balanced offense. Receiver Shachar Yeshurun continued his torrid pace, catching two TDs for a total of four on the year and extending his scoring streak to three games. Running back Lior Subotnik went to the house for his fourth time this season as well as Haifa dominated the time of possession even while starting all of its drives but one from within Jerusalem territory. All said, it was a good day at the office for the ’Dogs, who have deservedly started to develop a swagger to match their perfect record.

Dancing Camel, too, has reason to…well, dance, after easily dispatching the Kings under the lights in Modi’in on Saturday night. Never before in the IFL has a unit embodied the true meaning of team as much as these Pioneers are doing. The sum of the parts is greatly outweighing the individual talents on the squad and that is just the way the players like it. The results of this cohesiveness and interdependence on each other is evident in the on-field product, right from team’s entrance to the complex to warm up through the final whistle.

It is no coincidence that the team has outscored its opponents by a combined 70-0 in the past two weeks. The Pioneers have scored at least six points in each of the last 11 quarters (17 of 18 as well) and have let up just 12 points in that same period. They play a platoon at QB, alternating seamlessly, even between downs, between the dually-adept Tal Brown and Uri Schiff, and execute equally-well with both. On Saturday, both Brown and Schiff factored prominently in the 28-0 triumph, with the former passing and running for scores and the later punching-in a two-point conversion on a long, daring run-around and going 2-3 for 50 yards through the air. The addition of Jason Gosnel on the offensive side was a big help also. Not only did he accumulate eight tackles and three sacks, but also caught two passes for over 60 yards and TD to boot. Such deft and insightful decision-making on the coaching end is central to the Pioneers current spot nipping at the heels of the team from the North.

The Kings, now 1-4, have been unable to put points up since losing star receiver Chaim Gross to injury. In almost 100 minutes of his absence, the team, which was known for its kamikaze scoring extravaganzas, has tallied only six ticks on the scoreboard. The lack of a deep threat continues to close up the middle, as well as the short passing lanes for quarterback Joseph Marticius, who struggled once again to find his receivers, many of whom also dropped a number of easy catches. While the Marticius-led running game did rack up 80 yards, it was no match for Modi`n`s 176 on the ground and the red-headed Jerusalem passer finished only 7-27 for 67 yards with a pick and was sacked four times.

Down 12-0, the Kings did manage some hijinks on the second-half opening kickoff, recovering an onside kick that, briefly, swung some momentum their way and opened the door for them to get back in the game. However, faced with a long field to march, the offense stalled after a couple of first downs and the Pioneers` nine-yard line was as close as they would get to scoring for the rest of the game. They did handily win the time of possession battle and turned the ball over only once as they led a number of sustained drives lasting at least five minutes each. Those bright spots, however, are little consolation; unless the Kings find a way to penetrate the end zone once again and not put themselves in the difficult position of playing catch-up, they will continue to flounder.

The Mike`s Place players of the weekend were Itai Ashkenazi of Haifa, who kept his cool all game in throwing two of his touchdowns on fourth downs and the other two on third down situations in his team`s dominant performance, and Tomer Edri of the Pioneers. Edri was a sparkplug for his team all night, running eight times for 44 yards, including a 25 yard scamper for a TD, and taking part in two tackles and even blocking a punt.

The IFL is back to action this Thursday night, January 29 in Jerusalem as reeling Big Blue hosts the red-hot Pioneers at Kraft Family Stadium with a 7:00 pm start. Next Saturday night, January 31, the Mike`s Place Tel Aviv Sabres (0-4) make their season debut at their new home field in the Maccabi Complex near Kiryat Shalom. They take on the visiting Underdogs and will be looking to make a strong statement to kick off the second half of their season. All fans are welcome to the games, which will both feature surprise half-time promotions.