FM Home Loans Men's Flag Football League – Week 6

Friday 

Flush the Lush vs. T.O. 14-0

This one was not as exciting as most of both these teams previous games as it was not great weather and raining fairly hard for most of the game. Although there were a few bright spots and big plays a good portion of those came from Flush the Lush’s star WR/DB Joey Zelig. On their first drive of the game, after forcing a three and out, Flush worked their way downfield despite getting sacked early in the drive. They ended their drive with a short drag pass to Joey Zelig who was being covered very well and ended up falling into the end zone with that defender to put the first points on the board early. The rest of the half was more about the defenses making big plays to bail either themselves or their offenses out. It started with Flush the Lush bailing themselves out the next drive. T.O. opened the next drive with a 40 yard bomb to Tzvi Lieber that got them down to the 5 yard line. The next four plays were incomplete passes as Flush the Lush stood strong with an impressive goal line stand. T.O.'s defense forced a three and out with a big Nachi Lefton sack on third down clinching it. Unfortunately for them only two plays later they gave it right back to Flush as Joey Zelig picked off a third down pass intended for the first down. T.O. then got the ball back with very little time left in the half they hit another long ball to Tzvi Lieber to get them into the red zone, but again after two incomplete passes and a failed shovel pass they stalled out and the Lush came up with another big stop. Flush the Lush only had enough time for a couple of deep shots and that is what they went for. The first fell incomplete out of bounds and the second one was completed but it was to the wrong team as Noach Kaluszyner claimed the first turnover of the game for T.O. as the half ended. T.O. opened the half with the ball and Sol Feder helped Flush force a three and out. Flush had a nice little drive but it was derailed by penalties and they had to punt. Flush’s defense then took the field and made quick work. On third and long Joey Zelig continued his good game as he got a five yard sack on fourth down, backed up in their own zone you knew something bad could happen. And that it did as Joey Zelig again came through with a big play this time blocking the punt and setting up their offense with great field position at the 7 yard line. On the very next play Sol Feder caught the 7 yard score making it 14-0. The end of the game had some excitement as T.O. had the ball with almost no time and a lot to do. They hit a jump ball pass on third and long to Nachi Lefton where he took it away from the defender giving them a chance to make it a game. Unfortunately for them again they turned the ball over in the red zone, this time it was Ben Winters with the INT. However T.O. got it back on the next play as Noach Kaluszyner jumped the route and took the ball right back. T.O. then did what they had been doing all game, struggling in the red zone. They threw another pick here to end the game as Zach Levy redeemed himself by getting the game sealing interception in the end zone. 

Ayala Tours vs. EarBiters 19-0

The weather cleared up some for this game which pitted two teams in the hunt for the top spot in their division against each other. The first big play of the game came on the EarBiters second drive. On the second play of that drive Natanel Kuhr came up with the interception on a deep pass attempt that fell a little short getting the ball back for his offense who just had a long, promising drive stall out. Ayala Tours had another nice drive going but again it stalled out on a fourth and short incompletion. The EarBiters made the first blunder of the game as the center sailed the ball past the QB for a very big loss and backed them up all the way to the 1 on second down. Ayala got the ball back a few plays later in great field position and a few plays later found themselves in the end zone on a 2 yard shovel pass to Eli Weber. The game went into the half with that being the lone tally at 6-0. The opening kickoff of the second half brought some excitement. It was a nice kick as it went all the way to the goal line however Ayala’s Uriel Green decided to take it out and it paid off in a big way. The second he got the ball he took off. He made a nice move to get past the first guy and then he flatout out ran everyone. When he crossed the goal line on his 60 yard return for the first kick return touchdown of the year there were no defenders in sight. A few drives later Ayala had the ball back looking to make it a three score game midway through the second half. That they did with an 11 yard score to TE Daniel Zacks after converting a fourth and 10 with a 30 yard play. Eli Weber tacked on the extra point with a nice catch after the ball was tipped in the endzone by his teammate, Uriel Green. The EarBiters put together a nice drive but threw a red zone INT to Noam Susman, in which he had to wrestle it away from the receiver after simultaneously catching it, virtually ending the game. They did have one more drive which was ended by an Ori Wachspress sack. The EarBiters did have a few bright spots as Jason Bick and Akiva Lader each picked up a sack in this one but ultimately weren’t able to run their offense properly since there were high winds and a wet field leading to this week's first blowout.  

PK Hart vs. Tivuch Shelly 7-27

This game ended up getting out of hand for PK Hart as Tivuch Shelly played a good all around game wire to wire. PK started with the ball but couldn’t convert on a fourth and long after a big 7 yard Max Petak sack. Tivuch’s first drive didn’t go so well as they went three and out but their defense stepped up for them as they forced another PK three and out helped by another Max Petak third down sack. The first play of Tivuch’s next drive was a big one. Johnny Levine hit Jacob Feigenblum for a 41 yard score as he weaved through defenders on his way to the end zone. PK Hart answered that score with a TD of their own. Theirs came on a quick 5 play drive ending with a Ben Siegel 18 yard TD run. Tivuch Shelly continued the scoring as on a third and long Levine went to the air again. This time he hit Ari Chasman for 22 yarder as he got behind the defense. Tivuch Shelly’s defense put an end to this little back and forth scoring spurt as on second down Jacob Feigenblum made his second big play of the game. He picked off Siegel and gave Tivuch great field position in the red zone. They ended up squandering it by throwing back to back incomplete passes after a short completion on first down. That brought the game to the half with Tivuch up 13-7 but it felt like it could’ve been much more. They opened up the second half with the ball and didn’t waste much time getting back on the board. On the first play from scrimmage Johnny Levine went to the air again going for another deep shot. He hit Ari Chasman again this time for a 35 yard touchdown and Ben Haber added the extra point with a very impressive toe tap fingertip catch in the back corner of the end zone. Chasman then set the tone for the defense as well as he came through on the first play of PK Hart’s first second half drive for a 7 yard sack. That led PK to punt after back to back incompletions after that. The next drive Tivuch put this game out of reach as an 8 play drive that ended with a Ben Haber touchdown made it 27-7 with not enough time left to do anything. In an effort to make something happen that was unlikely to happen Seigel threw another pick, this one on a deep pass that Ben Haber took away. A few plays later Tivuch was back in the red zone but they then made one of their only blunders of the game as David Paz picked off a pass and ended the game but Johnny Levine was the star of this show. He was slinging the ball all over the field and hit multiple deep shots making this game a non-contest. 

Chofetz Chaim Chassidim vs. The Jays 39-12

The rain came for this one making it very difficult to have any sustained passing attack for either team. The Jays had the opening drive but punted the ball away after three short plays. The Chofetz Chaim Chassidim made the most of their first opportunity with the ball. After a few plays they already found themselves in the red zone and from 11 yards out they set up a perfect run play and QB Yisroel Wasser followed the blocks well and walked into the end zone. The Jays next drive was another unproductive one. On third and long, after two incomplete passes to open the drive, David Benami went for a deep ball. It proved costly as it fell safely into the hands of CCJ’s DB Eldad Cohen after he momentarily juggled it. It wasn’t too costly for four plays later they had the ball back in their hands as their defense forced a three and out. This time when The Jays got the ball back they didn’t give it up. They went on a short three play scoring drive ending with a nice 17 yard catch and run from Jays TE, and captain, Yaakov Lurie. On the first play of CCJ’s next drive Lurie was at it again as he got Wasser for a 2 yard sack. Wasser then proceeded to run the ball right down their throat. He ran four plays in a row for a total of 48 yards commencing with another 11 yarder for his second TD on the day. Wasser made yet another big play this game as he began to take it over. On a TE release to the flat the ball was floated up and when it got into the hands of the TE Wasser popped it out and grabbed it for his teams second interception of the game. He wasn’t done yet though as he returned the ball 30 yards the other way for the scoring making it 20-6 just before the half. CCJ started the second half with the ball and used four straight completions to efficiently get into the end zone. As the rain kept coming down stronger and stronger The Jays decided to take it to the ground as well and Benami took off for a 26 yard TD run on third and long, spinning his way through the defense in the process. That pulled them back to within two scores but with time running low they needed a lot of things to go right for them to complete this comeback. They didn’t. On the next CCJ drive Wasser took another run to the house 22 yards a play after running for 30 yards. That put the game out of reach but as the clock ticked down Wasser got his cherry on top. On the second play of The Jays ensuing drive Yisroel took his second pick of the day back to the house making it 39-12. The game would end two plays later with that score putting an end to one of the most impressive single game performances from one player this year.  

Motzash

Joe’s Eagles vs. Marvelous Midos Machine 19-12

This one was a close one all throughout and came down to the last play of the game. Joe’s Eagles made the first big play of the game. After forcing a punt on the Marvelous Midos Machine’s first drive they got the ball and were in the end zone on the second play of the drive. They hit a 57 yard TD pass to Moshe Scharf that quickly put them up. The MMM then got the ball back and, after taking a 3 yard sack courtesy of Ari Levinger, they put together a 7 play touchdown drive in which they converted a fourth down. The score came from 11 yards away on a TE release Aaron Miller went out to the flat and had only open grass in front of him. After starting the next drive with two straight incomplete passes Joe’s Eagles hit another long TD this one was from 50 yards out and it was to Avi Braun in which the QB threaded the needle between two defenders perfectly. The Eagles defense then came up big with a turnover on downs after the MMM was starting to drive a little bit. On third down of that drive Levinger got his second sack of the day pushing them back for fourth down which they didn’t end up converting. The Eagles then punted it back to them, after a David Koss sack, but they pinned the MMM all the way back at the 4 yard line as the field position battle continued. The MMM proceeded to methodically march down the field and get all the way to the 6 yard line. After two straight incompletions there, with 30 seconds left, on fourth down, Shuey Dachs floated a jump ball fade to the back of the endzone; it was fought for and bobbled but ultimately intercepted on the ground by Baruch Landwirt. After a couple pass plays that didn’t amount to anything the half ended with Joe’s Eagles up 12-6. The Eagles started the second half with the ball and went right down field, including one of the best 10 yard plays we’ll see all year. The Eagle’s TE, Avi Braun, released after a blitz on fourth down and 6 and made a nice one handed snag on a pass that was a little behind him. He then crossed over one defender and just as another defender was coming he put his foot in the ground and dropped him as well. He gained 10 yards on that play and the first down. A few plays later on 4th and 15 from the 15 Dovid Marmurstein made an incredible catch in which he jumped with the defender and tipped it to himself to score the touchdown. With the score 19-6 now the MMM needed to put something on the board before it got out of hand. They did just that by scoring a 5 yard TD on a pass on fourth down in which Binyomin Larner made a very nice toe tap catch in the back of the end zone. The MMM defense that got the ball back for their offense with a big stop helped by a couple penalties and an Ashie Newman sack. They in turn turned the ball over and with little time left Joe’s Eagles looked to put the game away on this drive. With about a minute left on fourth down and five the ball was thrown away from everyone, towards the sideline and then Yosef Wilheim came out of nowhere to make a very nice one handed pick on the ball but his team would have much rathered him to just let it go in favor of the field position they could’ve had. With the time running low and them backed up they started driving a little bit. They got around midfield as time was running out and had one last hail mary try. They threw it up but it fell incomplete and the game ended and Joe’s Eagles were victorious in this one 19-12. 

Cares Bears vs. TC 6-39

TC was in control of this one all throughout and had a lot of highlight plays along the way. TC started with the ball and went three and out but pinned the Cares Bears back with the very nice punt. The Bears then got backed up even more after a penalty and on third and long, TC blitzed and the Bears QB, Dovid Barnett got flushed out. With the pressure bearing down on him he made an ill advised throw off his back foot, fading away into the middle of the field and it got intercepted by TC’s DB Eli Friedman and gave them great field position. After a Dovi Baylus sack and a penalty backed them up a little on fourth and long they said enough is enough. They called upon their star WR Gav Goldberg and he came through. Dovi Mann threw a high, long, jump ball to Gav in 1 on 1 coverage and he simply overmatched the defender and came down with it for the 36 yard score. The next Cares Bears drive was even worse than the first one. On second down Sol Pergament batted the ball in the air at the line, caught it and walked into the end zone. Just like that it was 13-0. The next drive for the Bears wasn’t pretty either. They didn’t gain any yards and on fourth down set up to punt. TC came after them and Gav Goldberg  got the sack on fourth down at the 3. The Bears then made their first big play of the game. On first down Mordy Russel came down with a much needed INT in the end zone to keep them in the game for now. The Bears found themselves in the red zone two plays later after a 40 yard completion but unfortunately for them they threw a pick two plays later in the end zone to Nechemia Gross. With little time left in the half TC ran a very nice quick drive ending with a Avi Roz 11 yard touchdown on a nicely placed ball on the sideline. The game went into the half with TC up 19-0. The Cares Bears opened up the half with the ball and finally put the ball in the end zone. It was on a very nice play where Dovid Barnett rolled out and when the defense crashed for the run he floated over the top for an 11 yard catch and run to Yehuda Sikowitz. After a penalty, on second down, for TC’s next drive they pulled off a smooth looking trick play. Dovi hit Gav for a 10 yard pass and just as he was about to get flagged down he flipped the ball to Avi Roz who was cutting across the field. Avi then went the distance to complete the 55 yard hook and ladder touchdown. After the Bears turned it over on downs TC went up top again to Gav Goldberg for his second highlight reel play of the game. He was again in 1 on 1 coverage and he just flat out mossed his defender on the jump ball for a 24 yard touchdown. They then converted the extra point with some more trickery. They used the end around this time but instead of running it in, Avi Roz threw it into Sol Pergament for the extra point. The Bears next and final drive on a third and long, desperate to make something happen Barnett made another mistake and threw a pick to Eli Friedman, his second of the day. TC then drove down and scored on a two yard TD to Eli Friedman to put the final nail in the coffin. The final score was 39-6 TC. This was a rough game for the Cares Bears but it was good experience for this new tier one team. 

BhB Investments vs. Mercaz Moosen 6-26

The Mercaz Moosen opened the game with the ball and after a few chunk pass plays to Dovi Olshan, Mercaz’s QB Avrumi Zagelbaum followed a great Avi Klein block and got into the end zone from 11 yards out. The first set for BhB Investments wasn’t pretty as Shua Alexander dropped to passes, one of them being a deep bomb that would’ve been a touchdown had he caught it, leading to them punting. However they got the ball back as DE Ari Friedman came up with a big second down sack which ultimately made Mercaz punt. Mercaz would get the ball right back as well as BhB punted it back to them after a third down Dovi Olshan sack forced them to punt it back and this time the Moosen capitalized on the field position. Four plays later Zagelbaum hit a streaking David Shafron for a slick 24 yard TD to go up by two scores 13-0. Olshan got his second third down sack on the next drive forcing another BhB punt but with little time remaining in the half Mercaz had to hurry to try and put up one more score before half. They had a nice drive going but with no timeouts left and seconds left Avrumi Zagelbaum took the dreaded sack, this one coming from Zevi Kraus, ending the half. BhB started the second half with the ball and had to get something going on offense if they were going to have any chance. They started out strong with a 16 yard completion and a defensive penalty to get them around midfield. A few more completions got them into the red zone and on 3rd and short from the 6, Dudi Gelb hit Elchonon Gros for 6 on a low laser just out of the reach of the defender and into his receivers arms on the sideline. A perfectly placed ball. Mercaz’s next drive was a nice one. It was a 7 play drive that ended with a Coby Walden 6 yard touchdown catch. The Moosen’s defense then did what they had been doing all game and that was to not let up much. They got a first down sack from Juda Tepler, then after two straight incompletions the BhB Investments were forced to punt, even though they were down two scores and time running out, given the fact they were backed up in their own zone. The next drive for Mercaz was the clincher. They got a couple first downs and with time almost out got into the end zone one more time for good measure on a 9 yard strike to Avi Jacobs. A few plays later the game was over with Meraz taking this one quite easily 26-6 although BhB was missing a couple of their main contributors in this one so it isn’t completely indicative of what these two teams have in store for this season. 

 Sound of Silence vs. Eagle’s Nest 28-27

This one wasn’t close for most of the game and pretty bleak for Sound of Silence but they made a ferocious comeback and it ended up being one of the most exciting endings of the season. Star WR for the Sound of Silence, Yedidyah Cohen, opened this game up with a massive play to get them all the way down to about the 10 yard line. He made a very nice 40 yard catch in 1 on 1 coverage opening the game with a boom. The next play they were in the end zone with the first score on a pass to TE Dovi Geizhals. Their defense also opened strong as DE Aryeh Adler recorded a sack on the first play of the game for their defense. Two plays later, as Eagle’s nest was getting ready to punt they made a bad snap and DE Dovi Geizhals came through for the safety making it 9-0 SoS early. Eagle’s Nest’s defense came up big though as they got the ball back for their offense when they forced a technical turnover on downs as SoS messed up the punt as the snap was bad and the punter got sacked. Natan Cohen also notched a sack on the drive. Eagle’s Nest finally woke up on offense and they started running away with the game a little bit. First they hit on a big 35 yard TD catch and run from Shua Lebowicz. Then they got the ball back with Menachem Kahn getting a sack in the process. With nice field position a few plays later they scored again on a 6 yard catch by Gabi Waldman. On SoS’s next drive, on second down they got the ball back again. This time it was the first turnover of the game that did it. Shua Lebowicz was at it again, picking off a second down pass attempt, setting them up with good field position again. A few plays later the game was 21-9 as Shlomo Meisner found the end zone from 9 yards out. Their defense then forced a quick three and out but couldn’t put anything on the board in the red zone before the half. However on the first drive of the second half they did and in a big way. On second and long, number 1 WR Gabi Waldman scored his second touchdown of the game. This one came on a 41 yard bomb thrown into single coverage and Waldman jumped from behind the defender and simply mossed him taking the ball right out of his hands and walking into the end zone. With the score now 27-9 SoS had to do something quick if they wanted to make a game out of this. They had a nice drive moving steadily down the field that was capped off by a 1 yard score from Ryan Lowenthal. Eagle’s Nest came back with a very nice looking drive of their own but on fourth and goal from the 9 Yadidyah Cohen came up with another big play as he picked off the pass in the endzone. With time starting to run low SoS moved a little quicker on their next drive and scored on one of the coolest plays all season. It started out like any other third down pass play to a TE but as Dov Geizhals approached the first down marker two defenders converged on him so just as they got close enough he flipped the ball to his trailing teammate, Chanoch Krohn, who walked in for the 20 yard score. That made it 27-21 and now this was a game but SoS still needed to convert on the fourth and 20 Onside Kick from their own 10 yard line. They did just that and for the first time in history it was converted on a run as the QB scampered down the sideline for 22 yards gaining the first down. Three plays later they took the lead on a 20 yard TD by Beirach Rubinson and the all important extra point tacked on by a releasing Dovi Geizhals into the flat. It was now 28-27 SoS as they had roared all the way back and completed one of the best comebacks we have seen but their defense still had to hold as there was around 30 seconds remaining in the game. Eagle’s Nest got all the way down to the 9 yard line with the help of a couple 20 yard completions but on 4th and goal from the 9 the low pass to the front corner of the end zone fell incomplete and the Sound of Silence prevailed putting an end to one of the greatest games this year and another great week of AFI Football.