FM Home Loans Men's Flag Football League – Week 8

Friday

DEC vs Shabbos Kodesh 39-34

The featured Friday game this week was DEC vs Shabbos Kodesh as two teams with a lot of experience and offenses with a knack for big plays squared off. It started off a little lopsided but a late surge made for an exciting ending. On the opening drive DEC forced a Shabbos Kodesh punt after a three and out thanks to a third down sack from their star DE/WR Noam Moore. They then promptly marched down field and scored after a nice play drive. Baruch Apisdorf was the recipient of the games first score as Zvi Greenstone found him open in the end zone after a nice out route gave him space. The next drive saw the game get tied up as Shabbos Kodesh led a penalty-filled 10 play drive ending in a score. Both teams picked up two penalties that drive and Yair Slasky made his first big play of the game as he tied it up with a pretty corner route in the end zone. He tacked on the extra point to give them an early 7-6 lead. Noam Moore continued his already productive day as he found the end zone on DEC’s next drive after they converted on a 4th and 7 early in the drive to keep it alive. DEC then got the ball back in good field position as Shabbos Kodesh went four and out and didn’t miss the opportunity. They scored four plays later on a slant to Yaakov “Rabbit” Rabinowitz making it 18-7 as the first half came to a close. DEC opened the second half with another quick score as on the fifth play of the drive TE Avi Weinreb released to the flat and caught the dump off. He then blew past the first line of defense and sprinted 34 yards in open field for the touchdown to make it 25-7 DEC. However Shabbos Kodesh immediately returned the favor as they scored on the second play of their drive on a 45 yard pitch and catch to Yair Slasky again. This time he got behind his defender and cut back and forth on his way to the end zone. DEC then answered with another score as this game was quickly becoming a shoot out. This one came on a beautifully placed ball to Rabbit after a nice out and up ending in the back of the end zone for a 29 yard score. Shabbos Kodesh really made their move here midway through the second half. First Yair Slasky made another highlight reel play as he leaped backwards to haul in a deep ball that was almost out of his reach for an impressive 33 yard grab, then Michael Tover came down with a nice 17 yard TD grab. After that DEC went three and out and set up to punt and Shabbos Kodesh came after them. Gideon Benchabbat broke through for the blocked punt and Rafi Guttman recovered it and returned it to the 4 yard line. Ben Tobin then punched in the score on a short curl route making it a one possession game at 32-28 with still a decent amount of time remaining. DEC then came up with the back breaker. After converting a fourth and short on a smart QB run Zvi hit Noam Moore on a nice out route, he then took off. He sped down the sideline and out ran everyone on his way to scoring on a 35 yard TD essentially ending the game. Apisdorf added the extra point on a nice toe drag swag grab in the back corner of the end zone. Shabbos Kodesh tried to make something out of the game but ultimately came up short. After a trick play hook and ladder, where Ben Tobin caught and flipped to Yair Slasky for 21 yards netted them a first down on first down, Michael Tover scored again. This time on a 30 yard score making a one possession game but they couldn’t complete the subsequent “Onside Kick” attempt ending the game and giving DEC a 39-34 win. It didn’t start like it but it ended up being a very exciting game coming down to the last few plays. 

Eretz Bucks vs T.O. 6-20

This game was dominated from start to finish by T.O. especially on defense. It started with an interception on third and long by Noach “Kal”  Kaluszyner which was badly underthrown into double coverage. Just a poor decision while he was under pressure. They then went three and out on their first offensive drive but Kal came up with another big play early as he picked off another pass. This one was overthrown in the middle of the field and he returned it 30 yards the other way to put his offense right on the doorstep at the 17 yard line. Two plays later they were in the end zone on a nice out route by Eli Radom for a 10 yard score. Their defense was back out there making plays as they forced another turnover this time on a three and out with two sacks, one from Moshe Abramson and the other from Nachi Lefton. T.O. then went three and out and on the punt attempt the Bucks came after them and aided by a bad snap, Daniel Lando was able to get to the punter before he could get it off, getting a fourth down sack turning it over for his team. Unfortunately for them though, they went three and out in the red zone thanks to two big plays from Nachi Lefton as he batted the ball away back to back plays, on third and fourth down and the game went into the half with T.O. up 6-0. T.O. started the second half with a nice long drive ending with a score after converting on a fourth and long with a 17 yard QB run. On the next play they scored another touchdown on an Eli Radom 3 yard catch. On the next drive Kal came up again as he continued his breakout game as he picked off another pass. It was a deep pass attempt that was launched into the middle of the field with no one really in the vicinity. Kal then went into an all out sprint and caught up to the ball securing his third INT of the game which gave his team great field position. They promptly went four and out in the red zone and came away with no points. The Eretz Bucks got this stop in large part due to a sack from Caleb Rosenfeld and another one from Benji Greenstein on 2nd and 4th down respectively. The Bucks then went four and out too as Nachi Lefton came up huge. He got three sacks on the drive, on first, third and fourth to bring his total to four sacks in the game to this point. T.O. then gave the ball right back as they went three and out and made another mistake on the punt as it was a bad snap leading to the turnover via a sack on that play. The Bucks finally got on the board on their next drive as they hit on their first big offensive play of the game. They knew if they were going to make a comeback in this game they were going to have to make something happen quickly. That is precisely what they did. On the first play of their drive they went for it all and got it on a 35 yard bomb. As the rush got to him on the edge, Quarterback Alan Shamah stepped up in the pocket and launched a prayer to his big receiver Caleb Rosenfeld. When the jump ball finally came down it landed in the waiting hands of Caleb finally putting points up making it 13-6. Their work was far from done as they now needed to convert on the “Onside Kick” and go down and score to tie it up and don’t forget that time was heavily against them. They didn’t even end up getting the chance to try and drive down field because the Onside Kick attempt fell incomplete and T.O. immediately scored making it a 20-6 game which ended up being the final score. They scored on the first play after the failed attempt on a Shmuel Firestone TE release for the 10 yard TD. The Bucks did have one last gasp as they got the ball back but Nachi Lefton finished his incredible game with one more sack bringing his end game total to 5 and giving T.O. a very nice win behind great games from Kaluszyner and himself. 

Chofetz Chaim Chassidim vs Moreshet Mafia 25-7

Another close one for a good portion of the game however it got a little out of hand late. The Chassidim opened the game with the ball but went three and out. They got the ball right back though as they forced a three and out of their own thanks to a Yitzy Tyberg sack on third down. A few plays later on third and long they completed a 36 yard touchdown as Gavriel Lubin hauled it in after it was tipped and bouncing around. The next Moreshet drive ending in another punt and the next CCJ drive ending in another score. They started out with a nice 23 yard catch after having good field position setting up an 11 yard touchdown run by quarterback Yisroel Wasser in which he followed his blocking well on a nicely designed play. As time was running out in the half Moreshet finally got a nice sustained drive going. It ended with a 7 yard touchdown to Irwin Azar that was tipped on the way to him catching it in traffic. On the very next play CCJ tried to get it right back as they went for it all in 1 on 1 coverage down the sideline. That was their first mistake as the Moreshet’s DB Jack Gani was with him step for step and ended up picking off the pass with perfect coverage. After a few penalties the Mafia had one last Hail Mary attempt before the half. They went for it as their QB put it up in the air. Unfortunately it was no were close to long enough and it ended up being picked off by Aryeh Fromowitz to end the half but not before he got called for a whopping four penalties in the process. The first drive of the second half ended with a Moreshet punt that got tipped by Yitzy Tyberg giving the Chassidim great field position. With that field position they scored on the third play of the drive. It came on a free play that Naftali Hollander took off on a streak down the sideline after the penalty and Wasser hit him in stride for the 25 yard score. Moreshet went deep on the first play on their next drive as they were desperate to get back in the game. The result was one of the highlight plays of the game. As the ball was coming down WR Joe Gindi high pointed it on a perfectly timed jump and snatched it right over top of the defender. Their luck ran out quickly as two plays later, after a Shmuli Lefton sack, the ball got tipped at the line and fell into the waiting hands of Yitzy Tyberg, ending his great game with his first INT this year. The Chassidim put the final nail in the coffin with a 17 yard touchdown pass to Hollander for his second score of the game making the final score in this one 25-7 CCJ. 

Kedma-Bnei Akiva vs The Baboons 12-8

The final game Friday this week was another close one coming down to the last play of the game. It started off slow as they traded turnovers on downs and punts for three drives, with Mordy Ostreicher and Avi Meth picking up sacks, before the first big play of the game. That play came on a first down for The Baboons. Jackie Sutton dropped back and threw a ball towards the sideline in the endzone. Ilan Horn came down with a nice INT in the endzone after bobbling it and getting both feet in bounds before going out of bounds. The Baboons returned the favor and then some. They started with an Ethan Thurm sack on second down. Then on fourth down they forced a bad snap on the punt leading to the first points of the game with the safety. Two plays later Sutton hit Dani Hess on a quick out and he took off and out ran everyone on his way to a 33 yard score. After that disaster Kedma wanted to score before the half and that they did. They went on a nice 8 play drive ending with a nice play by Netanel Eckman. After the quarterback scrambled around for a while he found Eckman in the back of the endzone on a jump ball for a 14 yard touchdown as time expired. On the extra point The Baboons DB Shalom Hananya jumped the out route and was on his way to taking it back to the house but was called out of bounds as he ran down the sideline ending the half with The Baboons up 8-6. The second half started with a punt, turnover on downs, and another turnover on downs. Then we got some excitement as the game was coming to a close. On first down for Kedma Ethan Thurm of THe Baboons came down with a contested interception giving his team a chance to maybe put the game away with a touchdown. However, two plays later, Kedma got it back as their DB jumped the route on the sideline. On the next play Kedma went for it all on a deep pass attempt to AB Schwartz. It got tipped up in the air and as AB was falling to the ground he came down with the ball and set them up in the red zone with an incredible catch. They then went to Eckman again on another jump ball in the back corner of the endzone and he made a nice toe tap catch to put Kedma up 12-8 late. With little time left The Baboons quickly got to around midfield but couldn’t get much further until the last play of the game. On the last play of the game they went for the last gasp Hail Mary attempt. On that attempt he launched it up in the air and when it came down Paul Metzger got in front of the pack in the endzone and picked off the attempt at the goal line ending the game and Friday of week 8 in style.   

Motzash

The Dougs vs Northwestern 14-7

This was a tough hard fought defensive game that was close throughout and kicked off the Motzei Shabbos games in a nice way. Daniel Statfeld opened the game with a sack leading to the first punt of the game on a three and out. Northwestern returned the favor with a Yehuda Warman third down sack getting the ball back for them with the second three and out in two drives to open the game. Adam Davidovits helped force the third punt in a row to open the game with a sack on first down helping force another three and out. The Dougs then turned it over on downs on their next offensive possession making it four straight drives ending with no points and very little movement from the offenses. On the first play of Northwestern's next drive they finally broke the 0-0 tie with a trick play. They ran a successful hook and ladder ending with Dovi Dahan taking off for a 31 yard touchdown making it 7-0. The defenses then got back to it as the next two drives ended with no points and again very little yardage gained. On the next drive Northwestern's defense came up big as they continued making plays. On first down Rafi Hess recorded his first sack and two plays later Sammy Kaufman ended the half with an interception as the defensive matchup went into half with Northwestern up 7-0. On the first drive of the second half Yehuda Warman forced the first punt of the second half with a third down sack, his second of the game. There were then back to back turnovers as Northwestern turned it over on downs and The Dougs three and out thanks to another Yehuda Warman sack. Northwestern then went on a nice long drive ending in the red zone but unfortunately for them though it ended in a turnover on downs. The Dougs then finally broke through. They scored on a nice 21 yard touchdown in which their receiver beat his defender and then secured his touchdown. They then decided to go for two and try to take the lead late in the second half. Their quarterback dropped back and found an open Moshe Lichtman and tossed a pass over another receiver and his defender ultimately ending up in his hands for the 2 point conversion making it 8-7. Their defense then came up with a big stop thanks to another massive sack from Daniel Statfeld on third and long forcing a late second half punt. On the first play after the punt Moshe Lichtman made it a touchdown game on his second score within about a minute as he sprinted down the sideline for a 33 yard touchdown. On the next possession for Northwestern with very little time remaining they had to do something and quickly. Nothing materialized for them as their first pass attempt fell incomplete and Statfeld came up with a game clinching sack on the next play. The Dougs took this one 14-7 and will look to keep it going next time out there. 

Toras Chaim vs Marvelous Midos Machine 50-8

TC led in the beginning, middle and end of this game and never let up leading to another one of their massive blowouts and they continue to dominate this year. They opened up the scoring on the third play of the game with a defensive touchdown. On third and long Avi Roz started his big game with pick-6 as he jumped a route in the middle of the field and had a convoy of blockers that he followed and walked in for a 20 yard interception touchdown. After a quick three and out Avi Roz found himself in the end zone again on 2nd and long as he made a nice move on the DB to get open on the corner route and Dovi Mann found him on a nice pass for the 26 yarder. TC’s defense then came up in a big way again as on fourth and long, on the punt attempt, they came after him. They got in and as a team ended up blocking the punt as at least a couple guys were in on it and it set them up at the 2 yard line. Two plays later Dovi looked for his star WR Gav Goldberg on a jump ball attempt and Gav did what he does best and came down with it, absolutely disrespecting his defender as he rose above him and took it from over his head. Avi Roz then tacked on the extra point with a nifty two handed push pass to Gav Goldberg after getting an end around flip from Dovi. The MMM had a bit of a more sustained drive on their next offensive opportunity but ended up stalling out after a big intentional grounding penalty backed them up on 2nd down. TC then made it 27-0 on yet another Avi Roz touchdown catch and Gav Goldberg extra point. Roz scored on a 24 yard pass and catch as he found open space yet again behind MMM’s defense making it another easy decision for Dovi. Gav’s extra point was a thing of beauty as he had 1 on 1 coverage in the back corner of the end zone and Dovi put it up in the perfect spot. Gav then timed his leap perfectly and came down with it with his feet touching down right on the edge of the back sideline. Dovi put it where only his receiver could get it and Gav made a pretty over the shoulder snag. The MMM went three and out on their next drive giving the ball back to TC with little time remaining in the half. They then made it 33-0 on another insane play. On the second play of the drive Dovi hit Eli Friedman for a 26 yard touchdown. Eli was in 1 on 1 coverage and as the ball was hanging in the air it seemed that the defender was in a good position to at least knock the ball away. Friedman then soared above and took the ball away from the defenders hands, absolutely mossing him, ending the dominant first half with TC up 34-0. TC did not let up in the second half. On the first drive Dovi Mann took off on a third and long and went all the way for a 50 yard touchdown however it got called back due to a penalty for too many men on the field as his teammates ran on the field to celebrate the score. Avi Roz benefited from this as he scored another touchdown on a 9 yard corner route in which Dovi made another great pass putting away from the defense while still giving his receiver enough space to get his feet down before going out of bounds. The MMM finally got on the board as they scored on a 14 yard pass to Ben Larner which was set up by a 40 yard completion. They then got the ball back after a sack from Ashie Newman on third and long, however two plays later TC’s defense made another big play as Eli Friedman got an interception while keeping his feet in bounds on a nice sideline grab. On the very next play they put the final nail in the coffin on a deep jump ball to Gav Goldberg. With Gav in 1 on 1 coverage Dovi launched a high arcing ball that Gav had to wait on a little but while he was waiting he got into great position and then out jumped the defender for the 35 yard score. On the next play TC put up the final score on a safety when MMM’s QB fell down in the end zone. The game mercifully ended with a final score of 50-8 TC as they had another wire to wire dominant game this season as they stayed towards the top of the league.     

Omni vs Mercaz Moosen 20-14

This was a close game all throughout and had an exciting ending adding to this week's close games that came down to the wire. Omni opened the game with the ball but after getting one first down took a fourth down sack from Dovi Olshan giving Mercaz the ball early. With the ball they went right down the field and opened this game’s scoring on a deep ball from Avrumi Zagelbaum to Avi Jacobs for a 31 yards score on a post route in which he had a few steps on his defender making it 7-0 Mercaz. Omni came right back and made it a 7-6 game as three plays later Avi Zern hit Chaim Harris on a 30 yard touchdown where he blew past the DB with a pretty move and out ran the rest of the defense on his way to the end zone. Mercaz then went three and out giving the ball back to Avi Zern and Omni. They did not squander that opportunity and took the lead for the first time in the game going up 12-7 towards the end of the half. The score came on the first play of the drive as Avi hit a streaking Menachem Lieberman down the sideline with a perfect over the shoulder pass for a 37 yard touchdown that they made look easy. Mercaz got the ball back with enough time to try and make something happen before halftime however after making all the way down to the 8 yard line Omni stood strong and held them out of the end zone with a turnover on downs thanks to a first down sack from Lieberman and a fourth down sack from Ezra Shulman. Omni ran one play before the half that ended in an Olshan sack but they had made a statement so far in this game. Mercaz got the ball to start the second half and on the second play of the drive, a second and long, Avrumi hit an open Colby Walden as he had few steps on his defender and ran in for a big 50 yard touchdown to open the second half scoring making it 14-12 Mercaz. On Omni’s next drive Avi again went back to his favorite target this game, Leiberman, and he hit for 28 yard score in which he again blew past his defender and had only open field in front of him after he caught it. That put them up 20-14 as Lieberman tacked on the two point conversion with a nice catch in the back of the end zone. Omni’s defense then gave them the ball back with great field position and a golden opportunity to put this game away as they forced a four and out thanks to a combined sack by Sammy Sonnenberg and Lieberman on third down. Omni then got down to the 14 yard line and on first and goal looked to put it away. Avi Zern dropped back and looked for his target on the sideline as he zip a pass in that direction. What he didn’t see coming was a diving Cobly Walden who came up with the massive interception giving life back to his team with the game heading towards the end. After picking up a couple of first downs they turned it over on downs again giving the ball back to Omni who would now look to run out the clock. They were unsuccessful in that endeavor as they went three and out thanks in large part to a third down sack from Judah Tepler. Mercaz now got the ball back with one last opportunity as time was really running low. Their first pass attempt of the drive fell incomplete and on second down Menchem Lieberman came through again in a big way as he added to his already spectacular game with another sack. After two more incompletions the game was over and Omni had taken this one 20-14. It was a huge win for Omni as they proved they are still a force to be reckoned with in this league and when they bring their A game there is no team that will stop them. This one will go down as one of the games of the year as two teams with serious championship aspirations fought it out for a full game which came down to the very last play. Here's to hoping we see them face off in the playoffs. 

Joe’s Eagles vs Sound of Silence 26-6

This was a dominant win for Joe’s Eagles as they pulled away late but were really in control the entire game. They went up early on a really nice looking pick-6 from Avi Braun as he dropped back into coverage and just as he did the ball came his way. He snatched it out of the air with one hand and took it the other way for the touchdown providing us with the first highlight reel play of the game. A little bit later in the game as Sound of Silence was trying to find their way back into the game Joe’s Eagles defense came up with another big play. This time it came from the secondary as safety Sender Galbut erased a deep pass attempt with his team's second interception of the game. Joe’s Eagles offense was paced well by their QB as he got everyone involved, managed the game very well and cashed in on the opportunities he was given. SoS’s top perform was Dovi Geizhals as he walked away with a couple of sacks and a few catches in this one, included one that could of been a game saver in which he made the grab late in the second half a few yards from the first down and as he tried to roll his way to the sticks a defender got close enough and he was called down giving the ball back to Joe’s Eagles. They subsequently ended the game with a touchdown on the next drive making it 26-6 final. 

By: Betzalel Vanderhoof