FM Home Loans Men's Flag Football League – Week 9

Friday

Eretz Bucks vs Underdogs 20-14

The Underdogs open the first game of Week 9 with some good defense. They got two interceptions in the first few minutes of the game however they only scored once. They got an INT from Morris Rendel and the other came from Abie Saada. Their first interception ended in a big early goal line stand from Eretz. They then got their second INT. That one ended in a score as Yonatan Jakubowitz came down with his first score of the game. The Bucks then came back with a score of their own as they hit their first big play offensively of the game. Quarterback Alan Shamah stepped up in the pocket and he aired out a long ball to his big WR/TE Caleb Rosenfeld. Caleb came down with in 1 on 1 coverage for the 43 yard touchdown. On the next play the Bucks made another big play. Daniel Lando was the guy for the Bucks on this play. He picked off the first pass of the drive. On a deep attempt after it was tipped and bobbled while lying on the ground he pulled the ball in giving the ball back to his offense. They came away with nothing to show for it as after back to back incomplete passes the bucks hit on a 35 yarder getting them into the red zone. They then stalled out there on four incompletions in a row bringing the game to the half with the Underdogs up 7-6. They opened the second half with the ball and went on a nice drive as they had four completions in a row bringing them to the red zone and they punched it in after a sack on third down from Benji Greenstein. Yonatan Jakubowitz found the endzone for the second time in the game on a very nice play. Their QB hit Yonatan on the sideline pass where he stepped into it and put it in the perfect place for Jakubowitz to make the play. That he did as he came down with it in the end zone just in time to get in bounds. After a nice little drive the Bucks were stopped after Josh Wengrofsky and Josh Cohen sacks on second and fourth down. On the Underdogs next drive on fourth and long they turned it over again as Yoel Silverstein came up with a big play to give his team the back again down by 6 points. Two plays later Yoel found the end zone on a very nice play. After catching it in stride he ran up the sideline and then made a nice move cutting back to the middle of the field getting past a couple defenders and ultimately scoring an impressive 46 yarder making it 14-12. Their defense came up big again. This time after three plays went nowhere on fourth and long from the 8 the Bucks came after him and Noah Greenbaum came up with the blocked punt that went out of bounds in the end zone for the safety. They then quickly drove down field as time was beginning to run out but stalled out at the goal line and turned it over on downs. The Underdogs then took over but didn’t do much better as after a couple incompletions and a penalty they had to punt it away. The punt however gave the Bucks the ball at the 16 and with one play left they hit their favorite target, Caleb Rosenfeld on the TE release and he weaved in and out and reached the ball over the goal line as time expired giving the Bucks the first win of the week and giving us a very exciting game to kick off the week. 

T.O. vs Underdogs 32-7

T.O. continued their hot streak as they won again in convincing fashion. They used some great defense and opportunistic offense to make this a non contest. T.O. started on offense but a good defense set from the Underdogs, lead by Yonatan Jakubowitz, quickly got them to punt. Yonatan batted down the first down pass attempt at the line and got a 5 yard sack on third down forcing the punt. They then turned around and gave it right back to T.O. as they had a net gain of -1 yard on the drive and punted it away. With good field position T.O. scored the first touchdown of the game on a quick out to Eli Radom from the 1 yard line completing a quick four play touchdown drive. T.O.’s defense then showed up on the next drive in the form of two sacks, one of them coming on a bad fourth down snap. Both of the sacks came from Moshe Abramson, the ladder was a first down one and the former a 10 yard fourth down sack on the punt attempt which gave them the ball at the 1. On the very next play QB Tzvi Aryeh Lieber, aka TAL, found their former QB Mordy Purec on a short one yard curl in the middle of the end zone to make it 12-0. Two plays later T.O. found themselves back in the end zone as TAL made an incredible play. While in coverage downfield he made a nice interception as he was falling to the ground. He then shot up and reversed his field, cutting towards the opposite sideline. He then followed the beautiful downfield blocking for a 31 yard interception touchdown. On the next Underdogs drive the defense came up big with another interception. This time Noach “Kal” Kaluszyner came up with one. It was a ball that was tipped by Eli Radom who was in coverage and it was then picked off the ground nicely by Kal who then returned it to the 13 yard line. On second down of that drive Mordy Purec secured his second touchdown. He caught the ball with space and then cut back as he was approaching the end zone to avoid the on coming DB and walked in for his second score. It was now 25-0 T.O. and the Underdogs were looking for something before the half. They got it as they hit their first big play of the game. On third and long, after a 7 yard sack, their QB hit Yonatan Jakubowitz for a 50 yard touchdown. It was a jump ball in between 2 defenders that Yonatan came down with in the middle of the field and then out ran everyone for the 50 yarder. That took this game into halftime with T.O. up 25-7. The Underdogs opened the second half with the ball but didn’t have for long. They threw an INT on the second play of the half as Eli Radom ran across the field and tracked it down just before stepping out of bounds. A few plays later Nachi Lefton made it 32-7 on a nice toe tap sideline grab from 5 yards out. On the next Underdogs possession T.O.’s defense continued to wreak havoc. They got another sack from Abramson on third down, his third of the game, and then on fourth down Kali elevated up in the end zone for his second INT of the game and fifth in two games. The Underdogs made one more play of note as they came up with an interception of their own from Abie Saada but didn’t have enough time to mount any sort of comeback. On the next and final drive Abramson got his fourth sack of the game and Nachi Lefton batted down a ball at the line of scrimmage putting an end to another dominant win for T.O. giving them back to back wins as they try to climb back into playoff contention.     

Old School vs The Baboons 24-6

This game was close for the first half or so but Old School pulled away after that. The first score of the game came from The Baboons. After an early turnover from Old School The Baboons were set up deep in the red zone. Old School went three and out they set up for a punt back up by their own end zone. It was a clean process until Shalom Hananya came through the left side of the line and blocked the punt with his outstretched arm. The ball rolled around for a little bit and was ultimately picked up by The Baboons at the 12 yard line. After three straight incompletions, following a 8 yard catch, the Baboons were bailed out by a questionable Defensive Passing Interference call that gave them a first and goal from the four yard. They didn’t miss that opportunity. Jackie Sutton hit Dani Hess for the short 2 yard score. The next drive ended a little differently for Old School. After getting a first down around midfield on first and 20 Quarterback David Bienenfeld hit Zach Stern who weaved in and out of the defense on his way to a 26 yard touchdown tying the game up. After The Baboons went four and out Old School drove nicely down field but on second and goal from the 4, Bienenfeld dropped back and threw a pass intended for Stern. It wasn't a horrible pass and in fact it made it to Zach’s hands but The Baboons DB Dani Hess took it right out of his hands for the INT at the goal line. Two plays later however Zach Stern made up for it by getting the ball right back for them. On second and long from their own end zone, Sutton threw the interception to Stern that he then returned to the 9 yard line. This time they cashed in. Bienenfeld hit Stern on a sideline pitch and catch for the 9 yard touchdown on third and goal making it 12-6 as halftime approached. On the next Baboons possession Zach was still looking for more revenge. He got his second interception of the half this one came on a ball that was lobbed to the middle of the field that he ended up with giving his team one more chance before half. On the last play before halftime Bienenfeld went for the end zone but he was picked off as well as Jacob Winters got his team's first of the game, sending the game to half and turning away Old School from the red zone again. The Baboons opened the second half with the ball and the chance to tie or maybe go ahead with a score but on third and long from the 25 yardline they ran a trick play and it didn’t end the way they were hoping. They ran a fleaflicker and on the pass Zach Stern came away with another interception. Old School then went on a nice long drive, including a key roughing the passer penalty on a fourth down, ending in a touchdown score. They scored on a 2nd and goal from the 6 yard line Bienenfeld did what he does best. As the pocket started to collapse he ducked out and scrambled around the backfield for a little bit until Zach Stern got free in the back of the end zone and he found him for the touchdown. The Baboons next possession wasn’t any better than their previous drive. Old School’s defense came after Sutton this drive resulting in 3 sacks and an interception. Elie Mansdorf got 2.5 of those sacks with Amir White coming away with the last .5 sack and Moshe Akselrud got the fourth down INT. Old School then got to the red zone on the next play as Bienenfeld scrambled around for a while once again before he found Zach Stern for another big play. This one went for 43 yards getting them all the way down to the 6 yard line. Three plays later, after an Ethan Thurm first down sack and a 10 yard Bienenfeld run, he found Zach Stern one last time in the back of the end zone as the game hit the one minute warning ending it in convincing fashion with the score of 24-6. Old School continued their season long hot streak as they moved to 6-0 and look to keep it going against another tough opponent in Kedma-Bnei Akiva for what looks to be a very exciting matchup with major playoff implications this coming week. The Baboons fell to 3-3-1 but once again played well against another one of the top teams in the league and they’ll look to get back in the win column vs The imRAY’s this coming week. 

Route 38 vs DEC 6-44 

DEC came into this one as the favorite and didn’t disappoint, however Route 38 did have some good performances in this one. Route 38 started the game with the ball but gave it right to DEC as they went four and out. DEC scored four plays later with that great field position on a Yaakov “Rabbit” Rabinowitz touchdown that he caught at the goal and just backed into the end zone for the 12 yard score. Josh “Kash” Kashnow did notch his first sack of the game that drive. Route 38 came right back and tied it up on a 4 yard toe tap touchdown snag from Max “Mo” Wienblatt which was setup by a big 50 yard pass play from QB Tzvika Septimus to one of his top targets Tovya in which he got behind his defender with his patented speed. DEC then came right back as this game started out as a little shootout. Route 38 somehow let Rabbit get behind their defense and he scored on a 28 yard walk in touchdown for his second of the game making it 12-6. From now and on DEC did not let up. They took over this game starting with the first turnover in this one in the form of Baruch “Bucky” Apisdorf’s first interception in which he jumped the route on and took the ball away on a ball thrown behind the receiver a little bit. Four plays later DEC’s other star player, Noam Moore, found the end zone for the first time in this one on a 2 yard score on a very impressive pass from Zvi Greenstone in which he hit Noam on a little Mahomes like side flip. DEC’s defense then forced a quick punt thanks to a Levav Maller sack. They then scored again as this game began to get out hand on another athletic play from their Quarterback. This time Zvi hit Bucky Apisdorf cutting across the front of the endzone with a strike as he was falling to the ground making it look easy and sending the game to the half with DEC up 25-6. Rabbit opened the second half with another highlight reel catch as he hauled in the deep 24 yard pass that was a little overthrown and he had to pull in from over his head by his finger tips before falling to the ground with the nice first down grab. Kash then picked up his second sack two plays later but Rabbit was back at it again as on fourth and goal from the 9 Zvi found him open in the back corner of the end zone. Route 38’s next drive got them to the cusp of the red zone but then on 2nd and long from the 21 Bucky came up with another pick. This one came on a pass to the middle of the field that he took away and returned 30 yards the other way, setting DEC right on the doorstep, just 11 yards away from another score. Three plays later Zvi got them in yet again as the route continued. This one came from 7 yards out as he found a wide open Avi Weinreb as he rolled out on the opposite side of the field. He hit him with another impressive throw, this one being across his body falling away from his intended target. They added the extra point via another highlight reel play from Zvi and at this point he was just having way too much fun with it. He rolled out to the left and had a receiver in the middle of the end zone and Noam Moore in the corner. Moore found space in the corner and Zvi looked off his defender by staring at the other receivers while tossing a dirty no-look perfect pass to Noam for the extra point. That made it 38-6 but DEC was not done yet. Route 38 had a nice drive going, getting all the way done to the 10 yard line, but they couldn’t cash in on this last opportunity either. On fourth and goal Bucky Apisdorf got his third pick of the game. It was a sideline attempt by Tzvika but ended up in the hands of Apisdorf as their final mistake on offense. Three plays later on DEC’s next drive they made their final mistake of defense. It was third and long from the 15 and Zvi was looking for it all. He dropped back and launched the ball down the sideline targeting Noam Moore once again. Noam beat his man and had a couple steps on him. Zvi hit him in stride and Noam took it the rest of the way for the game-ending 45 yard touchdown. The game mercifully ended with a final score of 44-6 DEC as they continue to prove their potential in the later portion of this year as a real championship contender as they constantly beat up on lesser opponents and have proven the ability to hang with any of the top teams they’ve faced.  

Ayala Tours vs Chofetz Chaim Chassidim (CCJ) 24-27

The last of Friday’s contests was as close as they get. It was close all throughout and came down to the very last play in one of the most exciting games of the season thus far. Ayala Tours came into this one down their usual QB so they went with their speedy WR/KR/DB Uriel Green, not knowing what they were about to find. Ayala opened the game with the ball and on the first play from scrimmage Uriel dropped back but couldn’t find an open receiver. The pocket began to collapse and he ducked out of there. He then cut across the entire field breaking down the defense and then he simply out ran everyone on the field for the games first score on a 50 yard touchdown. CCJ’s first drive featured a highlight reel play as well. On second and long Yisroel Wasser dialed up the long ball. He was looking for Mordechai Davidowitz in 1 on 1 coverage down field and he found him. Mordy won the jump ball, just missing out on a touchdown, getting his team all the way down to the 1 yard line. They punched it in on the next play on an out route to Naftali Hollander tying it up at 6. Ayala’s next drive saw them get down to the red zone really quickly but then the trouble came. First a penalty pushed them back 5 yards, then a Yitzy Tyberg sack pushed them back some more. After a short QB run and another penalty they were about 20 yards away from taking the lead. It was third down and Uriel went for the score. He overshot his receiver and it landed in Aryeh Fromowitz’s hands in the end zone for the first turnover of the game. CCJ didn’t do much with it though as they had to punt after their drive couldn’t get off the ground due to three straight penalties. CCJ’s defense backed them up though. They got their second INT of the game, this one coming on a nice play by Naftali Hollander. He picked off the pass from Uriel as he was falling down giving his team the chance to take the lead just before halftime. They did just that as they drove down field nicely and scored on a 4 yard pass to Gavriel Lubin just as the game hit the 1 minute warning. Ayala’s only real option here, if they wanted to score before halftime, was to go down field with deep shots. On the first play of the drive it paid off in spades. Uriel hit a streaking Natanel Kuhr down the sideline for a 50 yard touchdown to make it a 13-12 game at half as Yisroel Wasser intercepted the extra point. CCJ got the ball first in the second half but it wasn’t before long that Ayala found their way into the end zone. First, on second and long Ori Wachspress sacked Wasser making it a third and even longer. Wasser then made an even bigger mistake. He made an ill-advised throw into a cluster of defenders and it ended up being picked off by Akiva Schwartz giving Ayala great field position and a great opportunity to take the lead. Four plays later they made that a reality as Uriel completed a dangerous crossbody pass to Noam Susman from 14 yards out. CCJ then methodically marched down the field and scored on a short 2 yard pass to Shmuli Lefton taking the lead right back at 20-18. Yitzy Tyberg opened the next drive with his second sack but Uriel then lead his team down field and on a crucial fourth and goal with little time remaining in the game he hit his big target Ori Wachspress for a gorgeous touchdown, taking the lead late. Ori ran a good fade route and Uriel floated up a perfect pass that dropped in over his shoulders, passed the defenders and landed in the breadbasket in just enough time for him to tap his feet down in bounds. That gave them a 24-20 lead but CCJ wasn’t done yet. Wasser did exactly what you're supposed to do in a Tom Brady-esk fashion. He brought his team down decking and dunking, getting his receivers out of bounds and eventually scoring the lead taking touchdown on a 6 yard toss to Shumli Lefton leaving just seconds on the clock. With only 13 seconds left in the game Ayala, much like before halftime, had one choice. They had to go deep and fast. After an incomplete pass and a quick scramble for about 10 yards they were still about 40 yards away with about 10 seconds remaining. They then went for it on a deep pass attempt to Ori. It was high arcing down the sideline into a cluster of people but somehow Ori came down with it. It was an incredible play but unfortunately for them the clock expired and they fell 7 yards short of the end zone ending one of the most exciting AFI games this season with CCJ taking it 27-24 but not without a serious late scare in this one. CCJ now sits comfortably atop their division at 6-0-1 while Ayala falls to 3-3 and half a game out of the playoff race. 

DEC vs Omni 20-29

DEC’s second game of the week, due to lack of games played, was a lot closer than their first. Omni had a 14-7 lead at halftime as the first half summary goes like this: Elisha Even Israel, replacement QB for DEC, ripped off a game opening 50 yard touchdown run to put DEC up 7-0 early but Omni came back with two unanswered score, one on a deep ball to Menechem Lieberman and the other was a pass to their reliable TE Ezra Shulman. DEC opened the second half up with a game tying drive. They scored on an 18 yard pass to Bucky Apisdorf in which he made a very nice play. He caught the ball above his head and managed to tap his feet in bounds before falling out and keeping control for the touchdown. He also tacked on the extra point with a jump ball in the middle of the endzone where he leapt in front of a couple guys to pull it in. After a quick three and out DEC got the ball back and took the lead on another very impressive running touchdown from Elisha Even Israel. He scramble out of the pocket and ran down the sideline for a few yards before he was met by a defender. He then twisted his body sideways while keeping his feet in bounds and avoiding the flag pull. He then cut it back across the field and finished off the 25 yard touchdown run. Omni answered that score with a quick score of their own. After back to back chunk completions, Avi Zern hit an open Menechem Lieberman for his second touchdown of the game. Menechem found a soft spot in DEC’s zone as he got behind the cornerback and in front of the safety and just as he did Avi zipped the pass in there just before the safety could knock it away and Lieberman was able to walk in for the game tying 27 yard touchdown. Ezra Shulman added the extra point to give Omni a second half 1 point lead, 21-20. Omni’s defense made their first big play of the second half as Tzvi Seidman, one play after nearly picking off a sinking pass, he picked off a sinking pass as he dove headlong near the sideline to secure the game shifting interception giving his team the chance to extend their lead late in the game. Two plays later Ezra Shulman found the end zone again for his second score on a nice move. He caught the ball in the flat and with a defender right in front of the end zone Ezra dipped right past him for the 7 yard score. Sammy Sonnenberg added the all important two point try making it a 2 possession game at 29-20. DEC took over with work to do. They got to the red zone fairly quickly however on first and goal from the 10 Tzvi Seidman came up with another huge play. He got his second pick of the game as he took this one away in the endzone. DEC then got three quick stops with the game hanging in the balance and looked to get the ball back as Omni set up to punt. They had other ideas as right after the ball was snapped punter Ezra Shulman took off. He sprinted down the sideline for 30 yards before stepping out bounds, icing the game with that first down. Omni took down the second major championship contender in as many weeks, showing what they’re made of and proving they are here to stay and they are a team to be reckoned with.

Umpa Lumpas vs Pizzeria Efrat 26-20

This was another tightly contested game that came down to the wire between two great teams that have hopes of going very far this season and are jockeying for playoff seeding now. Umpa came out the gates hot. Quarterback Eliezer “Lazer” Weissmandl scored the game's first touchdown on a long highlight reel play. He busted out for a 35 yard touchdown but on his way in at about the 10 yard line faked out the defender with a nifty move that allowed him to get in. He then added on the extra point in style with a no look pass to go up 7-0. Pizzeria tied it up on the next drive on a 12 yard Mayer Kiffel catch in which he found space in the back corner of the end zone. Pizzeria then got the ball back as they forced a turnover on downs thanks in large part to newcomer DE Meir Schmukler’s two sacks, on first and fourth down. They then gave it right back to Umpa on a nice play by star WR/DB Morris Setton. He caught the interception and stepped out of bounds at about the 50 yard line giving his team the ball back up one and stopping Pizzeria in their tracks. Umpa were then forced to punt after a three and out including a Yechiel Sklar sack. Pizzeria then turned it over on downs after a decently long drive. Umpa took over and right before halftime Lazer hit Setton for his first touchdown of the game. He was being tightly covered by multiple defenders but Lazer fit it in with a precise pass through a tight window into the back corner of the end zone. That 7 yard score sent the game to halftime with Umpa up 13-6. After Pizzeria opened the half with a deep bomb was completed from Moshe Shear to Elisha Rudman getting them to the four yard line, Umpas defense came up huge. On the next play Moshe Gaz tipped the ball in the air and after a fight for position Asher Ackerman came away with the pick and returned it 38 yards the other way, setting his offense up in prime position to take a commanding two posesion lead. They did just that as after another Yechiel Sklar sack, Chaim Block released as the TE into the flat on the goal line and caught the 2 yard pass to make it 19-6 Umpa. Pizzeria Efrat had another quick answer. On the first play of the next drive Moshe Shear threw a perfect pass down the sideline to a streaking David Abell which hit him in stride and he went in for the 50 yard score. Two plays later after being backed up from a failed play, David Abell came up with his second massive play in a matter of seconds. He came through for the 5 yard safety giving his team the ball back and two points bringing them to within a touchdown, now only down 5, at 19-14. Two plays later, Shear hit Rudman again but this time he got on another 26 yard strike. Moshe hit him in stride after he created a few steps of separation for himself cutting across the field. Umpa then went on a nice looking drive with 6 straight plays of positive yardage gained ending with a 1 yard passing touchdown to a sliding Setton for his second score of the game giving the Umpa Lumpas a 26-20 lead late in the game. Moshe Shear then engineered a beautiful 1 minute drive getting them to the 5 yard line with about 10 seconds left but unfortunately for them Elchonon Feiner came through with his second sack late in this drive. They weren’t able to get another snap off and Umpa Lumpas took this back and forth thriller 26-20. With that win Umpas now move to a half game behind this Pizzeria team for second place in Motzash Division B. Both these teams figure to make the playoffs, all we can hope for is similar games to this one then. 

Cares Bears vs Pizzeria Efrat 13-30

Pizzeria had a quick turnaround as they went right into their next battle against the Cares Bears. This one they were able to handle a little easier although it was close for most of the game. The Cares Bears put up a good fight in one of the best games played this season but Pizzeria has just too much firepower and pulled away at the end. Moshe Shear did his usual thing. Tossing some dimes, breaking off some big runs, and making some highlight reel plays. The rest of the contributions came from the usual guys. 

Beis vs Northwestern 12-0

Beis closed out week 9 of this season by outlasting Northwestern in another hard fought close defensive battle. Beis went up early and played tight defense all throughout to take this one. In this one the defenses showed up and both teams made little mistakes leading to this close game that came down to the end. A few plays going on way or the other could’ve flipped this game. Both teams are off this coming week.