Big Blue Jerusalem Conquers Dancing Camel HaSharon
Those who came out to root for the home side on a frigid Thursday evening at Kraft Stadium in Jerusalem were certainly not sent home disappointed as the Big Blue Jerusalem Lions (5-1) got on the board early and often while cruising to a 46-6 victory over the Dancing Camel Hasharon Pioneers (1-4).
The victory was a huge boost for the Big Blue squad, bouncing back from a loss in their previous outing and truly playing a fantastic game in all aspects. Hasharon came out looking to be inspired from their improved play of late, but were never able to get it going against a Jerusalem squad that was simply too dominant on the night, even without star receiver Yoni Lehrer, who was a late scratch.
Quarterback Aryeh Bauman ran for three touchdown on the day, including a beautiful fifteen yard scramble, faking out four or five bewildered Dancing Camel defenders with a couple of ankle-breaking jukes. He finished with seventy yards on the ground and threw for two scores as well.
Cornerback Uri Schiff was also outstanding on the day with an IFL record four interceptions while also tossing a touchdown pass to his own to punter/kicker Josh Manor.
Jerusalem got out front to a 14-0 lead by the end of the first quarter, but the Pioneers appeared to be getting back in the game, moving the chains and sustaining some offensive pressure by going to Mike Levy on an unbelievable 16 straight plays from scrimmage.
With the score cut to 14-6 and Hasharon gaining momentum, however, they had an interception nullified on a bone-headed holding penalty and then gave up a back-breaking 55 yard bomb for a touchdown at the halftime buzzer to go down 28-6.
With Levy out in the second half, Hasharon was forced to rely on a back-by- committee approach, and the Lions were more than up to the task of holding them off the scoreboard the rest of the way, putting up another 18 points of their own in the second frame.
Meanwhile, with a number of players still out with injuries, Jerusalem managed to adapt well to the change in personnel and were able to tweak their running game to cater to their individual strengths while attacking the biggest weaknesses of the Hasharon defense, namely the short zone.
Big Blue’s offense was able to counter the disguised looks of the Pioneers by working at a quick tempo and utilizing quick counts to limit the pre-snap bluffing of the linebackers. By attacking with several quick throws to keep the defense honest, they were able to move the ball on curl out runs by Bauman and short pass-and-runs to Moshe Horowitz.
All in all, facing a Lions team that was hungry for a victory, the Pioneers were swallowed up by the pride.
The IFL kicks off again next Saturday night at 7:00 pm with a game between the Mike’s Place Tel Aviv Sabres (1-3) and the Real Housing Haifa Underdogs (3-2).
Game notes: The game was dubbed the “American Bowl” in tribute to the U.S. President’s visit to Israel this week and vocalist Shira Kaplan began the evening with renditions of both the Israeli and American anthems; Greg Tepper made his official IFL debut for Big Blue and took part in five tackles; Levy missed the third quarter with a leg strain but returned to action by the end of the game; DB Michael Amzalag had a standout game for Jerusalem with an interception, a nice kick return and a three tackle evening.
Prepared by Uriel Sturm, IFL League Statistician, who has (objectively) viewed and recorded each and every IFL down and game ever played from the best seat in the house – the field! Please feel free to contact at uesturm@gmail.com
