Derech Etz Chaim vs Lev HaTorah

December 27, 2009
Derech Etz Chaim soundly defeated Lev Hatorah, once again controlling the game throughout the night. The explosive DEC offense put up over 50 points for the night with QB Gilad Silverman hitting all his receivers Kobi, Pinchas, Sam, Avi and Yochi for TD's.
On defense the D-line playing this week without Yakov Hill kept up steady pressure on on the Lev HaTorah QB and only a few defensive mistakes which led to line up changes let three touchdown's through for the night. Yochi Naiditch started at cornerback and after allowing an initial TD picked off three passes on the night. Eli Rafkin was brought in at CB and shut down the opposition receiver.
Final Score Game 1 DEC 26 - Lev HaTorah 13
Game 2 DEC 26 Lev HaTorah 6
Unfortunately there are no game highlights this week.

Derech Etz Chaim vs. Ohr Dovid

DEC vs. Ohr Dovid December 12, 2009
Game report
This week was no contest with Derech Etz Chaim completely overwhelming Ohr Dovid. The DEC offense to put up an AFI single night season high total of 74 points and allowed Ohr Dovid only one touchdown- in fact only one first down all night.
Levi Naiditch was back and took some reps at QB giving Gilad Silverman some of the night off. With Avi Aryeh out again sick and an injury to CB Efraim Prero, DEC used back ups and still completely controlled both games from start to finish rolling to an 8 – 2 record with two weeks left of the regular season.

In game one DEC recorded 6 TD’s beginning with Noam Silverman running back the opening kick off for a TD to get things started. Gilad and Levi each connected with Kobi and Yochi for two TDs, and Sam Ash intercepted a pass at the end of the game and ran it back for his first TD of the season. There was also a blocked pass interception by Yakov Hill that led to the 3rd score of the night.
Final score Derech Etz Chaim 41- Ohr Dovid 6

In the second game with DEC kicking off it was more of the same. On DEC’s first drive a long pass from Gilad to Kobi set up the first of 3 Pinchas Shwartzbaum TDs. The extra point saw Sam spin his way into the end zone for the score.
DEC drive #2 was a long pass to Pinchas to set up another scoring reception by Pinchas.
The third drive had Levi Naiditch behind center and scoring on a long throw to Kobi.
The defense took its turn with Sam Ash intercepting a lateral taking it down field and lateralling it to Yakov Hill for another score.
To finish the game Levi threw long to Kobi to set up a short pass to Pinchas for the final TD.
Final score Derech Etz Chaim 33- Ohr Dovid 0
Here are the game highlights

Derech Etz Chaim vs. HAS

Derech Etz Chaim football had a big night putting up 50 points on offense and winning both games. QB Gilad Silverman connected with Kobi Shwartzbaum for 3 Touchdowns including a thrilling play at the last second of the second game.

DEC received the kick off and dominated in the first game. On the very first drive of the night Gilad found Kobi for a touchdown with Josh Weisel getting the extra point, and that set the tone for the rest of game 1.The defense dominated HAS who went 3 and out with no yardage gained on their first drive.
Gilad took over and once again threw a long bomb to Yochi Naiditch for the second TD of the night connecting with Kobi for the extra point.

HAS then come back beating the DEC backfield with a long TD pass.

Gilad went back to work hitting Pinchas Shwartzbaum with a long pass to set up a touchdown to Yochi. The next DEC drive was set back by penalties but ended on 4rth and goal with a TD pass to Kobi with Yochi getting the extra point.

Game 2 was a bit of a different story with a thrilling ending.
DEC kicked off and on HAS’s opening drive they were able to score and get the extra point. HAS 7 DEC 0
DEC came right back on the very first play on a long pass to Kobi for a TD plus the extra point with Kobi running it in on a screen.
HAS and DEC traded punts with HAS turning it over on downs deep in their own territory. Gilad throws another TD pass this time to Noam Silverman to take the lead. DEC missed extra point which will come back to haunt them. DEC 13 - HAS 7
HAS gets the ball back and once again turns it over on downs deep in their own territory but DEC failed to put the game away as Gilad threw his very first interception of the season in the end zone.
HAS capitalized on the turnover and marched down field to score and get the extra point with only 37 seconds left on the clock. DEC is down 14- 13
Gilad calmly took over at the DEC 20 . First play a long pass to Yochi for a first down to stop the clock. Gilad runs on the next play getting out of bounds to stop the clock. With only 6 seconds remaining Gilad finds Kobi on a leaping catch in the end zone DEC wins 20 – 14.

Game Notes:
Sam Ash was back on D line for a large part of the game getting himself back into things after a long lay off due to a torn ACL. The team is still waiting for Jeff Mally at cornerback, who is recovering from wrist surgery. Noam Silverman played receiver for an absent Avi Aryeh. This weeks game was played at the Bayit Vegan field. Next week DEC has their 4rth bye with one more off week the second weekend of Chanuka.
Here are highlights of the game:

Game Highlights DEC vs Yesod

Game Report – Nov 14th DEC vs. Yesod
In the third week of Derech Etz Chaim’s season (games 5 and 6) there were moments when they showed their championship form from last year, but still fell short through some glaring weaknesses on defense and offensive line.
In the first of the two 25 minute games DEC kicked off and Yesod using their speed marched down field using short passes and several runs to score. (Missed the extra point)
DEC game right back with QB Gilad Silverman connecting on a 40 yard pass to Avi Aryeh to tie up the game.
Yesod came right back with a long bomb of their own into blown coverage to take the lead 12- 6. DEC had another chance to win the game after an interception by Efraim Prero, who played outstanding defense the entire night, in the end zone gave DEC the ball back with 5 minutes to play. Two passes to TE Pinchas Schwartzbaum another to Kobi, and a run by Gilad put DEC on the 5 yd line but they were unsuccessful in two downs to get it into the end zone and lost the game 12 – 6 .
Protection issues on O-line led to the Center Josh Weisel being pulled for back up Aron Hertz who did a great job of keeping out the speedy Yesod defensive line.
One highlight was the tentative return of Sam Ash who came in for a few plays and made a difference in bolstering the defense. Sam suffered a season ending torn ACL last year during the playoffs and had to watch the DEC championship run from the side lines helping with play calls. Having recovered from off season surgery he is hungry to win it again.

The second game DEC received and made significant adjustments and dominated both on offense and defense. Using their size to run and a number of passes to Pinchas led to a TD in the opening drive. With the extra point caught by Josh Weisel.
Yesod went three and out with DEC again driving down field on passes to Kobi, Pinchas, and Avi leading to a diving touchdown by Pinchas on 4rth and goal form the 10.
Yesod again capitalized on a long bomb with Prero getting the flag on the 5 yd line. DEC defense held strong through 3 downs but Yesod was able to find the end zone on 4rth to score and convert the extra point score DEC 13- Yesod 7.
DEC came right back with a run, and pass to Yochi Naiditch who took it way down field. Another pass to Avi, then Gilad found Avi alone one more time in the end zone for a touchdown. Final score DEC 20 Yesod 7

Stand out on offense was Pinchas Schwartzbaum and on the defense Efraim Prero who has proven to be one of the leagues top CB.

Highlights coming soon.

Meet the Team

Derech Etz Chaim has a number of members of the championship team back.

Returning veterans from the Championship team include
QB Levi Naiditch who will be in the army for most of the season
Pinchas Shwartzbaum – TE
Kobi Shwarzbaum WR
Yakov Hill D-line
Sam Ash and Jeff Mally are on injured reserve until December
Gilad Silverman who switched to the Yeshiva in mid season was Quarterback for a team that went to the Semi finals last year and will be the starting QB this year at DEC

Newcomers to the team include:

Rookies
Adam Kass CB

Eli Rafkin Corner
DEC Alumni Efraim Prero CB
Noam Silverman D-Line
Nassan Paul Middle LB / CB
Aron Hertz Center and D line
Josh Weisel Center – TE
Yochi Naiditch WR
Avi Aryeh WR

The league is expecting big things from DEC and the team has allot to live up to!

Derech Etz Chaim Football is back!

DEC Football is back! The 2009- 2010 season with Derech Etz Chaim defending its AFI Championship title began with games on October 24, and 31. After a sloppy opening in the first game DEC has won 3 straight against Excalibur and Klein Management. After two byes this coming Motzei Shabbat DEC gets back to work against the Yesod Cobras.
Yesod split their two games with Big Blue and are a formidable opponent. From this point on DEC will be playing every other Sat. night until Chanuka after which they will be playing every week. Follow all the news right here.
Here are highlights from week 1

Quarterfinal Recap

With starting quarterback Levi Naiditch in the army this week, Yerucham Pliner grabbed the reigns of the offense in Derech Etz Chaim's quarterfinal matchup against Orli Print. During DEC's first possession, Pliner followed beautiful blocking down the length of the field for a touchdown. The DEC offense stalled twice more in the red zone and did not find the end zone the rest of the first half. After halftime, a long pass to Kobi Schwartzbaum led to a touchdown reception by Pinchas Scwartzbaum. The following drive was capped by a catch and run by Sam Ash for the touchdown.

With Sam Ash returning to the defense, DEC repeated their shutout performance against Orli Print during the group stage.

The weather was wet and stormy and effected DEC's ability to run up the score on long throws. Instead, they marched up the field five times, scoring on two of those drives. The weather also impeded our film crew from recording footage of this game. We apologize for this; in place of highlights from this week, here is a highlights remix from the game against Orli Print during the group stage...




Next up: Miamo Magic, who defeated AH Schrieber to advance to the semifinals, as you can see from the updated playoff brackets...

Round of 16 Recap

Derech Etz Chaim entered the first round of the playoffs hoping to have their entire team available for the first time since December. Sam Ash, the teams leading defensive lineman, was an idiot and injured himself playing basketball the Friday before the game, hurting the DEC defense and making the game against Karelitz a bit scarier then expected.

Karelitz took advantage of the depleted DEC defense and scored on their first three drives while holding DEC without a score. Karelitz led DEC 19 – 0 with less then 3 minutes in the half. At that point the DEC offense sparked by Yerucham Pliner and Kobi Schwartzbaum started to get on the board and DEC was down 19 – 7 at the half. 

Receiving the ball to begin the second half, DEC put up another touchdown to cut the deficit to 19 -14, but Karelitz came back with another score to lead 25 – 14 with under eight minutes to play. At that point DEC came alive. Levi Naiditch ran the ball and threw two perfect passes as DEC drove downfield to bring the game within reach. The score was 25- 20 with under four minutes remaining. 

The defense held and Karelitz made a tremendous mistake on 4th and 20 attempting a fake punt which failed, giving DEC the ball with great field position and an opportunity to take the lead. DEC scored on an accurate pass from Naiditch and a great catch  to Pinchas Schwartzbaum. The stadium went wild after the successful two-point conversion gave DEC the lead 27-25 for the first time all game with under two minutes to play. 

DEC held on to win with a crazy crowd and a relieved team to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time! Their quarterfinal opponent this motzei shabbos will be Orli Print, a team DEC defeated 33-0 during the group stage last month.

Here are the history making highlights...

...and here are the updated playoff brackets...

Group Stage Recap

After beating the top seed in the group, Neve, in the first game of the group stage, Derech Etz Chaim beat Orli Print in the second game 33-0. Here are the highlights...

DEC entered the third game, against D&B, without its two starting wide receivers and our starting quarterback. Because D&B had defeated Neve the previous week, a loss would keep DEC from winning the group and would make them dependent on other teams to assure them a spot in the Holyland Bowl playoffs. 

Last year's quarterback, Yerucham Pliner, ran the offense with a new playbook that relied more on the ground game and screens. The greatest threat to a DEC victory was the fact that five players were playing both offense and defense requiring them to spend more energy than they were used to. 

The game began with DEC sacking the D&B quarterback for a safety . Unfortunately, Pliner could not get the offense moving and D&B took a 7-2 lead with a touchdown. 

DEC came back on the next series; on first down, Pliner threw a bomb to Sam Ash to take back the lead 9-7. DEC scored again on a couple of good runs and a pass to Pinchas Schwartzbaum to take a 15 – 7 lead.

D&B benefited from our tired defense and missed flags and came back to score and convert a two point conversion to tie the game up 15-15 at the half. 

A tired DEC re-energized and re-focused during halftime, received the kick off and quickly converted to take the lead 22- 15. On the next drive Pliner intercepted a D&B pass and returned it with a great block from Ash for a touchdown. From that point D&B lost their composure and DEC held on . One more touchdown run by Pliner and the score was 35 – 15 .

With the win DEC wins the group with a record of 3-0. This means that DEC will enter the Holyland Bowl playoffs as one of the top eight seeds for the first time. We have three weeks to recover form all the injuries. DEC will learn which group runner-up they will face in the Holyland Bowl round-of-16 when the draw is held Motzei Shabbos February 7; that game will be played on February 14.

Recap - Group Stage Game #1

The calendar has turned to 2009, which means that AFI has moved on to the group stage. Derech Etz Chaim played their final regular season game against Neve Tziyon. A rowdy affair ended in a split of the two games. The split kept DEC out of the top eight teams in the standings meaning that DEC would have to settle with a #2 seed in the group stage. As luck would have it, DEC was paired in the same group as Neve, and scheduled in the first game of the group stage to face their opponent from the previous week.

This time DEC game out prepared and completely shut down the Neve offense while opening up for a crushing 67-12 victory.

The DEC defense, ranked first in the league with the fewest points allowed, shut down Neve so completely that in the first half they gained only negative yardage and did not even complete a pass until late in the second half when the game was basically over. The ferocious front line of Sam Ash, Yaakov "Diesel" Hill and Adam Seibsener got through Neve's offensive line and shut down every play either sacking the quarterback, stopping the run, or pressuring the quarterback into interceptions or bad throws. 

Jeffery Malley returned one interception for a touchdown and great blocking let Yerucham Pliner return a punt for another.

On offense, with #1 receiver Chaim Gross sidelined with an injury, Kobi Schwartzbaum stepped up, catching seven touchdown passes from quarterbacks Levi Naiditch and Yerucham Pliner. 

DEC next faces #3 seed Orli Print to clinch a spot in the Holyland Bowl playoffs. DEC stunned the crowd this past week and if they keep playing like they did in this game, they will have a great shot at going all the way! Remember to save all those nickels, dimes and arugot so you can book a ticket on the group flight to the Holyland Bowl. More details to follow as the playoffs progress, but in the meantime enjoy the highlights below, which is the best quality footage we've seen in a long time. (Tip: if the video stutters, click pause until the video buffers.)