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.)

Week 7 Result

Derech Etz Chaim played Lobos, one of the best teams in the league, in Week 7. They showed their potential and issued a warning to the rest of the league that DEC is not a team to underestimate. DEC won the first game 14-6, and even though they lost the second game 13-12 on a controversial call, they came away with a moral victory on the night.

Next, DEC takes on Ohr Dovid in Week 9.

Here are the highlights from Week 7 vs. Lobos...

AFI Weeks 1-6 are in the books

Derech Etz Chaim are keeping pace with the front-runners after 6 weeks of play in the AFI season. They currently sit in tenth place with two games in hand on the leaders. You can now find current standings on the blog.

DEC has posted the following results:

Week 1: DEC 15-7 Dan Cohen/DEC 6-6 Dan Cohen

Week 2: DEC 12-6 Pizzeria Efrat/Pizzeria Efrat 13-7 DEC

Week 4: DEC 15-0 Klein Management/DEC 25-6 Klein Management

Week 6: DEC 33-0 J Caf?/DEC 26-6 J Caf?

This Motzei Shabbos DEC will play against fifth-place Lobos, the highest ranked team that has played only eight games, so the boys will have a great challenge in front of them, but also an opportunity to make a statement of their intentions this season.

Here are some highlights from earlier this season:

DEC Football Renovations

In preparation for the new AFI season we've done some renovations to the DEC Football blog that we think you'll enjoy.

Keeping up to date with the team has never been easier. You can now subscribe to the blog's RSS feed through the widget found near the top-right of the page.

In our links section just below the RSS widget is a new link to a Google Map of Kraft Stadium and the yeshiva. For those who plan on visiting the yeshiva and catching a football game, the Google Map can be used as a tool to get directions to the stadium. Just click on the marker by Kraft Stadium, click "Get directions: To here", and then type in the address you want to start from. Even if you don't plan on visiting any time soon, the map gives you a good visual idea of where the yeshiva and stadium are.

We've also added a widget which makes sharing blog posts and videos with your friends and family easier than ever. Whether your preferred method of online communication is through email, instant message or Facebook, you'll be able to spread word of Derech Etz Chaim triumph across the web in seconds.

There's a fun map we've added as well which shows all the exotic places we're getting hits from. Believe it or not, we're getting hits from places as far away as Tasmania and Singapore.

We're well aware that everyone is waiting for news of the season's first few results, and that will be posted in the coming days. Until then enjoy the new features.

Round-Robin Stage Recap (Games 15-17)

After the first phase of the AFI season, which consisted of fourteen "games", Derech Etz Chaim finished as one of the top 32 teams in the league, qualifying for the group stage. In contrast to previous seasons when the round-robin groups were determined mathematically using each team's position in the standings, this season the league took into account which day each team plays their games, either Friday or Saturday night, when forming the groups. Saturday night has historically been the day with the hardest competition, and so DEC ended up in what the league reported as likely the toughest group out of the eight.

The other three teams in DEC's group are Lev Hatorah, Croton Watches, and Tov Pizza, the defending Holyland Bowl Champions. The group stage would consist of one fifty-minute game against each of the other three teams in the group with three points awarded for a win, one point for a tie and zero points for a loss. The teams with the two best point totals after the six games played in the group would advance to the Holyland Bowl playoffs, a feat that DEC had never previously achieved.

After receiving byes the last few weeks of the regular season to celebrate the marriage of captain Eli Mirlis, DEC began the group stage in Week 13(December 29) against Tov Pizza without their honeymooning captain.

DEC walked the walk with the defending champs for a half. The defense's goal-line stand helped maintain a 13-13 halftime score. It didn't stay that way for long, though, as Tov Pizza came out firing in the second half and DEC could not come up with an answer.

A 40-13 loss was not the way DEC wanted to open the group stage, but if they could afford a loss, it had to come at Tov Pizza's hands. A loss in the first game meant that DEC's last two games would both be must-win games and they no longer held their fate in their own hands.

DEC's first must-win game was in Week 14(January 5) against Croton Watches. Some strategic alterations to the defensive lineup led to shut-out domination in the first half. The offense was in sync, posting 35 first-half points.

The nice cushion allowed the back-ups to see some playing time before the final whistle closed out a 56-6 statement-maker.

With the understanding that the chances of Tov Pizza losing to Lev Hatorah were minuscule, a DEC win over Lev Hatorah in Week 15(January 12) would almost certainly clinch a spot in the Holyland Bowl playoffs. Difficult as it may have been, the team overcame the butterflies in their stomachs and the weight on their shoulders to post an impressive 26-6 victory. Here are some highlights...



With Tov Pizza's win over Lev Hatorah in Week 16(January 19), DEC has officially qualified for the knockout stage of the Holyland Bowl playoffs for the first time in program history. Tov Pizza finished atop the group with nine points and DEC finished second with six points; Croton Watches and Lev Hatorah will fight out the last two spots in Week 17. The draw for the Holyland Bowl playoffs will take place following Week 17 play, with the playoffs expected to begin in Week 18. As a second place finisher in the group stage, DEC will be drawn against a team who finished in first place. Although it has not been confirmed, we believe that, because DEC plays on Saturday night, they will be drawn against a team who finished first in a group of teams who play on Friday.

We're going to try to provide bigger and better coverage for this special occasion. We've added interactive polls on the right side of this page; be sure to participate in the one which asks about improved coverage of the playoffs. If you are or someone you know is in Israel and interested in video taping a playoff game, please send an email to rak@ondec.net. We are always looking for volunteers to help record games; game footage is one of the best ways to offer our readers access to the game.

We'd like to thank our readers for remaining loyal through the lean years and hope that this playoff birth has made it all worth it. Feel free to leave comments and stay tuned for further playoff coverage.

Games 11-14 Recap

Derech Etz Chaim closed out the initial 14-game portion of the season with doubleheaders against Ohr Dovid and Jump Gym.

After the defense held Ohr Dovid to a 3-and-out to begin the opener, Yerucham Pliner got DEC on the board with his legs and a 10-yard touchdown pass to Simcha Feldman. After a successful 2-point conversion, DEC had an 8-0 lead.

Ohr Dovid was held again to a 3-and-out, but they got the ball back at the 10-yard-line after intercepting a Pliner pass in the end zone. They converted the turnover into a 50-yard touchdown and a game-tying 2-point conversion.

DEC regained the lead with Jacon Kon's 30-yard touchdown catch, and the defense denied Ohr Dovid from tying the game back up, stopping them at the goal line.

Pliner found Kon once more in the end zone to give DEC a 20-8 lead. After the teams swapped scoring drives - this time Pliner running the ball in himself - the game ended with a 26-14 victory for the Trees.



In the second game, Pliner led the offense, rushing for two touchdowns and throwing a touchdown pass to Kon. The defense dominated Ohr Dovid, Josh Gersten got his first flag-pull...



...and DEC posted a convincing 18-0 shutout.

The first game against Jump Gym got off to a quick start as Kon returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Ensuing touchdowns were scored by Simcha Feldman and Pliner. Interceptions by Kon and Sam Ash helped DEC cement a 22-6 victory.

The latter half of the doubleheader was not such a walk in the park. Jump Gym opened the scoring but DEC tied the game on their first possession. However, Jump Gym jumped out to a 14-point lead with five minutes remaining in the game.

Pliner's touchdown pass to Kon reduced the lead to 8 at the 2-minute warning. The defense forced Jump Gym to punt. Pliner led the offense down the field for another touchdown and found backup tight end Mordechai Landesman on the game-tying 2-point conversion, salvaging a point in the final game of the first round.

2007-2008 Season Update - New and Improved DEC

We apologize that our first post of the 2007-2008 Moshiko American Football in Israel season is coming several weeks into the schedule, but we have tremendous news to report for our first time readers, and especially for those who have subscribed to our blog for a few years now. Apparently, Derech Etz Chaim is the talk of the league. They find themselves at the top of the standings with 14 points after 10 games. Though the rest of the teams in the league do hold games in hand, DEC has put themselves in good position to make a run deep into the postseason.

In a clever money-making scheme, the league has set up a new doubleheader system this season whereby each half of what was a single game last season is now considered its own game. So whichever team is leading at halftime is awarded a victory and the scores revert back to 0-0 for the second half.

In Week 5 action last weekend, DEC played their ninth and tenth games against the previously undefeated Ner Yaakov Cobras. The DEC offense was forced into a 4-and-out on their first possession, and trailed 7-0 when Ner Yaakov scored a first-possession touchdown. DEC quarterback Yerucham Pliner was intercepted on the next possession, which the Cobras quickly turned into a 14-0 lead just four minutes into the game. Fortunately for DEC, there was still enough time to make a comeback.

The offense took the field and got it into gear...

A long pass from Pliner to Jacob Kon led to a touchdown. After a successful 2-point conversion, DEC was left with just a 6-point deficit at 14-8.

After the defense did its job and held the Cobras, the offense continued on their comeback trail...

DEC scored a tying touchdown, but could not take the lead as the extra-point attempt was not converted.

Ner Yaakov was left with two minutes to come up with a winning drive. However, on the ensuing drive, the DEC defense forced a timely turnover (the play is in the first ten seconds of the video)...

Eli Tabaria took the brunt of a correctly penalized tackle after intercepting a Ner Yaakov pass that was tipped by safety Sam Ash and cornerback Jacob Kon. DEC had one last opportunity to score and come away with the win...

The offense reached the brink of the goal line, but were unable to pierce their way through as time expired, settling instead for the tie.

The second game of the doubleheader started out with a bang...

Pliner connected with Ash for a 60-yard touchdown pass, and Kon converted the 2-point conversion with an incredible leaping catch for an early 8-0 lead.

The defensive squads dominated the remainder of the game until Ner Yaakov put together a lengthy drive in the final minutes to finally get on the board. But the DEC defense made the stop that really counted, and that was on the Cobras' two-point conversion. Ner Yaakov was out of luck after the unsuccessful attempt, as DEC ran out the clock and handed the Cobras their first defeat of the season.

DEC will have byes in Week 6 and Week 7, during which we will attempt to give our readers a better understanding of who the players on the team are and what kind of success we may expect from the team. Here's to a record-breaking season!

Game 4 Recap

Derech Etz Chaim played Pizzeria Efrat at Kraft Stadium on November 25.

DEC received the ball to begin the game, but the offense had trouble building any momentum.
Meanwhile on defense, quarterback rushes and missed flags helped Pizzeria Efrat quickly build a two-score lead.

Finally reaching a 1st-and-Goal, the DEC offense stalled in the red zone. A dropped touchdown pass and a sack on 4th Down helped Pizzeria Efrat maintain their lead.

After DEC managed to score twice on acrobatic touchdown catches by wide receivers Sam Israel and Jonah Zisquit, it appeared the clubs would go to halftime with an even score. But two long rushes by the Pizzeria Efrat quarterback with under a minute left in the half gave them a 19-13 halftime lead.

DEC's first drive of the second half featured two long passes to wide receiver Jonah Zisquit, the second of which was for a touchdown.

Unfortunately, the defense was met with an immediate response and another Efrat touchdown.

After some confusion among the referees delayed the game for several minutes, quarterback Betzalel Gersten ran the ball into the end zone from the 12-yard line.

Holding on to a five point lead with less than a minute left to play, Pizzeria Efrat had 4th-and-Goal, which represented an opportunity to put the game out of reach. But a block by cornerback Yitzi Adelman gave DEC the ball at the their own 18-yard line and 35 seconds remaining.

The potential winning drive started steady, reaching midfield with 13 seconds left and a couple of opportunities to hit the end zone. Though an interception on the next play seemed to seal their fate, DEC was given renewed hope when a defensive pass interference penalty gave the ball back to them at the Efrat 5-yard line with two seconds remaining. But a blitz together with a covered Zisquit on the ensuing play proved too much to overcome to record a victory. An incomplete pass secured another stinging defeat. The final score was 31-26.

Here are the highlights...

Game 3 Recap

On November 11, Derech Etz Chaim faced Kesher in their third game of the AFI season.

DEC received the ball to start the game, and tallied the first score when quarterback Betzalel Gersten threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Jonah Zisquit.

The first half saw the sides trade four touchdowns. DEC held a two point lead late in the half by virtue of their two extra-point conversions. Just before halftime, Kesher had an opportunity to tie the game up with a successful two-point conversion. However, they were denied by cornerback Dovi Zwebner, who made a diving play to prevent a catch.

On their first possession of the second half, DEC scored on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Gersten to wide receiver Sam Israel. A missed extra-point attempt kept it a one-possession game.

With Kesher driving, looking to tie the game up with a score and a minute remaining, Zisquit intercepted a pass at the Kesher 20-yard line, forcing a crucial turnover.

With point-differential in mind, DEC elected to try to score another touchdown, instead of just running out the clock. They accomplished their mission when tight end Eli Mirlis caught a pass from Gersten, and rumbled to the end zone, eluding several defenders. His second touchdown of the game gave DEC a 38-24 win.

Game 2 Recap

On Motzei Shabbos November 4th, Derech Etz Chaim took on the defending Holyland Bowl Champions, Big Blue, in the second game of the season.

A tremendous upset seemed possible early when wide-receiver Jonah Zisquit caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Betzalel Gersten for the first score of the game.

The defense kept open the possibility of an upset with their play throughout the game. They held Big Blue to a slim 7-6 halftime lead and just 19 points overall, including three impressive goal-line stands.

Unfortunately, the offense wasn't able to keep their end of the bargain. Big Blue's defensive line harassed Gersten all night, keeping the offense out of rhythm for the entire game, and sacked him about ten times.

Here are the highlights from the game...

Game 1 Recap

Derech Etz Chaim kicked off their 2006-2007 AFI schedule with a matchup against Vringo on Motzei Shabbos at Kraft Stadium.

Things started out well. After kicking off to start the game, DEC's defensive unit forced Vringo to punt after three unsuccessful downs.

DEC received the ensuing punt at the 12 yard-line, but began their first offensive drive from their own 7 yard-line after an illegal procedure penalty was enforced on 1st Down. The offense overcame the early setback when quarterback Betzalel Gersten found wide-receiver Amitai Scott for a first down. Three downs later, Gersten found wide-receiver Jonah Zisquit in the left corner of the end zone for the first score of the season. DEC went up 7-0 when Gersten connected with tight end Eli Mirlis for the extra point.

From there though, it was pretty much downhill. On Vringo's next possession, they took advantage of a botched blitz attempt , and scored on a long touchdown pass. DEC's lead was maintained, for the time being, when a Vringo pass was dropped on the extra point attempt.

At that point, Vringo successfully adjusted their defensive scheme from "zone" to "man-to-man". Center Dani Meisels was playing hurt and Gersten was met with plenty of pressure from Vringo's defensive line.

The teams traded punts until Vringo put together a lengthy scoring drive to put them on top at the end of the first half by the score of 13-7.

DEC received the second half kickoff and looked like they were gonna turn the game around. Three consecutive passes to Zisquit earned the offense a 1st & Goal at the 5 yard-line. That's when last season's problem of scoring in the red zone showed its ugly head. An incomplete pass, an illegal rush and a false start penalty set up 3rd & Goal from the 15 yard-line. DEC was given a new set of downs to punch the ball into the end zone after a pass-interference penalty was called against the defense. But an ineligible receiver penalty and a sack led to a controversial 3rd Down where Vringo's interception was upheld by a bold "non-call" of a seemingly obvious pass-interference penalty.

Vringo's momentum continued to grow as they went up 20-7 on their next possession. They scored a touchdown on a 1st & Goal that was a result of a pass-interference penalty in the end zone.

Still having enough time to make a comeback, the offense went back at it. They gained a first down when Gersten completed a shovel pass to wide-receiver Sam Israel on 4th & Inches. On the next set of downs, miscommunication between Gersten and the receivers resulted in another interception.

Vringo continued to out-maneuver DEC's "zone" defense, and tacked on another score to make it a 26-7 game.

With seven minutes remaining in the game, DEC made a strategic move that shows how serious they are about qualifying for the top tier playoffs. Instead of trying to get a few quick scores for the win that would have had to involve several high risk plays, they decided to concede the victory. In an effort to keep their point-differential to a minimum, thereby improving their overall standing, they concerned themselves more with putting together a single scoring drive of less risky plays rather than running the risk of their deficit being increased.

Running the "hurry-up offense", they earned a 1st Down at midfield with three short passes, and another with a sideline reception by Israel. Gersten threw a touchdown shovel pass to Scott on 2nd Down, and a defensive penalty on the extra point attempt made the final score 26-14 in favor of Vringo.

The first two drives of the game show us that this team certainly has the potential to do great things. But there are obviously a lot of glitches that need to be worked on. It seems that the offensive line needs to give Gersten some more time to sit in the pocket. The defense apparently just didn't have it this week. In order for the secondary to have a chance in the future, the line has to get better penetration of the quarterback. Rookie mistakes always happen, but the fewer that occur, the more successful this team will be. For their first game though, Israel and Scott played at a respectable level.

Here are the highlights from Week 1...

2006-2007 Season Preview

Sukkos is over, and you know what that means: it's time for the AFI season to begin. After winning four of their last six games, Derech Etz Chaim looks to continue that success into the brand new season. Their first game will be on Motzei Shabbos October 21 at Kraft Stadium against Vringo.

If DEC is going have a successful season, they will have to be carried by the veterans. So let's meet the team's returning players and watch some of their finer moments from last season...

Last season, Isaac Manaster raised 367.5 shekels for tzedakah through his "I-Sack For Tzedakah" promotion. If you would like to pledge 5 shekels to tzedakah for every sack that Isaac records this season, please email isackfortzedakah@gmail.com to notify us of your pledege. At the end of the season we will email you how many sacks Isaac has recorded.

If you would like to receive an email alerting you that the DEC Football blog has been updated, just click here or send an email to decfootball-subscribe@googlegroups.com and you'll always know when the latest news on your favorite team or player is available.

Team News - Vol. 2.9

• With his 9.5 sacks this season, Isaac Manaster raised pledges for tzedakah totaled at 367.5 shekels.
• As you might recall, we mentioned before the season began that how long it takes for the team to jell would be a big factor in determining what kind of season the team has. It indeed turned out that that was a big reason why Derech Etz Chaim finished with a 4-8 record. The team played at an extremely high level towards the end of the season, totally obliterating their opponents. But it took an extremely long time to get to that level.

  There were several reasons why it took so long for the team to jell. The roster included many rookies, and they, just like all other rookies before them, took a while to get comfortable with playing in the league. For most it was their first time playing competitive football. Quarterback Betzalel Gersten, who has been out of the game for a few years, had to get reacclimated with the game and with his abilities. Another huge stumbling block was the extremely hard schedule that was given to us by the league. The team really wasn't able to get going until the final weeks of the season.

  Though I won't name any specific players, it looks like there is a good core of players who will be returning for next season. Hopefully their history of playing together and the experience they have gained from this season will help them jell next season in a more timely manner, and ultimately put them in a position to fight for a bowl game.

  I hope you've all enjoyed following the team this season as much as I have enjoyed supplying the coverage. Hopefully there will be someone here next year who will be able to take the pain...

  ...and give you the coverage you want.

  Let's now take a look back at the fun we've had this season.

  
  
  Don't fret though my friends. You can catch the Derech Etz Chaim softball team on our sister blog. The season begins this weekend!

  Until next season, so long from DEC Football.