Game 12 Recap

All eyes were on Kraft Stadium this past Saturday night for the slew of AFI's championship games. Only METV stood between Derech Etz Chaim and the Tier 4 trophy.

METV took control early by returning an interception for a touchdown. As was the case in their earlier meeting, the defense was unable to take care of business and METV took an 18-0 lead.

DEC finally made it a game when they scored just before the half.

Quarterback Max Gornish found wide receiver Elan Noorparvar in the end zone, cutting the deficit to 12 points.

The offense did their part by scoring two more times in the second half. First on a pass to tight end Eli Mirlis...

...and then on a pass to wide receiver Jonah Zisquit.

But in the end, METV was too much for the defense to handle, and the game ended with the disappointing score of 40-18.

Please enjoy the highlights from the championship game.

We're not finished quite yet. Stay tuned for the blog's season review.

Game 11 Recap

Derech Etz Chaim continued their charge toward Tier 4 glory as they faced the #1 seed, Israel 21C, in a semifinal matchup.

The offense carried over its domination from last week to this week's game. They got the scoring started on their first drive from scrimmage.

Quarterback Betzalel Gersten found wide-receiver Elan Noorparvar, who then found his way past the defenders and into the end zone. A reception by wide-receiver Jonah Zisquit on the extra-point attempt gave DEC an early 7-0 lead.

DEC's next score was the only one that came from within the red zone. Gersten found Noorparvar again, this time in the back of the end zone, to take a 13-0 lead.

DEC went up 19-0 on a touchdown pass to wide-receiver Jonah Zisquit.

Israel 21C finally got on the board late in the second half on a pass that the defense should have been able to block.

Having witnessed Israel 21C get a score they shouldn't have gotten, the offense felt obligated to get it back for the defense.

Gersten found wide-receiver Max Gornish for a touchdown on another fake run.

Israel 21C tried to gain momentum before halftime with a score but Gersten would have none of that. Filling in at safety, he intercepted a long pass by making a terrific catch. Then, with just seconds remaining in the half, he threw a nice pass of his own...

...which ultimately found Noorparvar's hands, giving DEC a 31-6 halftime lead.

The second half continued with more offensive brilliance.

Another fake run opened up the field for Zisquit who ran 30 yards for the touchdown after making the catch at midfield.

Israel 21C refused to close up shop and managed to score a touchdown, cutting the deficit to 38-12.

The lawyers teamed up for the next touchdown and extra-point, to go up by a score 45-12.

Israel 21C kept working though, and earned a touchdown for good measure.

Everyone knew that DEC was butter 'cuz they were on a roll. While the game was well in their pockets, they continued to play.

After catching a Gersten pass, Zisquit ran 35 yards for a touchdown. Gornish caught a pass on the two-point conversion to make it 53-18 game.

The defense wasn't about to let the offense take all the glory. They decided to close the game by making their own final impression. On the final play of the game...

,/p>...Noorparvar intercepted a pass at the DEC 20-yard line. After running the ball back 20 yards, he made a lateral pass to Gersten, who subsequently ran the ball into the end zone, making the final score 59-18.

With the victory, DEC heads to the Tier 4 championship game where they will face METV.

Please enjoy the highlights we have prepared this week.

Condolences

Condolences

Feb. 3, 2006 11:44
Yosef Goodman's funeral begins
By Yaakov Katz And JPOST STAFF

The funeral ceremony of Yosef Goodman, 20, began at Jerusalem's Mt. Herzl
military cemetery on Friday at 11:30 a.m.

Goodman, an IDF soldier from the elite Maglan unit, was killed Thursday in a
parachute training accident in a military base south of Ashdod. Goodman lived in
Efrat, but was originally from New York.

Goodman jumped from an IDF plane together with other soldiers in a training
exercise at the IDF's Nizanim base. When his parachute opened, however, it got
entangled with the squad commander's parachute. Both soldiers cut their
parachutes, and while one succeeded in opening his reserve parachute, Goodman
did not and fell to the ground. Magen David Adom medics pronounced his death at
the scene.

The mishap marked the IDF's first training accident of 2006.

The army said the Military Police planned to launch an investigation into the
accident, which would also be probed by Col. Harel Knafo from the IDF Ground
Forces Command.

Goodman was the second of nine children, and his parents Mordechai and Ann
ran the local Efrat pizzeria. Both father and son played in the American
Football League in Israel (AFI).

"Yosef was an amazing athlete," recalled Steve Leibowitz, president of the
AFI. "He was a fearless player and had great athletic ability. He was by far one
of the best players in the country."

But beyond his athletic skills, Leibowitz - who has known the Goodman family
for years - said that Yosef was a "true Zionist" who believed in contributing
all of himself to the country and the IDF.

"His athletic skills led him to become a combat soldier," Leibowitz said. "He
wanted to be a combat soldier and he knew he would be good at it."

The Derech Etz Chaim football team would like to express their condolences to the Goodman family.

We have put together a video as a tribute to Yosef.

Team News - Vol. 2.8

• Derech Etz Chaim will play in the Tier 4 championship game this Saturday night against METV. DEC lost 24-19 to METV a month a go, but the game ended on a positive note for DEC as they dominated the second half of the game.
• With their semifinal victory over Israel 21C, DEC improved their overall record to 4-7.
  
• Quarterback Betzalel Gersten is in America on a recruiting trip. He will be replaced this week by Max Gornish, who usually plays wide-receiver.
• Linebacker Michael Deutsch will comes off the disabled list this week and will attempt to play in the championship game.
  
• So far, Isaac Manaster has raised 287.5 shekels for tzedakah through his "I-Sack For Tzedakah" promotion. Please email isackfortzedakah@gmail.com before Shabbos if you would like to donate 5 shekels to tzedakah for every sack that Isaac records in the championship game.

Game 10 Recap

Last Friday, Derech Etz Chaim opened their playoff campaign with a quarterfinal matchup against One Hour Cellular. The team's goal coming into the game was to prove that they don't belong in Tier 4.

After receiving the opening kickoff, DEC got straight to scoring. Their first drive culminated in a touchdown pass from quarterback Betzalel Gersten to wide-receiver Jonah Zisquit.

After the defense stymied One Hour Cellular, DEC put together another successful drive, scoring on another Gersten touchdown pass, this time to tight end Eli Mirlis.

DEC was rolling through the game. The defense didn't allow One Hour Cellular to gain any momentum, and even when the offense didn't score, Gersten's punt was downed at the 1-yard line.

Just before halftime, DEC increased their lead when Zisquit caught his second touchdown pass of the game. The score was 18-0 with an entire half still to play.

While the defense continued to deny One Hour Cellular of any offensive production, the offense continued to dominate the opposing defense. On their first drive of the half, Gersten found wide-receiver Max Gornish in the end zone, taking a 25-0 lead.

After yet another defensive stop, the law firm of Gersten & Gornish went back to work for a quick 50-yard touchdown.

Since the defense found the will to continue performing with the huge lead, the offense felt obliged to continue performing as well. They tacked another score on the board when Zisquit caught his third touchdown pass of the game.

And as if they were gunning for a point differential tie-breaker, they almost scored another touchdown, but the clock ran out on them just before getting off a final play.

By posting a 37-0 win, the team took the first step towards sending a message that they are better than Tier 4. They played with the no-nonsense attitude and confidence that the great teams in the league play with. After watching this game, we wonder why One Hour Cellular was able to score a touchdown against DEC a few weeks ago. A couple more performances of this caliber may do leaps and bounds towards convincing people that this season was overall a fluke.

Please enjoy the highlights we've prepared, which include a new feature this week.

Team News - Vol. 2.7

• Derech Etz Chaim finished the regular season with a 2-7 record and in 44th place out of 50 teams.
• DEC is the 4th seed in the eight team Tier 4 Playoffs. Their quarterfinal game will be this Friday against One Hour Cellular, a team they beat four weeks ago.
• Linebacker Michael Deutsch fractured his hand in Week 12 against METV. He will miss the rest of the season.
• Quarterback Betzalel Gersten was knocked out of the game in the second half last week after suffering an extreme bloody nose. His condition was stabilized on the sideline, and was released from the Terem medical clinic after a short visit. He has been cleared to play this week.
  
• Former team captain, Ari Gold, played in the last two games during his winter break visit to Israel. Last season's team captain, Zack Eisner, also played last week during his visit.
• So far, Isaac Manaster has raised 235 shekels for tzedakah through his "I-Sack For Tzedakah" promotion. If you would like to donate 5 shekels to tzedakah for every sack that Isaac records this season, please email isackfortzedakah@gmail.com.
• The team would like to wish a mazel tov to former teammate Ari Gold on his engagement to Rachie Jacobsen.

Game 9 Recap

Derech Etz Chaim closed out the regular season with an exciting game on Saturday night. The team was trying to avenge the game they lost to the Ner Yaakov Cobras in Week 5.

Just like almost every other game this season, this one started off pretty ugly. On their opening drive, DEC went for it on 4th-Down from midfield. Ner Yaakov got good field position when DEC's 4th-Down attempt failed. Ner Yaakov took advantage of the opportunity by making a quick score, taking an early 6-0 lead.

And if anyone hadn't been convinced by then that it was going to be a long night, they were after quarterback Betzalel Gersten threw an interception on the next drive.

DEC got the ball back when Ari Gold intercepted a pass in the end zone for a touchback. Just a few plays into the ensuing drive, DEC got on the board when wide-receiver Jonah Zisquit ran 25 yards to the end zone after receiving a pass from Gersten. On the extra-point attempt, Zisquit made a highly disputed catch while he was on the ground, giving DEC a 7-6 lead at halftime.

DEC received the second half kickoff and pieced together a drive that culminated when Gersten found wide-receiver Elan Noorparvar in the back of the end zone to take a 13-6 lead.

While the defense continued to stymie the Cobras' offense, DEC continued to push. The offense added to the lead when Gersten found tight end Eli Mirlis, who rumbled in past several Ner Yaakov defenders.

Now down 19-6, Ner Yaakov made a comeback push. They cut the lead to 19-12 with 1:30 left in the game. When DEC was unable to run out the clock, Max Gornish was forced to punt from the back of the end zone. Luckily, the punt was not fielded and it rolled in DEC's favor. Ner Yaakov began their last attempt to tie or win the game from their own 20-yard-line with 30 seconds left in the game.

After two incomplete passes, and then a short gain on 3rd-Down, cornerback Mordy Kramer intercepted the pass on 4th-Down, and returned it 50 yards to the end zone, where he was mobbed by players and fans, who celebrated an enjoyable end to an otherwise frustrating regular season.

The most obvious thing that changed in this game was that the real defense decided to show up to this game and they stayed until the final whistle. They didn't show up late, nor did they leave early, which seemed to be the case for most of the previous eight games. They played with three games' worth of quality. It'’s as if they were accumulating a whole case of defense to spend on the last game. And spend it they did, amassing nine sacks in all, scoring a defensive touchdown, and virtually shutting down a team that beat them by two points earlier in the season.

On the other hand, the offense started slow and finished slow as well. They eventually got things going, and were able to put up a sufficient amount of points. On their second-to-last drive, it looked as if DEC was going to add to their lead before Gersten was knocked out of the game. A blow to the nose caused severe bleeding, requiring a trip to the emergency room. The offense, a little distracted, was unable to finish off the drive, giving up the ball on downs at the 5-yard-line. In order to win their tournament, the offense will have to play well from beginning to finish.

With the close of the regular season comes the playoffs. DEC is the 4th seed in the Tier 4 tournament. More details about the playoffs are coming soon.

We've prepared the first highlight reel from a game the team has won, woohoo! Enjoy.

Team News - Vol. 2.6

• On Friday December 23, Derech Etz Chaim lost 38-20 to Waxman Warriors.
• On Friday January 6, Derech Etz Chaim faced One Hour Cellular (affiliated with Bais Yisroel). DEC got off to a poor start, going down by a touchdown after the offense didn't convert on 4th-Down deep in their own zone. Then the offense was unable to score after driving to the red-zone. They tied the game just before halftime on a gorgeous one-handed touchdown catch by wide reciever, Jonah Zisquit. Both the offensive and defensive squads put it into gear for DEC in the second half, finally winning their first game of the season by the score of 27-7. (They even converted on each of their extra-point attempts!)
• On Saturday January 14, Derech Etz Chaim lost 24-19 to METV.
• DEC is now 1-7, good for 3 points and 48th place in the league.
• DEC will play it's final regular season game on Saturday night January 21 against the Ner Yaakov Cobras. It will be a rematch of the Week 5 matchup that DEC lost by 2-points. If DEC wins, they will qualify for the Tier 4 playoffs, but a loss will drop them into the Tier 5 playoffs.
• So far, Isaac Manaster has raised 165 shekels for tzedakah through his "I-Sack For Tzedakah" promotion. If you would like to donate 5 shekels to tzedakah for every sack that Isaac records this season, please email isackfortzedakah@gmail.com.

Game 6 - Postponed

Yerushalayim recieved plenty of rain over Friday night. As a result, the field at Ramat Eshkol was not playable on Saturday night, so Derech Etz Chaim's game was postponed. No make-up date has been scheduled yet.

Team News -Vol. 2.5

• Derech Etz Chaim is now 0-5 and in 23rd place in the Saturday Night Division. The team has been eliminated from the bowl game qualifying-round. After their sixth game this weekend, the team's remaining games will be against teams who are of the worst 20 in the league.
• DEC's upcoming schedule includes a game in Week 8 against Waxman Warriors, followed by two consecutive bye weeks.
• The team would like to wish a tzeischem l'shalom to team captain, Moshe Franklin, who is going back to America on Sunday to begin his studies at Lander College for Men.
• So far, Isaac Manaster has raised 25 shekels for tzedakah through his "I-Sack For Tzedakah" promotion. If you would like to donate 5 shekels to tzedakah for every sack that Isaac records this season, please email isackfortzedakah@gmail.com.

Game 5 Recap

Derech Etz Chaim played another exciting game on Saturday night against Olive at Kraft Stadium. The team was trying to win their first game of the season.

Olive gained possesion after DEC failed to score on 4th-and-goal. They put together a drive that culminated in a touchdown, giving them a 6-0 lead.

Later in the first half, DEC tied the game when quarterback Betzalel Gersten threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to wide-reciever Elan Noorparvar. On the extra-point attempt, Gersten found Noorparvar in the back of the end zone, giving DEC a 7-6 halftime lead. It was DEC's first lead since Week 1.

After recieving the kickoff, the offense was able to push the ball downfield. The drive was capped with a touchdown. Wide-reciever Max Gornish caught Gersten's tipped pass, doing so for the second consecutive game.

Up now by seven points, the defense still had alot of work ahead of them. Olive scored another touchdown with four minutes remaining in the game. The defense did not allow Olive to score on the extra-point attempt, retaining a 13-12 lead.

The offense had an opportunity to run out the clock by gaining a couple of first-downs, but was forced to a 3-and-out, giving the ball back to Olive with a minute remaining.

By then, the momentum had shifted towards Olive, allowing them to pull-off this last-minute drive. The drive ended in a touchdown, giving Olive an 18-12 lead with 20 seconds on the clock. Although there was enough time for a few plays, the offense could not come up with an answer, adding one more loss to their already frustrating season.

The offense had plenty of time to put the game out of reach. Their play after reaching 1st-and-Goal had improved in the last few games, but this week they scored just once in three chances. They could have won or tied if they had converted on one more of those chances.

Even so, the defense was playing well enough for the first three-quarters of the game for them to win by scoring just 13 points. Why the defense couldn't maintain their level of play for the last quarter of the game we will never know. Both units continue to play very well, but not for the duration of the game. How to fix this problem has been the mystery of the season.

The video crew didn't have any problems this week. We hope you'll enjoy the highlights we've prepared.

Game 4 Recap

Derech Etz Chaim played its best and most exciting game of the season on Saturday night against the Ner Yaakov Cobras.

On the first drive of the game, DEC took a huge risk by going for a first-down on 4th-and-10 from their own 15-yard-line. When wide-receiver Jonah Zisquit had his defender beat, it looked as if the gamble would pay off, but the usually sure-handed Zisquit let the pass slip through his hands.

The defense was unable to stop Ner Yaakov from scoring on that drive. In all, Ner Yaakov scored three times in the first half to take a 20-0 lead.

When they regained possession with just minutes before halftime, DEC was determined to send a message that they weren't just going to bow down to the defending Holyland Bowl champs. Though they were able to drive downfield, it appeared that the offense wouldn't put up any points on the board before halftime as a 4th-down pass fell incomplete. Fortunately, the offense was redeemed when a defensive penalty gave them an extra play. This time, quarterback Betzalel Gersten found wide-receiver Max Gornish in the end-zone to make the halftime score 20-6.

Zisquit intercepted a tipped pass on Ner Yaakov's first drive of the half, but the play was negated by a roughing-the-passer penalty. They eventually scored a touchdown on that possession to take a 28-6 lead.

On the next drive, the offense looked to have had enough of the physical and emotional abuse they had taken from Ner Yaakov and their fans, respectively. The game seemed to be over when DEC lined up to punt on 4th-and-20. The same was the case even after a 5-yard penalty against Ner Yaakov. But when Ner Yaakov incurred another 5-yard penalty on the next play, the offense decided to go for a first down on 4th-and-10. Gersten first connected with Zisquit to gain a 1st-down and then again for a touchdown, making it a 28-12 game.

The defense made a tall stand and quickly gave the ball back to the offense. Gersten led a drive that culminated in another touchdown pass to Zisquit. A successful extra-point attempt made the score 28-20.

With just a few minutes remaining in the game, the defense had to make a huge stop if the offense was going to get another shot at the end zone. Ner Yaakov advanced towards the end zone, but the defense survived a few incomplete passes that could have ended the game.

The offense took over with a minute remaining in the game. They demonstrated beautiful clock management by gaining quick clock-stopping first downs and were aided as well by some defensive penalties. After driving close to the goal line, there was only time for one more play. Ner Yaakov was able to deflect the touchdown pass away from the intended receiver, but the ball was miraculously tipped directly into Gornish's hands. The comeback was not yet complete. DEC still needed to make a 2-point conversion. Gersten scrambled away from pressure, then threw a pass to his receiver. Ner Yaakov knocked the ball to the ground, escaping with a 2-point victory, their second straight win by 3 points or less.

So another game and another "coulda, woulda, shoulda." One thing that seems to be missing from this team, that is an evident attribute of the teams that are beating DEC, is a killer instinct. This is most likely because it's a team of nice yeshiva guys(which is a good thing).

DEC hasn't had a lead since they led 6-0 over Norman's in Week 1. They've been right there the last two games, but they just can't seem to get that extra little "umph" their opponents are getting.

This was the second game in a row where the team played very well, but for just one half of the game. They probably won't get a win until both units put in a solid effort for an entire 50 minutes.

The team will head into the bye week with a record of 0-4. They can really use a week off to regroup because if they're going to make the bowl game qualifying round with four losses, they're gonna need to make up the gap in their point-differential, the first tie-braking statistic, which currently stands at -82.

The video crew ran into some technical difficulties during the game, so the video quality, and the amount of video taken, are sub-par this week. At any rate, we do have a highlight clip.

Game 4 Preview

Derech Etz Chaim will start on a trek to save their season from the fire-breathing dragon this Saturday night. Their journey will first take them to Ramat Eshkol Field where they will have to daringly dance their way past a throng of Ner Yaakov Cobras.

DEC, who sits at 0-3, is in a must-win situation because it is not likely that they will enter the bowl game qualifying round with four losses. Although they are coming off their best performance of the season, it will probably take an even better game to defeat the defending Holyland Bowl champions.

The Cobras are coming off an emotional 3-point win over Tiferes Yerushalayim(TJ) in Week 4 but are just 1-1 on the season as a result of their loss to Tov Pizza. They are DEC's first non-undefeated opponent of the season. Still, they are not the kind of team you want to face in a must-win situation.

Commentary 1

Anonymous said...

Why do you guys have the hardest schedule in the whoooooole world!

Anonymous may have been asking a rhetorical question, but I'm going to answer anyways because it's not often that I get to write commentary in this fashion.
The schedule is made up mostly of teams that signed up to play in the same time slot as us. In other words, it's basically arbitrary. And even more so in our case because unlike every other team, we didn't get to choose our time slot; we were placed in a time slot by the league.
Within each time slot there are more teams than there are games. So we don't play every team in our time slot. Which teams you play and which teams you don't is also determined pretty much at random.
The only games that aren't scheduled incidentally, for the most part, are those that the league schedules because they are high-interest matchups. For example, in Week 2 a game featured a rematch of last year's Holyland Bowl.
So the answer to your question is that there is no answer. The sensible follow-up question to that is, "Why us?" There are 52 teams in the league, and somehow Derech Etz Chaim gets the hardest schedule.
The standings go by points. A win is worth three points; one point for a tie; and no points for a loss. I determine a team's Strength of Schedule Number(SOS#) by dividing the sum of all their opponents' points by the sum of all their opponents' games played(their average points per game).
The league has revealed the identity of four of DEC's opponents: Norman's has 6 points after 2 games; Tov Pizza has 9 points after 3 games; Pizzeria Efrat has 9 points after 3 games; and Ner Yaakov has 3 points after 2 games. The equation then is (6+9+9+3)/(2+3+3+2). That comes out to be a league leading SOS# of 2.7!
This is one of the reasons why we are so upset about the referees not giving us a safety against Pizzeria Efrat. The league has already given us the hardest schedule. We don't need the referees to make it even harder for us to win by taking points away from us. What's next? Three-down-sets for DEC?
The good news though, is that we may have a way of removing the randomness of the schedule. News about this development will hopefully be announced in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

If you have any more questions for us at DEC Football, we'd be more than glad to answer.

Team News - Vol. 2.4

• Derech Etz Chaim's loss to Pizzeria Efrat drops their record to 0-3. They are now in 22nd place in the Saturday Night Division.
• DEC will face the defending Holyland Bowl champion Ner Yaakov Cobras in Week 5. It will be the league's first game this season at Ramat Eshkol Field. That will be followed with a bye in Week 6.
• Before Week 4, Moshe Herzig was deactivated to open a roster spot for Eliyahu Kenigsberg.
• With this sack, Isaac Manaster raised 25 shekels for tzedakah through his "I-Sack For Tzedakah" promotion. If you would like to donate 5 shekels to tzedakah for every sack that Isaac records this season, please email isackfortzedakah@gmail.com.

Game 3 Preview

Derech Etz Chaim will face their third undefeated opponent in three games when they take on Pizzeria Efrat this Saturday night at Kraft Stadium. DEC will try to record their first win after dropping their first two games.

The record of the teams that Pizzeria Efrat has defeated is a combined 0-3, so it's difficult to tell how good they are just based on their record. But Pizzeria Efrat is a franchise that has existed since the days of American Touch Football in Israel. So old, in fact, that they could probably have a promotion where they wear throwback uniforms for one game. One has to assume that this is going to be a tough game to win because of Pizzeria Efrat's tradition of excellence.

In order for DEC to win, the offense will have to not only drive down the field, as they have shown to be capable of doing, but will have to punch the ball into the end zone once they get to the goal line. The offense's ineptitude in doing this is mainly why their record sits at 0-2. If they don't find a way to score more points soon, the top tier may become out of reach.

Team News - Vol. 2.3

• After their 62-7 loss to Tov Pizza, Derech Etz Chaim fell to 0-2 on the season, good for 21st place in the Saturday Night Division. If the first round of the season were to end today, DEC would be in the second tier for the next round.
• The Week 4 game against Pizzeria Efrat will be the second and final game of the DEC Pizza Tour.
• Eliyahu Kenigsberg was deactivated prior to Week 3 to make room on the roster for starting quarterback Betzalel Gersten.

Game 2 Recap

On Saturday night, Derech Etz Chaim found out first hand why Tov Pizza is the early favorite to win the Holyland Bowl. They scored early and often, on offense and defense, ultimately putting 62 points on the board. That's not to say that the DEC defense played poorly. Rather, Tov Pizza's offense was just too much to handle.

By halftime it was apparent that the only accomplishment that would be attainable was to become the first team in three games to score against Tov Pizza. As the second half moved along, it seemed unlikely that even this would happen, until quarterback Betzalel Gersten's 50-yard pass got tipped into the hands of receiver Elan Noorpavar for the touchdown. Everyone was relieved to learn that Tov Pizza is indeed human.

From the offense's play, it was evident that one area in particular needs significant improvement. Three different times DEC's offense reached 1st-and-Goal, but all three times they were denied a touchdown. In their first two games, the offense has had a 1st-and-Goal seven times but has scored just once. This is a problem that needs to be fixed soon or the team can kiss their season goodbye.

You can watch some of our players in action by clicking here.

Game 2 Preview

Saturday night will bring another opportunity for Derech Etz Chaim to notch their first victory of the season. Their Week 3 opponent will be Tov Pizza, a team mostly composed of players from last season's second place finishers, Lyons Capital.

Anybody outside of yeshiva will tell you that this game is going to be a walkover. There is no way that an 0-1 team is going to be able to upset the first place team that hasn't given up a single point in their first two games.

The players and fans, on the other hand, are a little bit more optimistic. The bye week gave some members of the team an opportunity to conduct an in-depth scouting report on Tov Pizza. The report may have uncovered some clues as to how to topple this seemingly unstopable football monster.

Though the team did lose in Week 1, the defense allowed Norman's to score just twice. A similar performance will surely be required this week. The unit is confident that they can play with this weapon-loaded opponent and come out with a similar outcome.

The biggest reason to believe that DEC can win this game is the offense's untapped potential. In Week 1, with backup quarterback Moshe Franklin at the helm, the offense reached the goal line multiple times, but scored just once. With starting quarterback Betzalel Gersten making his DEC debut, there is hope that his talent, experience and offensive scheme can get the team over the hump that kept them from handily beating Norman's.

Tov Pizza is an opponent that can be used as a good measuring device. Playing well against them could be a morale lifter, but a victory would be a real confidence booster. A win would suddenly put DEC on the map of Holyland Bowl contenders.

Team News - Vol. 2.2

• DEC's Week 3 opponent will be Tov Pizza-Baltimore's Finest Kosher Pizza(Chanan Baer insists that his father's is better).
• Starting quarterback Betzalel Gersten has returned from America and will be making his football debut for Derech Etz Chaim.
  
• The team spent the bye week kicking themselves over their six-point loss to Norman's Steak N' Burger.
• When the AFI standings were updated after Week 2, it revealed that Derech Etz Chaim had moved up from 17th to 16th place in the Saturday Night Division. If the season were to end today, DEC would be in the top tier for the second round of the season.
• Rav Mendel was suspended indefinitely for comments he made in an ESPN.com interview. Consequently, retailers marked down all Rav Mendel replica jersey's to almost free. In an attempt to cash in on the debacle, Eli Mirlis marched through Yerushalayim, and bought all the jerseys he could find and then sold them as a wholesale lot on eBay.