oh so close! pioneers lose 44-42 in Israel-bowl V thriller
Pioneers advance to the finals! Beat the Previously UnBeaten (10-0) Lions in the semi final 66-22
Pioneers pulled off the shocker of the weekend on Thursday night, going on the road to knock off the top-seeded Big Blue Jerusalem Lions, who had come in with an unblemished 10-0 record.
It wasn’t just that the 66-22 outcome was such a surprise which it was, especially considering the 44-20 Lions’ conquest in the regular-season meeting between the clubs but moreover, the nationally televised blowout differential in their club’s favor was not something even the most ardent Pioneers’ fan had dared to dream of.
“I am still stunned as to how this happened,” exclaimed forlorn Lions’ coach Yonah Mishaan after his team suffered the second consecutive 44-point upsetat Kraft in as many weeks. “They only passed the ball five times all night, and no matter how many guysI put up on the line, we couldn’t do anything to stop their run. It waspathetic out there, we definitely didn’t deserve to win and they did.”
Indeed, the Pioneers rumbled for 254 rushing yards and seven scores on the ground, led by 188 yards and four TDs from slasher Elan Bielas in just his third game playing running back this season. Tel Aviv field generals Itay Ashkenazi and Asaf Gelber combined to go just 3-5 passing for 52 yards, with Ashkenazi’s only toss coming on a successful two-point conversion to Bielas.
Lions’ QB Chaim Schiff threw more interceptions (3) than touchdowns (2) and completed only six of his 28 passes, many of which were desperation long bombs after Jerusalem was already furiously trying to mount a comeback. (click “more”)
Pioneers dominate the underdogs 34-8 in wet & muddy conditions. Pioneers improve to 6-1, in race for 1st seed
On a rainy Saturday night on Feb 22nd, the Pioneers traveled to the muddy field of Atlit to play the Haifa Underdogs for the second time this season.
The Pioneers came out with an impressive high performance and aggression on both sides of the ball and completely dominated the baffled Haifa team.
The first between the Pioneers and the Northern Stars was supposed to take place in Shlomi on Jan 13th. Due to harsh winter conditions, the field was not suitable for playing and the game was postponed.
Without any bye weeks to squeeze the extra game in, the IFL commissioner decided that the next Pioneers – Northern Stars encounter at the Tel Aviv university field will be a double game format.
The Pioneers and the Northern Stars played two games back to back, where each game consisted of four quarters of 8 minutes each (instead of the usual 12 minutes quarters).
The Pioneers totally dominated their visitors from the north, dispatching them 52-0 and 56-0 in total of 64 minutes of football.
The Pioneers jumped from 3-1 to 5-1.