This past Sunday, the undefeated, top-seeded Netzach Knights battled against the Cinderella-story, fourth seeded MAY Eagles in the Mesivta Football League’s Varsity Championship Game. In front of a standing room only crowd, the epic battle ensued and, when the dust settled, the MAY Eagles were victorious, 14-6.
A bitter cold winter afternoon would be the backdrop for an incredible demonstration of gritty defense and tenacious offense. Netzach struck first when, on the first drive of the game, veteran quarterback, Avi Gluck, found his receiver, Shua Skydell, who ran for over 50 yards and put Netzach ahead, 6-0.
MAY’s defense, however, took the “mussar” and locked it down. With incredible play on the D-line, led by J.J. Ostroff and Shmaryahu Jacobs, and tight coverage in the secondary, the Eagles wouldn’t let another one slip by.
MAY quarterback, Yosef Kreindler, would eventually find star receiver, Daniel Gewirtz, to put MAY on the board. MAY’s tight-end, Shlomo Rosenthal, secured the lead on a tight-end leak route for the 2-point conversion, putting MAY ahead 8-6.
Towards the end of the first half, Kreindler, battling against the fierce Netzach D-line led by Shia Wallach, found wide-receiver, Chaim Shapiro, with a beautiful deep pass against the wind, putting MAY ahead, 14-6.
In the second half, the Knights came close to putting another score on the board with a deep 40-yard pass tipped up and brought down by Moshe Levy, but the MAY lock-down defense kept the second half scoreless, and MAY would go on to win the Golden Football.
“Obviously, the League was created to provide a healthy outlet for our kids here in the community on Sunday afternoons,” commented League Administrator, Rabbi Yossi Bennett, “But when you get an incredible Championship game like this, with two outstanding teams, with incredible camaraderie between them, that’s just icing on the cake.”
The Mesivta Football League congratulates coaches, Shua Behar and Dovid Puderbeutal, and the MAY Eagles on their Championship victory and thanks all the participating schools – players, coaches, administrators and fans – for helping make this season so successful.