Twas the morning of Christmas and throughout  the city, children were disappointed and filled with pity. The gifts they had received were cheap and tiny, which made them cry and sound kind of whiney.
But it wasn’t so for a select crew, Jesus Bowl was here for the league called Ball-Jew. The weather was crisp, the sky was bright blue, the football gods were shining down on those select few.
Fourteen men, both young and old, strapped up their cleats and embraced the cold. To Lawrence high school they did arrive, for two hours of football, who would survive.
The game would be solid, the teams were quite even, except for this new enigma called Steven. Old against new we hoped to see, Gunslinger Yaron vs M.V.P.
The game was quite good though the final score is misleading, 9-5 to Yaron and the team he was leading.
To recap every play would be a bore, but I’ll try to put down those that ended with a score.
Yaron took ball first and his balloon it did pop, every pass that he threw his receivers did drop.
MVP took over with great anticipation, filled with confidence and no hesitation. Quick outs, short digs and posts one by one, marching down the field, he was getting it done. But  Steve and Sam on the line were getting in quick, and with one errant throw, Goldberg came down with a pick.
Yaron found his rhythm and was having his way, getting balls to dobs and salem who def showed up to play.
Yet one player was missing though physically there, dropping passes, missing tackles as if he just didn’t care. He usually backs up his sh!t talking with play thats anointing, but today, Prime, was just disappointing.
3 years since he played last, let’s cut him some slack, Snow found his receivers in Mo and in Jack. With BD on the line and Beast as tight end, two unlikely receivers he decided to send. PJ’s lined up, Dov would give him a shot, he scored two TD’s running posts from the slot.
Away from the line, Kut set up outside, with a dime from MVP that hit him in stride. Off to the races, like Donner and Blitzen, Kut finally got his first TD of the season.
picks on both sides,  3 Goldberg, 1 Jack, the score started getting a little whack. With 30 minutes to play, due to a leg contusion, Snow had to sit out creating confusion.  Mo stepped up to fill those big shoes, determined to make sure his team didn’t lose. Taking control of the huddle, good plays he did call, scoring a few TD’s until the offense did stall.
With the defensive duo of Goldberg and Steve, it seemed destined, with the win they would leave. Sometimes a lead is too big, too hard to catch, Yaron and team green clearly won the match.
Having old and new on the field, was a great sight, merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Week 8 Recap
There will be blood. And it will be flowing from Zada’s nose, and eventually from Munch’s. T’was the morning before Chanukah and all down the field, Prager was driving, but Yaron would not yield. It was another head to head match up to start the day between Yaron’s smug talents and Prager’s I Will Break You Intensity. I’m gonna call Prager, Drago. Like Gronk before him who just channeled the big kid from the Pats – every time I see  Prager – I see Dolph Lundgren in his prime, ready to take on Yaron’s Rocky. (It also means Dragon which is a cool nickname). And it really is Rocky v. Drago every Sunday morning at 8am. May it continue for many years.
Before there was blood, there was an opening drive where Yaron took the ball, but did not score. If memory serves, Prager drove well and eventually Zada caught a screen and put a nice spin move on Jordan to score first. Yaron and Jordan hooked up for a 70 yard bobble and circus catch miracle to get the ball down field and Ari capped it off with a score. Tie game. A few plays later Zada got hit in the face…and…we have a bleeder! What started as trickle became a river and the dude was legit choking on it. How do I know? Cuz he and I spent much time on the sidelines together. I did pop back in to pick a ball which lead to another Yaron to Ari scoring hookup. 2-1 Yaron over Drago. Meanwhile on defends, Munch was getting angry. His team (Yaron’s team – Dark) was failing to pull flags, and Prager, MK, Mo…basically anyone who got the ball was able to run for first downs and scores. Yaron, running more than usual, kept the chains moving and took a few to the house with his legs as well. Was a back and forth tight game throughout. I think Sam caught one in the endzone! Somewhere in the mix, Ari put up his 3rd TD of the morning. I don’t remember who scored the winning TD for Yaron, but I’m gonna say Prime, cuz he had a nice idea making sideline grabs. Yaron beats Drago in a tight contest. Jewball to Ari for the 3 scores – and the last 2 were in really tiny windows so props to Yaron for zipping em in and Ari for the concentration.
Game 2 needs some help. We will get there. We had 5 QBs in the game, but our starters were Pants and Rabin. Rabin came out looking good – was throwing a good ball. Found Jordan down the sideline early on to go up 1-0. Pants was having a lot of trouble – seemingly in the huddle and on break. First 4 possessions resulted in no points and 2 turnovers. Rabin kept plugging away. One problem for Pants and Dark was that they lost Brad early on to ankle. Jordan was back to the sideline. Was that kind of day. Effie also sustained something and had to go. As in all sports, injuries change the dynamic and hard for game to recover the level it should be at. Game 2 was a 6 on 6 for most of the way. But the story of Game 2 is easy to tell. Rabin was up 5-1 with a half hour left. Yaron took over at QB and put up a quick point. On the next two possessions from the 5 yard line, Rabin – and I kid you not! – threw picks directly at Yaron which Yaron ran a few steps into the endzone. Before Colors could blink, it was 5-4. Not everything was Rabin’s fault. I think Salem bobbled one in the endzone again that was picked. That score might have been enough to keep the game from Yaron, but – give that arrogant pos credit – he doesn’t stop. And so, yes, he ties it up. With ten minutes left, Dobs catches one over the middle and he could go all the way…he does. Rabin can breathe…Colors has the lead again. There is a 3rd and long and Rabin can win the game if Yaron fails to convert….but Prime gets behind the zone somehow and Yaron has life. And that life turns into a last second TD. Tie game again! In sudden death OT, the tandem that started it all finishes it off. In really good coverage, but really bad ball awareness, Dobs doesn’t see the floating ball come at Ari – Ari makes the adjustment and reals it in. Game over. Comeback of the season. Yaron over Rabin. 7-6.

Happy Holidays everyone!! Happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas, Happy Quanza, Happy whatever it is you celebrate, and make it that much happier with some FOOTBALL!

Game is on at LHS from 9-11am

Teams for the Jesus Bowl 2019 as follows:

Team RED

Yaron – qb

Goldberg

Salem

Sam

Prime

Dobs

Steven

Team GREEN

Snow – qb

Mo

Beast

Kuti

BD

PJs

Ross

Week 8 Teams

8am

Dark

Yaron – QB
Kut
Vegh
Prime
Munch
Rabin
Ari

Colors

Sholom – QB
Sam
Zada
Jordan/MK
Mo
Tom
Effie

945

Dark

Rabin – QB
Mo
Salem
Dobs
Effie
Vegh
Zada


Pants – QB
Yaron
MK
Prime
Legs
Ari
Eddie

Two things telling me I played 2 games Week 7. The lower back pain and the need to write two recaps. First off, credit to @⁨Maurice Moore⁩ for stepping in at 7:50am with ten minutes notice to play in the 8am game. Huge move. Changes everything. Game 1 would have been toast without you and it wound up being an excellent one and a much needed comeback for Yaron. Sholom was proven beatable and the 8am rivalry between Prager and Yaron is officially the premiere matchup of this season. Our hope is that

becomes a lock at 945 and that game can get some heat too. But, for now….the 8am is a brawl week in and out. Week 7 was no exception. On cold-ish but manageable day Yaron and Dark took ball first going with the wind. In what would turn out to be a banner day for the Commish, Yaron drops a dime down the sideline for 50 yards to get the ball to the 15 on the 3rd play of the game. A play later its Yaron to Zada – one of 3 scoring hookups between that classic duo – to give Dark a 1-0 lead. Now, did Yaron play very well? Yes. The win was well earned. Dark made stops. Mo had a monster day as always. Making picks and using his speed and hands and making plays. That said, Prager was missing guys. Prime was open twice behind the defense and was underthrown. Goldberg was open twice behind the defense and he was overthrown. So….the chances were there. Prager’s running game – cuz he is fast – was not there for him like it normally is. And Yaron just kept plugging away. So after another 50 yard catch by Jordan, leaping with Tabak and Prime to come down with the ball – followed by a Zada score, the 2-0 Dark lead felt sort of comfortable. Prime made sure to make a game of it. Dude has no quit and is all about the stats.

. He makes a catch at about the 20 and stiff arms his way down the sideline to make it a one point game. After Yaron stalled, Prager had a chance to really get back in it, but Yaron picks it and scores again – believe this time to Mo. The lead is 2 once again. Prager scored one more over the last half hour of the game – just not as sharp as he had been. And the Yaron to Jordan magic continued with a wicked sliding catch capped off by – what else – a sweet Zada sliding catch TD….and 4-2 was enough on this day. Yaron gets win. Jordan gets a Jewball for turning back and the clock and we cant wait for Week 8 and this rivalry to continue.
Game 2 was a game, but as described in the post game notes – was mostly about some genius riffs on privilege and lox. Great jokes, not such great football. The wind picked up and Malik needed some time to warm up and the clock was ticking. Meanwhile, Mo proved to be highly effective as a QB. Before Colors knew it, Dark was up 2-0 courtesy of Mighty  doing his thing. Before things got out of hand Tom picked Prager by stepping in front of Goldberg on the 1 yard line and a play later Flash bombed one to Jordan and the catch and run resulted in a score. But Mo P6ed soon after and then Salem punched one in. The lead was insurmountable it seemed. Salem and Dobs were rushing Malik and smothering the run. Even with his ungodly skills evading defenders, Malik was under tremendous pressure almost every play. With the wind and rust, the ball just wasnt moving. Tom came in and has some success moving the ball but everything stalled in the redzone. At 11:05 Dark scored again and with a 5-1 lead and cones blowing all over the place, we attempted to call the game. However, the Jewballers demanded we play on! And it was kind of good we did. At least for Vegh and Zada….because with 15 minutes left in regulation – Colors put up 2 scores. Making the final a respectable 5-3. Who wants Week 8? Nice that Week 8 is on a Chanukah Eve! (Chanukah is an 8 day festival). As usual….let me know 8, 945 or both.

WEEK 7 TEAMS

8am

Colors

Sholom – QB
Kut
Vegh
Goldberg
Prime
Tabak
Tomaz

Dark

Yaron – QB
Steven
Sam
Beast
Jordan
Tom
Zada

945

Colors

Flash – QB
Jordan
Kito
Vegh
Beast
Tom
Zada

Dark

Mo- QB
Mighty
Dobs
Goldberg
Salem
Prime
Tabak

Do a little late night recap of Sunday. Or try to. I dont know if what happens in Vegas stays there, but seemed to have done a decent memory wipe. I remember first and foremost that Tabak no showed. So boo. Lucky for us @⁨Shalom Prager Football⁩ and @⁨E(ffie) Perry Allman⁩ were willing to stay. I think Sholom had his belt on still….so that decided it. He played with Yaron. He should have known from experience that would result in a loss.

. Truth is…Yaron looked good. He was throwing darts in warm ups. He was loose. He just came off an OT loss to Prager. He was due. But then there came this

. Brother of Socks. A kid. 24. But the guy is just a total

. Runs a huddle like a MAN. Total calm presence like all good QBs. Confident. Just a gem. We are in our golden age of QBs. First drive of the game is capped by a dandy of a Willie Mays style grab in the endzone by Goldberg. Colors was playing man to start the game and it just wasnt working. Completely unflustered by the quick punch in the face by dark….Frog completes pass after pass. Methodical take what they give you $#!&. Legs. Storm. Run a little. Beast almost sack. The worst almost I have ever scene but great pass by Frog while wrapped up. And just like that,  Legs on a cross and he picks up speed after the catch. Runs nearly across the width of the field to evade defenders. We are knotted at 1. Colors is confused on defense again (a ball magically penetrates through Jordan’s hand like it is a ghost) and Yaron puts up another point. Two possessions. 2 scores. Things are looking good for Dark. After failing to move the ball, Yaron takes over and begins to orchestrate a drive. At about midfield his Achilles heal is exposed. The misjudgment. The errant throw. Not seeing the defender. The backbreaking pick. Frog zips into the lane and steals one from the sky. A few plays later he keeps and runs down the left hash mark to tie the game. Colors ball. On a 3rd long, its Frog to Jordan on a sliding catch, pop up and run for 72 yards. I believe Legs gets the call to punch it in. 3-2 Colors. Yaron – totally still in the game – drives the field and gets down to the 5. Hits Salem in the chest, ball pops up, Brody picks it and that was where Yaron realized he might just lose again. It was the second dropped ball in the endzone. The other was a tough jump ball between Goldberg and Sholom (yeah, same team). After the pick by Brody, Frog deep bomb to Jordan catch and run for 86 yards. Tom got the call this time to finish the job from the TE position and the 4-2 lead holds. Frog over Yaron. Even though Jordan had his best game in a long while in both flag pulling and play making (@⁨Josh Dobkin⁩….you know I “blocked” you on that

TD run) we live in a world of stats. And Frog had em. The pick. The 3 thrown scores. The running score. The great leadership. You get yourself a Jewball, sir.

Early Game – 8am

Team Dark:

Yaron, Froggy, Johnnystorm, Ari, Goldberg, Singer, Sam

vs.

Team Color:

Prager, Prime, Beast, Tom, Effie, Kut, Mighty

---

Late Game – 945am

Team Dark:

Yaron, Tabak, Dobs, Goldberg, Beast, Salem, Prime

vs.

Team Color:

Froggy, Tom, Jordan, Brody, Brodybro, Johnnystorm, Ari

Just a few snapshots from this years Thanksgiving game, where many vets game out of retirement for Jewball. Thanksgiving was a windy mess, but these guys made it awesome.