WEEK 18
As momentum builds toward the first Vets Rooks doubleheader in Jewball history, we can reflect on how the game has changed in recent years. Whether we like stats or not, the game has and continues to evolve. Generally, one aspect of the evolution that people seem to like is that there is more football. The week in and out double header has been taken for granted as normal. It allows guys to play more games. It allows more guys to play. But, at the same time, we have recognized that Game 2 is often – for no great reason – a less compelling game. It is played and played hard, but it just doesn’t have the heat of Game 1. Week 18 felt like a throwback…and I did not mind it at all. One game. One glorious game. And with one game, the stakes felt higher and the effort felt more intense. And it went down to the wire.
The Gronk v. Yaron premiere matchup went into its 4th week in a row with Gronk having come on the Jewball scene late this year, but making a tremendous impact on the landscape. All he seems to do is win and rack up Jewballs. But would it continue? He was off to a bad start. Mainly because he was nowhere to be found. On a cold morning with a stinging wind whipping the flags at Lawrence High School into a frenzy, the game started at 10 after 8am, and Dark’s QB was messaging in that he was on his way. Luckily, Dark had Prager on the roster and a 6 on 6 ensued. As always by league rule (actually, just because Bron wants it that way) Bron and Colors takes ball first. That would be Yaron, Storm, Prime, Solo, Mighty, Tom, and Vegh. They face off against Prager, Jordan, Singer, Goldberg, Kut, Rabin, and Gronk.  Until Gronk arrived, Tom froze his ass off on the sideline (Gronk, buy him a drink). Neither team scored on their first possession, but Prager drove the entire field only to stall in Colors’ red zone. Yaron took the ball and picked on Jordan for a bit by running screens his way and Jordan failed to seal the sideline allowing for big gains by Prime and Storm. That drive was capped by a 15 yard dart to Storm in back of the endzone to put Colors up 1-0. Gronk came in and immediately tied it up by locating Prager way behind the defense. One move on the safety and we were even at 1s. At that point the battle intensified and, although both teams had plenty of miscues, the qualitative feel of the game’s action was high level. Storm with a sliding catch for a 1st down. Jordan with a catch on the outside and being punished by Mighty on the sideline. Solo sacking Gronk in the backfield on a 3rd and goal from the 4 (after a bomb to Singer and chase-down by Prime). Goldberg batting down ball after ball. Both teams were allowing positive moments for the other, but neither gave up the big play. And when the big play might have happened, the unforced errors crept into the game. Rabin, going 180 from the prior week, let his QB down on a few occasions, including a shifty ball that hit his fingertips in the endzone. Meanwhile, Yaron was missing his open receivers on the out and ups. The wind carried a few balls just a bit too far preventing Storm and Prime from hauling them in to perhaps give Colors a one score edge. But eventually Yaron threw a ball so hard that neither the wind, nor Jordan’s leap and fingernail could alter its trajectory. Targeting Mighty in full stride down the sideline, Yaron evades pressure, spins around on the opposite side of the field, and uncorks one. It cuts through the wind like an arrow and hits Mighty with no one between him and the endzone. 2-1 Colors at the half. The war of attrition continues throughout the 3rd quarter. Prime chops Singer in the neck. Jordan dives for a flag pull on Mighty. Yaron runs for a first down. Gronk to Goldberg to move the chains. And in a defensive play for the ages that separates the boys and men in this league, Prime steals a TD from Dark. Straight up grand larceny in the ednzone. Gronk sends Prager on a slant into the endzone from the 7 and all is executed to perfection. Prager is double covered by Mighty and Prime. Prime in the middle and Mighty trailing. But, in his infuriatingly effortless style, Gronk rears back and places one right in between both defenders. The ball is in Pragers hands as he glides into the middle of the endzone. Boys would have accepted this fate. Mighty and Prime are men. Mighty crashes into Prager jostling the ball and Prime reaches in to Prager’s grip and yanks the ball free before Parger’s feet are settled. The ball is momentarily in the air before Prime swoops in to pick it. As game changing a play as you will see!
 Finally, as the 4th quarter begins, Gronk playcalls to the left side – presume a two man team will find a hole in the defense. One short one long. Someone has got to be open. Jordan is going short and Prager is going long. And once again it is Prager behind the defense! Gronk uses his cannon and puts a ball in Prager’s chest (careful to avoid the wrist) and the score is once again tied. Ten minutes left in regulation. Yaron orchestrates a steady drive throwing the ball underneath, but with 5 minutes left in the game and under pressure (managing to avoid a second Kut almost-sack on the right hash) Bron slings a ball to Vegh cutting in the back of the endzone and Colors takes the very late lead 3-2. 3 minutes later Gronk is down to his last possession. The man who has won his last 3 games and racked up 3 Jewballs in the process is in do or die mode. On 1st down from his 30 he hits a streaking wide open Jordan at Colors’ 40 and it looks like this could tie it up. But Jordan tries to adjust the ball too soon and the result is a drop. 2 plays later it is 4th and long and the odds of Dark winning are infinitesimal. That is when the unbelievable happened. Scrambling to his right with Solo on his heels, Gronk turns and fires as he is ought to do. An inexplicable cross the body, cross the field prayer. Almost like a no-look pass in basketball, but this is like a no-look hail Mary. But this ball has jets on it and apparently a GPS as well. It slams into Goldberg right in the middle of the field who is position a few steps in front of the first down marker – Goldberg makes the catch in some traffic….and the drive is alive! The game is alive! One play later…..Kut and Jordan get behind the defense on the right side of the field and Gronks lofts a beautiful ball to Kut that is just picture perfect and Kut reels it in, no problemo. Kut shuffles his feet backwards a few steps and he is into pay dirt. Game is tied as time expires!!!
But no one wants to end in a tie! Even though Mighty, Rabin, and Yaron have to go…..Mighty and Rabin do go and we play on at 6s to determine a winner. Each team will get one possession. Yaron drives his team to midfield, but then disaster strikes. In what I believe was a pick free day for Yaron until that point, Colors selects an inopportune time to gaffe it up. On a TE leak out, Yaron tosses a slightly high but eminently catchable ball to Solo, who promptly pops it up in the air instead of bringing it in – and Gronk is right there with the interception – and a short field. The worst Dark can do now is tie. But the win is right there for the taking. But things do not go Dark’s way. A short run, a sack, and an incompletion result in a 4th and goal 25 yards from the endzone. The huddle is brief. Singer has been here before. Everyone almost anticipates the next three words that emanate from his lips. As if they are not a play call but a prophecy. “Hook and ladder.”
The defense is playing back because it is TD or nothing. This gives Dark room to operate. Singer pops out about ten yards and gets a nice pass from Gronk. Jordan darts from the slot toward Singer as the defense begins to close in on the ball. Singer tosses it back. Jordan has 17 yards between him and the right pile-on. Singer immediately turns around and starts wrecking people. Pushing them back, clearing space, giving Jordan room to advance but the chances of getting all the way seem remote. 10 yards to go. Gronk sees an opportunity and starts cutting down the middle of the field – calling for the ball. He is uncovered. A toss back to him might work! The defense now needs to account for that and cannot focus entirely on the ball carrier. Now Jordan passes his lead blocker Singer and there are 8 yards to go. All of a sudden Singer is also an option for a lateral and the defense needs to account for him. The defense is non-committal to Jordan and with some small lateral fakes, Jordan keeps them that way. With 5 yards to go it is time to pull the trigger. The defense is all in on Jordan now and will not let him score. As Prime is about to end the game in a tie, Jordan flips to Singer. who is at the 4….and Singer does his imitation of a bulldozer ballerina and spins into the endzone! Dark wins!!!! An improbable comeback win!
Jewball is tough this week because really everyone on Dark did something. And….no one played perfectly. Prager and Goldberg and Singer had incredible games in terms of stats. Jordan and Kut had their moments but also didn’t come through at other times. Gronk the same…and he came late. Which is egregious. Trust me, I don’t want to give him the Jewball. But I have to. Because he was the MVP for Colors. The pass to Goldberg on 4th and 30 to keep the game going was absurd! Add to that all the passes that were scores and dropped. He was the superior QB on the day and he willed his team to a victory. Jewball to Gronk.
Now, looking forward to Vets Rooks this Sunday! Hope everyone is in communication with their Captains and know which game they are playing in. Be early! We have a guy filming this Sunday….so look good out there! Thank you, Steveo, for finding the guy. A lot on the line this Sunday and the weather looks amazing. In a world going mad…..Jewball is our island of sanity. God Bless us all.