PBI XIII: The Bar-Mitzvah Bowl
Gold received the opening kickoff and started their first drive with great field position, thanks to Ariel Oxman’s (’99) return close to midfield. After a diving catch by receiver Michael Feldman (’06) on the game’s first play, followed by two incompletions, Gold elected to go for it on 4th down and short. Gold quarterback Noah Zimmerman (’99) looked for a short pass option, then with his receivers well covered, rolled out left to run for the 1st down, but came up short when Blue defensive end Asaf Nagler (’99) sacked him behind the line of scrimmage.
Following the change of possession, the Blue players immediately ran to the line, unveiling a hurry-up, no-huddle offense. The tactic was conceived to quicken the pre-snap pace and hinder Gold’s defensive coordinator Oxman ability to comfortably set up coverage matchups and alignments. And it worked; Blue quarterback Ilan Fulop (’02) proved incredibly adept at moving the ball quickly down the field, keeping Gold’s defense off-balanced with a mix of short passes and direct snaps to running back Jon Leener (’06). Ilan finished the drive by going up the middle on a quarterback draw for a 2-yard touchdown run, giving Blue a 6-0 lead with only 90 seconds elapsed in the first half. Commenting on his defensive unit’s reaction to Blue’s surprise scheme, Oxman said "we were very surprised to see that. We definitely did not expect them to run a no-huddle offense, which combined with the hurry-up execution at the line, left us disoriented and confused."
Following the change of possession, the Blue players immediately ran to the line, unveiling a hurry-up, no-huddle offense. The tactic was conceived to quicken the pre-snap pace and hinder Gold’s defensive coordinator Oxman ability to comfortably set up coverage matchups and alignments. And it worked; Blue quarterback Ilan Fulop (’02) proved incredibly adept at moving the ball quickly down the field, keeping Gold’s defense off-balanced with a mix of short passes and direct snaps to running back Jon Leener (’06). Ilan finished the drive by going up the middle on a quarterback draw for a 2-yard touchdown run, giving Blue a 6-0 lead with only 90 seconds elapsed in the first half. Commenting on his defensive unit’s reaction to Blue’s surprise scheme, Oxman said "we were very surprised to see that. We definitely did not expect them to run a no-huddle offense, which combined with the hurry-up execution at the line, left us disoriented and confused."
On their next possession, Gold advanced into Blue territory, as the passing game found some success along the sidelines and the offense converted several 3rd down plays. Facing a 3rd down and long situation, resulting from a botched handoff on a reverse to receiver Oxman, Zimmerman unleashed a pass to Elliot Totah (’98) on the right sideline. Blue cornerback Jared Sichel (’08) read the play perfectly and jumped in front of the intended receiver, nabbing the ball and racing 30 yards to the Gold 35-yard line. The Gold defense managed to halt Blue’s drive on the 10-yard line, but kicker David May (’05) hit a 15-yard field goal to increase Blue’s lead to 9–0.
Oxman once again gave Gold great starting field position, returning the ensuing kickoff 35 yards to midfield. The Gold offense, however, again failed to capitalize, but Oxman’s punt pinned Blue back at their own 15-yard line. After gaining a 1st down, Blue was pushed backwards on two consecutive plays, first on a sack by Gold defensive lineman Jonathan Ochs (’09), and then a false-start penalty not only wiped out a successful wide receiver screen pass to Yossi May (’02), but also moved Blue back further towards the shadow of their own end zone. On 3rd down, Blue quarterback Ilan made a mistake that brought Gold back into the game. During Blue’s huddle the Gold defensive back duo of Horowitz brothers, Daniel (’99) and Eric (’02), decided to call a disguised cover-switch of each other’s receivers for the upcoming play. After taking the snap, Ilan locked in on receiver Steve Krupin (’00) running across the middle of the field, yet the Horowitz brother’s had executed their switch perfectly, and he never saw Eric trailing what appeared to be a wide open target. Eric stepped in front of Krupin and intercepted the pass and sprinted 15 yards to the Blue 10-yard line, giving Gold a much needed spark. Zimmerman scored two plays later, breaking 4 tackles on his way to a 10-yard touchdown run and brining Gold to within three points, 9-6.
The swing of momentum breathed new life into Gold’s defense, and on Blue’s next possession they produced another turnover. Ilan threw an ill-advised pass deep down the middle to a well covered Leener, and defensive back Feldman deflected the ball and safety Oxman made a bobbling catch as he was falling to the ground for the interception. Already at midfield, Gold quickly marched down field on completions to JJ Sachs (’06) and Totah. The drive was capped by another Zimmerman touchdown run – aided by horrendous tackling – through the middle of Blue’s defense, this time from 14-yards. Although their 2-point pass attempt was unsuccessful, Gold took the lead for the first time, 12-9.
Each team had one more possession before halftime, but neither mounted a serious scoring threat. The 1st half gun sounded with Gold in front by three points, 12-9. Blue would receive the 2nd half kickoff.
The swing of momentum breathed new life into Gold’s defense, and on Blue’s next possession they produced another turnover. Ilan threw an ill-advised pass deep down the middle to a well covered Leener, and defensive back Feldman deflected the ball and safety Oxman made a bobbling catch as he was falling to the ground for the interception. Already at midfield, Gold quickly marched down field on completions to JJ Sachs (’06) and Totah. The drive was capped by another Zimmerman touchdown run – aided by horrendous tackling – through the middle of Blue’s defense, this time from 14-yards. Although their 2-point pass attempt was unsuccessful, Gold took the lead for the first time, 12-9.
Each team had one more possession before halftime, but neither mounted a serious scoring threat. The 1st half gun sounded with Gold in front by three points, 12-9. Blue would receive the 2nd half kickoff.
After receiving the opening kickoff of the second half, Blue made a change at quarterback, going with David May to jumpstart the offense. May managed to get a sustained drive going, completing 2 of 4 passes for 24 yards, while adding another 11 yards on the ground. The drive stalled as Gold’s 2-2-7 defensive alignment (2 lineman, 2 linebackers, 7 defensive backs) crowded the passing lanes, and Blue had to settle for a David May 35-yard field goal, tying the score 12-12. The next several possessions for both teams were dominated by the defenses. Neither offense showed any rhythm and the teams traded punts.
Needing some fresh blood infused to their anemic offense, Blue made another quarterback substitution, this time calling Steve Krupin out of the bullpen. Although he lacks the rocket arm metro good looks of Ilan, or the nimble feet of David May, Krupin relies more on his smarts and accuracy. The wily Krupin used a west-coast style offense to move Blue into scoring range, spreading his passes around to different receivers and working all parts of the field. He even showed some escapability when the pocket broke down. On third down from the seventeen, Krupin dropped back but soon saw that too many of his receivers had run their patterns into the same area of the end zone. As the pass rush began to close in, Krupin lobbed the ball toward the left side of the end zone into a sea of hands. David May outfought the crowd of Gold jerseys to come down with the ball, clutching the un-kosher pigskin against his chest, then springing to his feet to show the refs he had sole possession. The crowd went wild, and the Blue players went completely raving wild for a remarkable catch, a catch that will go down as one of the best plays in PBI history. Blue had regained momentum, and the lead, 19-12.
Needing some fresh blood infused to their anemic offense, Blue made another quarterback substitution, this time calling Steve Krupin out of the bullpen. Although he lacks the rocket arm metro good looks of Ilan, or the nimble feet of David May, Krupin relies more on his smarts and accuracy. The wily Krupin used a west-coast style offense to move Blue into scoring range, spreading his passes around to different receivers and working all parts of the field. He even showed some escapability when the pocket broke down. On third down from the seventeen, Krupin dropped back but soon saw that too many of his receivers had run their patterns into the same area of the end zone. As the pass rush began to close in, Krupin lobbed the ball toward the left side of the end zone into a sea of hands. David May outfought the crowd of Gold jerseys to come down with the ball, clutching the un-kosher pigskin against his chest, then springing to his feet to show the refs he had sole possession. The crowd went wild, and the Blue players went completely raving wild for a remarkable catch, a catch that will go down as one of the best plays in PBI history. Blue had regained momentum, and the lead, 19-12.
Gold responded on the ensuing possession by also making a quarterback change. Although Feldman had taken some snaps on the drive before halftime, he ran the ball on every play and did not attempt a pass. Zach Cytrin (’10), a onetime PBI referee now playing in his first game, took over at quarterback for Gold. Smelling fresh blood, Blue’s pass rushers wanted to rattle the young quarterback into a mistake, and after getting one of six sacks on the day, had forced a 3rd and long situation. How the next play unfolded will be debated by PBI players and fans alike for years to come. Cytrin took the snap and looked to several different receivers, all covered tightly, but he hung tough in the pocket and finally hit Sachs on the left sideline.
The pass was short of the first down, and while the first Blue defender missed him, Sachs had little running room as he was cornered along the sideline with more Blue jerseys closing in. Suddenly a whistle from the other side of the field was blown, and while the Blue players pulled up, the Gold players started yelling at a confused Sachs to keep running. As Sachs crossed the goal line to complete a 40-yard touchdown play, the Blue defense frantically argued that a referee close to the line of scrimmage had indeed blown a whistle. The claims, however, fell on deaf ears as nobody from the officiating crew claimed responsibility for the inadvertent, and seemingly, phantom whistle. Gold made their first successful extra point attempt of the day, a kick by Oxman, to tie the score 19-19.
While Blue’s offense went to work on the ensuing possession, Blue defensive lineman Dan Fulop (’99) conferred on the sideline with the PBI’s founding father, Paul Blank, about the controversial touchdown. Blank feared the play would mar what had been a great game. Dan offered his verdict, saying “There is no doubt that a whistle was blown. That's nonsense.” However, he explained it just so happened that an alumni in the stands, Danny Akman (’79) was filming the game at that moment. Weeks later the film was reviewed, and although the call can not be reversed, it proves a whistle was blown. PBI spokesman Elliot Totah assured fans that the PBI’s competition committee will look into the frequent problem of inadvertent whistles in the off-season.
Deep in their own territory after a short kick return, Blue would have to march almost the length of the field to regain the lead. In the huddle before starting their next offensive drive, the Blue team attempted to regroup, as players recalled sports clichés their JDS PE teachers had shouted during intense games of handball. Several plays later, however, Oxman dealt a blow to the already fragile Blue psyche when he intercepted Krupin, his second theft of the day. Oxman returned ball 10-yards, giving Gold great field position with less than 5 minutes remaining in the game.
Already in Blue territory, Gold Immediately tried to capitalize on the turnover. Several completions to Totah and Oxman moved the ball to the 10-yard line, but after an incompletion Blue defensive lineman Nagler collected his second sack of the day, bringing up third down. Still in field goal range, Zimmerman looked for a short completion over the middle, but under heavy pressure from Blue defensive end Adam Heller (’00) he threw the ball out of bounds and was flagged for intentional grounding. The penalty pushed Gold out of Oxman’s kicking range, and having already missed an extra point earlier in the game, Zimmerman elected to go for it on fourth down. On 4th down Zimmerman dropped back, pump faked short, and then took a shot for the end zone on a pass to Feldman as he ran a flag pattern. The pass looked perfect and Feldman was open in the corner for a split second, but Aaron Schooler (’06) batted the ball down, saving a touchdown. For the day Schooler held Feldman, one of the fastest players in Gold’s offensive arsenal, to 2 catches for 15 yards. Asked to sum up his defensive performance after the game, Schooler quipped “I Revis islanded Mike Feldman.”
Ilan took over at quarterback for Blue, and with two quick completions moved his team into David May’s kicking range. Gold’s defense stiffened, bringing up a 3rd and long at the two-minute warning. Ilan, wanting to get a little closer for his kicker while not risking a turnover, used the time stoppage to draw up a short rollout play, giving him the option to run if the receiver wasn’t open. As the play unfolded, Ilan’s primary receiver was covered tightly and the linebackers shadowing him took away the running lane, forcing him to drop back even further to buy time. Pinned against the sideline and unable to spot an open receiver, Ilan tried to throw the ball away, but Gold linebacker Zimmerman sacked him for a huge loss, tearing the left leg off his designer marathon shorts in the process. The sack knocked Blue out of field goal range and brought up 4th down. Barring some sort of gimmicky, miraculous play, it looked as though the game was headed for overtime. Ilan took the snap, looked left; pump faked a slant route inside to freeze the safety, and then lofted a deep pass to the right towards Heller, the tallest receiver on the field. Heller, who hadn’t been targeted all game, outjumped the coverage to catch the ball and rumbled another 10-yards before his flag was pulled. The amazing play went for 40-yards and forced Gold to address the clock and how to use their timeouts. Two plays later Ilan ran up the middle for a 7-yard touchdown, giving Blue a 26-19 lead with a little over one minute remaining in the game.
Gold mounted one final, spirited drive to regain the lead. Leading a game winning drive for the third year in a row, Zimmerman patiently marched Gold down the field, completing two short sideline passes to Totah, and connecting with Minerbi for 15-yards on a crucial 3rd down and ten to keep the drive alive. With less than 30 seconds left in the game and only at midfield, Gold was aided by a 25-yard pass interference penalty when a Blue defender made contact with Oxman, the intended receiver on the play. The penalty advanced Gold into the red-zone, but only enough time remained for two or three plays. On the next play Zimmerman setup in the pocket behind good pass protection, but in a desperate situation and needing to make something happen, he fired a bullet between two defenders to Minerbi at the 10-yard line. As the pass arrived, Gold safety Leener dove and punched the ball right into the arms of his fellow defensive back Sichel for an interception, sealing the victory for Blue.
