JCFL by “Your Kitchen Spot” passes mid-point of 2023 season

With 5 of the regular season games now complete, the playoff picture is starting to come into focus. As of the writing of this article, the standings are as follows:

For a recap of some recent games, keep reading:

A game with playoff implications saw 4th place Clothier take on 2nd place Allstate – Yaakov Schmell. The beginning of the game saw multiple drives by both teams get stopped at 4th and goal. In their second drive, Clothier hit WR Aryeh Walter in the back of the endzone for their first score. A three and out by Allstate gave the ball back to Clothier who again drove down the field. But great defense by Allstate managed to stop Clothier on 4th and goal from the one yard line. The first half closed with QB Avi Yudkowski finding his receiver for a long score.

The second half started slow without any scores in the first few minutes. Clothier was finally driving and lobbed up a hail Mary on fourth and goal for it to be intercepted by Yehuda Ezoory who took it back for a TD. With only minimal time remaining Clothier found themselves down 13-12. But, QB Bregin was able to run the length of the field, literally, and was able to get his team to the goal line. On another fourth and goal he managed to find Aryeh once again in the back of the endzone to put his team up 19-13. Yudkowski had a couple valiant efforts to get his team back on top but they ultimately came up short.

He loves ketchup, davens shacharit/mincha/maariv, and can throw the ball the length of the field: Sushi Sakura has a new quarterback in Yaakov “Machhhomes” Rosenblum.  Sakura started the game with a cluster of penalties, allowing ActualEyes to keep pace for the first 10 minutes. Rosenblum opened up the scoring for Sakura with a 15-yard flat route to a mustachioed Dudi May out of the tight end position. As the game wore on, Machhhomes’ ability to scramble, throw across his body, and recite Shas proved to be too much for the blue team. Sakura scored on back-to-back plays at one point, after a Gedaliah Gelb touchdown was called back only to be followed by a score from Eli Dollman. As usual, Mitch Gross caught some deep balls, and Ezra had a crucial, drive-saving catch on third down. ActualEyes’ only bright spot came from their big man Akkerman who, in the course of a blitz, threw Joshua Kronick so high in the air that the fans thought it was a wedding and started singing “Od Yishama.”

The opening whistle was the high-water mark for Miracle Massage. Team Sushi Sakura marched the ball down the field with ease. Quarterback Yaakov Rosenblum prepared for his wedding Sheva Brachot with seven touchdowns. His receivers were more open than Avraham’s tent. Ezra Rosen had a career day with three touchdowns, including several deep bombs. Eli Dollman had his own TD  and several athletic catches, including a memorable one-hand catch and several from within two tefachim of the ground. Gedalia Gelb contributed with two touchdowns and sealed the game with an interception. And Asher Meth proved, as usual, that you don’t have to show up before 9:25 am to dominate. Like mango and avocado, Team Sushi Sakura is on a roll with a 5-0 record. 

The Week 3 matchup between Worthy Insurance and Miracle Massage had one of the most thrilling endings in recent league memory, with 3 lead-changing touchdowns scored in the final 40 seconds of the game. But before we get there…

Worthy couldn’t wait to get superstar WR/S Shloime Scheinfeld back on the field. Last season’s Offensive Player Of The Year was sidelined the first 2 weeks with an ankle injury but he was the difference maker in this one. On the opening drive of the game, Scheinfeld hauled in his first of many contested catches, a 30 yard touchdown grab over a defender in the endzone, giving Worthy the early lead. But Miracle Massage marched down the field on their opening possession and scored a touchdown of their own by rookie WR Gershon Vegh. After the teams traded interceptions (Oren Bluman & Scheinfeld), IDF veteran Sammy Cohen had a huge catch-and-run, setting Worthy up inside the redzone. Back-to-back completions to stud TE Avromi Freund got the ball to the 1 yard line, and Scheinfeld capped the drive with his 2nd touchdown catch. Just before the half, another talented MM rookie WR Akiva Stutman caught a long TD pass after a great pump fake from QB Dan Gutman, giving them a 13-12 lead at halftime.

Miracle Massage extended the lead to 19-12 on a beautiful touchdown catch by former QB turned WR Dovid Flamm. But after a long completion to speedster Shragi Lerner, the for-sure hands of Yoni Finkelstein snagged a touchdown for Worthy, cutting the lead to 19-18. After Cohen intercepted a pass, Scheinfeld scored his 3rd touchdown of the game, this time leaping high between 2 defenders, coming away with the ball and the lead 24-19. On the ensuing possession, Scheinfeld notched his 2nd INT, but Worthy couldn’t close out the game and had to punt with 1:05 left.

After not gaining much yardage on 1st, 2nd, or 3rd down, MM was down to their final play. But Stutman caught a pass between 2 defenders, and raced all the way down to the 1 yard line, and caught his 2nd TD of the game on the following play, giving MM a 25-24 lead with 38 seconds left in the game. But Worthy responded, just as everyone feared. They got to midfield on 2 quick plays, but a penalty backed them up 5 yards. With 28 seconds left in the game, Scheinfeld made an incredible 35 yard touchdown catch, though  it was negated by a penalty away from the ball. On the next play, the crowd went wild as Scheinfeld made an even better 40 yard touchdown grab, giving Worthy a 30-25 lead. (Worthy committed yet another penalty on the extra point, their 4th of the day on PATs). On the final play of the game, star rookie WR/CB Eitan Rock had the 4th interception for Worthy, returned it for a touchdown, and sealed the victory 36-25.