Israel Football League: Difference between revisions
| Line 134: | Line 134: | ||
| 2009 |
| 2009 |
||
|- |
|- |
||
|Talpion Judean Rebels |
|[http://talpion.com/ Talpion] Judean Rebels |
||
| [[Judea]] |
| [[Judea]] |
||
| Kraft Family Stadium |
| Kraft Family Stadium |
||
| Line 149: | Line 149: | ||
| 2011 |
| 2011 |
||
|- |
|- |
||
| Northern Stars |
| [http://arnolds.rest-e.co.il/ Arnold's] Northern Stars |
||
| [[Nahariya]] |
| [[Nahariya]] |
||
| [[Kfar Tavor]] |
| [[Kfar Tavor]] |
||
Revision as of 07:29, 9 May 2012
| File:IFL-logo.JPG Israel Football League logo | |
| Sport | American football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 |
| No. of teams | 10 |
| Country |  Israel |
| Most recent champion(s) | Tel Aviv-Jaffa Sabres |
| Most titles | Tel Aviv-Jaffa Sabres (2) |
| Official website | Official Site |
The Israel Football League was founded in the Summer of 2005 by a group of Israelis who wanted to play tackle American football. The first season, played without pads or an official governing body, began in the Fall of 2005. In 2007, the league began fully equipped play under the umbrella of American Football in Israel (AFI), and Israel Bowl I was held in 2008.
Thanks to the generosity of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, the IFL is sponsored by the Kraft Family.
Play by play of I.F.L. games can be heard on IsraelSportsRadio.com.
Season History
2007–08 Season
The inaugural season of the IFL, with regulation pads and staff, witnessed a surprisingly high level of play for a first-year tackle league. There were four teams in the league for the 2007–08 season: the Big Blue Jerusalem Lions, the Real Housing Haifa Underdogs, the Dancing Camel Hasharon Pioneers, and the Mike's Place Tel Aviv Sabres. In the championship game, Israel Bowl I, the Big Blue Jerusalem Lions defeated the Real Housing Haifa Underdogs in overtime.
2008–09 Season
The league grew to five teams with the addition of another team in Jerusalem (The Blue Sun Music Kings), while the Dancing Camel Pioneers moved to a new home in Modi'in. The Pioneers defeated the defending champion Lions, 32–26, after two overtimes, in Israel Bowl II.
2009–10 Season
After growing from four to five teams the previous year, the IFL expanded to seven teams for the 2009–10 season with the addition of two new teams, the Beer Sheva Black Swarm and the Judean Rebels. The schedule grew, as well, as each team was scheduled to play 10 regular season games followed by playoffs. The teams who finished the regular season in first through sixth place qualified for the playoffs. The Tel Aviv Sabres defeated the Jerusalem Lions in Israel Bowl III.
2010–11 Season
With eight teams in the I.F.L., the league was split in to two divisions: the North Division, consisting of the Tel Aviv/Jaffa Sabres, the newly relocated Tel Aviv Pioneers, the Haifa Underdogs, and the expansion Herzliya Hammers; and the South Division, consisting of the Jerusalem Lions, the Jerusalem Kings, the Judean Rebels, and the Be'er Sheva Black Swarm. Each team played a home-and-away series against each of its division rivals and one game against each team in the other division for a total of ten regular season games. The top team in each division got an automatic bye in to the semi-finals, with the number two seed in each division hosting the number three seed in a "wild-card" game, and the last team in each division missing the playoffs. In the North Division, the Sabres clinched the bye and in the semis beat the Pioneers, who had beaten the Hammers in the first round. In the South division, the Rebels beat the Black Swarm in the first round and then beat the Lions in the semis in an unforgettable comeback, coming back from an 18-point deficit with 7:40 to go in the game. Rebels QB and League M.V.P. Alex Swieca took the winning score in himself with just sixteen seconds left. The Rebels defeated the Sabres in Israel Bowl IV by a score of 32–30, having almost let the Sabres complete a comeback of their own.
2011–12 Season
Two additional teams joined the league: The Petah Tikva Troopers joined the South Division and the Nahariya-based North Stars joined the North Division. Media coverage grew as the league gained popularity throughout the country. In the playoffs the 3rd-seeded Haifa Underdogs upset the defending champion Judean Rebels but were beaten by the Tel Aviv-Yaffo Sabres in the semis. The Tel Aviv Pioneers defeated the Jerusalem Kings in the wild-card round, and proceeded to rout the previously undefeated Jerusalem Lions behind a record-setting performance by running back Ilan Bielas.
Israel Bowl V was a Tel Aviv derby. The Sabres took a 14-0 lead in the 1st quarter, but had no answer to Bielas, who lead his team to a 28-22 lead in the 2nd quarter, and the half ended with a tie game. The 3rd quarter was a scoreless affair, setting the table for a back-and-forth 4th quarter with the teams alternating scores, and setting up a final Pioneer drive with 1 minute remaining and the Sabres ahead by 2. An unfortunate miscommunication between QB Itay Ashkenazi and RB Koby Nimrod lead to a Pioneer fumble, which the Sabres pounced on to clinch their 2nd crown.
IFL Champions
| Season | Champion | Runner Up | Israel Bowl | Venue | Date | Finals MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–08 | Jerusalem Lions | Haifa Underdogs | I | Kraft Stadium, Jerusalem | March 28, 2008 | Moshe Horowitz (Lions) |
| 2008–09 | Modi'in Pioneers | Jerusalem Lions | II | Kraft Stadium, Jerusalem | April 3, 2009 | Assaf Katz (Pioneers) |
| 2009–10 | Tel Aviv Sabres | Jerusalem Lions | III | Kraft Stadium, Jerusalem | March 26, 2010 | Evan Reshef (Sabres) |
| 2010–11 | Judean Rebels | Tel Aviv Sabres | IV | Kraft Stadium, Jerusalem | March 18, 2011 | Zack Miller (Rebels) |
| 2011–12 | Tel Aviv Sabres | Tel Aviv Pioneers | V | Kraft Stadium, Jerusalem | March 30, 2012 | Adi Hakami and Jonathan Curran (Sabres) |
List of Teams
| Team | City | Home Field | Year Accepted into League |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Real Housing" Haifa Underdogs | Haifa | Yoqneam Stadium | 2005 |
| "ISD" Jerusalem Kings | Jerusalem | Kraft Family Stadium | 2008 |
| "Big Blue" Jerusalem Lions | Jerusalem | Kraft Family Stadium | 2007 |
| "Dancing Camel" Tel Aviv Pioneers | Tel Aviv | Tel Aviv University Soccer Field | 2005 |
| Tel Aviv-Jaffa Sabres | Tel Aviv | Neve Golan, Jaffa | 2005 |
| Be'er Sheva Black Swarm | Be'er Sheva | Micha Reiseer Field | 2009 |
| Talpion Judean Rebels | Judea | Kraft Family Stadium | 2009 |
| "Leo Bloom's" Hammers | Herzliya | HaTikva field | 2010 |
| Troopers | Petah Tikva | Maccabi Field, Petah Tikva | 2011 |
| Arnold's Northern Stars | Nahariya | Kfar Tavor | 2011 |
League Format
In 2007–08, each team played 9 regular-season games: 4 at home, 4 away games and 1 neutral site game. The playoffs consisted of 3 games. A game between 2nd and 3rd place in the regular-season IFL standings determined who faced the 1st place team in Israel Bowl I. The second game of the playoffs was held between the 4th place team in the standings and the losing team from the 1st playoff game. In Israel Bowl I, which was held at Kraft Family Stadium in Jerusalem, the 1st place team in the regular season standings faced the winner of the 1st playoff game.
Currently, when the league is divided into two divisions, the regular season consists of ten games. Each team plays twice vs. each team of its own division and additional two games vs. other division representatives. The wild card games are crossdivisional. At the next playoff stage the strongest regular season team meets the weakest wild card game winner. The playoff finished with Israel Bowl game, always played in Jerusalem Craft Family stadium at the end of March.
The Israel Bowl
The Israel Bowl is the IFL championship game. See above for a list of Israel Bowl winners.
The Becker Trophy
Ofri Becker, one of the original founders of the Israel Football League and currently a referee in the IFL, donated the trophy which is named in his honor. It resides in the city of the reigning Israel Bowl champions until it returns to Kraft Family Stadium for the next Israel Bowl.
League Records
Most Israel Bowl Wins: 2 (Sabres)
Most Israel Bowl Appearances: 3 (Lions, Sabres)