2008–2009 Israel Football League season
| 2008–2009 IFL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Israel Football League |
| Sport | American football |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | Asaf Katz |
| Israel Bowl II | |
| Champions | Modi'in Pioneers |
| Runners-up | Jerusalem Lions |
| Finals MVP | Asaf Katz |
The 2008–2009 Israel Football League season was the second season of the Israel Football League (IFL). This was the first season under the IFL's new sponsorship agreement with the Kraft Family, which re-branded itself as the Kraft Family Israel Football League.[1] This was also the inaugural season for both the Jerusalem Kings expansion team and the Pioneers' in their new home of Modi'in after relocating from HaSharon in the off-season.[2][3] The season concluded with the Modi'in Pioneers defeating the Jerusalem Lions, 32-26 in double overtime, in Israel Bowl II.[4]
Regular season
The regular season began in November 2008 and consisted of an eight game schedule, with each team playing the others twice during the season. The top four teams at the end of the regular season (Pioneers, Underdogs, Lions and Kings) qualified for the playoffs, with the Kings edging out the Sabres through the IFL points tie-breaker system.[5][6]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Modi'in Pioneers | 8 | 7 | 1 |
| 2 | Haifa Underdogs | 8 | 6 | 2 |
| 3 | Jerusalem Lions | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| 4 | Jerusalem Kings | 8 | 1 | 7 |
| 5 | Tel Aviv Sabre | 8 | 1 | 7 |
Playoffs
The semifinals saw the Pioneers defeat the Kings and the Lions upset the Underdogs to set up a match-up between the Pioneers and Lions in Israel Bowl II, which took place on April 3, 2009, at Kraft Family Stadium.[5][7] Asaf Katz earned Israel Bowl MVP honors for the champion Modi'in Pioneers, who won in double overtime 32-26.[8]
| Semifinals | Israel Bowl II | ||||||||
| 1 | Modiin Pioneers | 38 | |||||||
| 4 | Jerusalem Kings | 22 | |||||||
| 1 | Modi'in Pioneers | 32* | |||||||
| 3 | Jerusalem Lions | 26 | |||||||
| 2 | Haifa Underdogs | 22 | |||||||
| 3 | Jerusalem Lions | 24 | |||||||
- * Indicates overtime victory
Awards
- Most Valuable Player: Asaf Katz, LB, Modi'in Pioneers[8]
References
- ^ "Tackle Football: NFL's Kraft family teams up with IFL". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
- ^ "IFL: Big Blue gets costly opening win". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
- ^ "Games We Play: IFL season opens in Modi'in". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
- ^ "Football / IFL / Pioneers Capture Israel Bowl II in Double Overtime Thriller". Haaretz. 2009-04-10. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
- ^ a b "Football / IFL / Lions Deal Sabres Knockout Blow". Haaretz. 2009-03-27. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
- ^ "Israel Football League: Big Blue ends Sabres' season, gives Kings a shot". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
- ^ "IFL: Lions, Pioneers to clash in Israel Bowl II on Friday". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
- ^ a b "Season Awards פרסי עונת 2008-2009 - IFL". IFL (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2018-05-31.
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