The Jerusalem ‘Big Blue’ Lions will look for a three-peat, as they face the Petah Tikva Troopers in Israel Bowl XII, the finals of the Kraft Family Israel Football League, this Friday morning, March 1st, at 11:00 A.M., at the Kraft Family Sports Campus in Jerusalem.
The game is a rematch of last season’s Israel Bowl XI, a game which the Lions won 28-20. The Lions are quarterbacked by 3-time MVP David Abell but were propelled this year by the strong performance of rookie running back David Fitoussi, an alumnus of the Kraft Family Israel High School Football League, who rushed for a postseason-record 253 yards in the Lions’ semi-final win over the Tel Aviv Pioneers.
The Lions also boast the top scoring defense in the league, lead by Leor Markose, Mordy Charnowitz and Tzvi and Arieh-Leib Sklar.
Petah Tikva is looking to win it’s first-ever title. They have a 3-time MVP of their own, Dani Eastman, and enjoyed strong seasons by WR Danny Mikhailov, QB Avrami Farkas and defensive lineman Ahmed Abu Gaber. The Troopers reached the finals with a decisive win over the Haifa ‘Nemo’ Underdogs, as Eastman scored three times and Mikhailov scored twice, returning from an injury sustained against the Lions in January.
The two teams, who finished as the top two seeds in the regular season, played each other earlier in January, with the Lions pulling off a 27-20 victory.The weather could also factor in to the game, as harsh winds and rains could tilt the scales in Jerusalem’s favor, who have the top running game in the league, while Petah Tikva boasts the league’s top passing attack.
The Kraft Family Israel Football League is run by the Federation of American Football in Israel (AFI) and under the auspices of the Ayelet Federation, the umbrella organization for non-Olympic sports.
Watch the game live here. Israel Bowl X – Jerusalem Lions v. Petah Tikva Troopers, Friday March 1, 11a (10a CEST, 4a EST)
