It was a cold, rainy day in October. Perfect weather for opening day of the football season. After a successful season last year the warriors were looking to continue their winning ways. The first game featured a tough matchup with the local rivals of YDE. The game started off as a defensive battle with both teams forcing punts on early drives. After some in game adjustments, the Warriors were moving the ball easily downfield. With a combination of senior, Isaac Esses and junior, Jacob Zeitounie running the ball, the Warriors were consistently in the red zone. However, they were not able to punch it into the end zone in by the end of the first half. The closest attempt coming from the 2 yard line with 7 seconds remaining in the half.
After the first half the score was tied 0-0.
The defensive battle continued until the 6 minute mark of the second half with YDE striking first. Although YDE was struggling against the MDY defense all day, sometimes 1 play is all you need. The YDE quarterback threw up a desperation pass that was tipped by the defense that ended up in the hands of the YDE receiver. YDE missed the extra point but now had a 6-0 lead. Obviously this did not look good for the Warriors. The defense was great all day except for that one unfortunate bounce of the ball. However, instead of letting it deflate the team morale, the Warriors came roaring back. Jacob Zeitounie playing quarterback took the snap and ran for an 80 yard touchdown on the next drive. The score now tied 6-6, with the ever important extra point coming up. The MDY coach brought in a fourth player to play quarterback. This time it was veteran player junior Ezra Grazi. Grazi quickly found Isaac Esses open in the end zone to go up 7-6 with about 5 minutes remaining. YDE now had the ball at their own 20 with plenty of time to win. However, the MDY defense continued its exemplary play and forced a turnover on downs. MDY now had the ball deep in YDE territory with under 3 minutes remaining. The goal was to get a first down and run out the clock. However, after a few YDE timeouts the Warriors found themselves in a precarious situation. It was 4th down at the 20 with 37 seconds to go. There was no option to get a first and the offense couldn’t just down it. They would have to go for a score. Grazi was back at quarterback and the two speedsters of Esses and Zeitounie split wide. Grazi took the snap and heaved the ball towards the front of the end zone. If the ball would fall incomplete, YDE would be in position for a last attempt. However, Esses wasn’t going to let that happen. He jumped about 3 feet higher than any player on the field to grab the improbable touchdown. The extra point was no good, but MDY was now clinging to a 13-6 lead. YDE was starting from their own 20 with about 25 seconds left. The defensive pressure from Grazi, junior Tomer Sharon and Junior Ronnie Sassoon was suffocating and snuffed out any chance of last second heroics from YDE.
Final score MDY 13 YDE 6
Some key stats for the game
Jacob Zeitounie 100 yards rushing 100 yards passing and 1 touchdown 3 receptions for 20 yards
Isaac Esses 100 yards rushing 50 yards passing 1 touchdown and 1 extra point reception
Ronnie Sassoon 1 sack, 0 receptions allowed
Joey Azrak 6 receptions for 50 yards
Ezra Grazi 3 sacks, 1 passing touchdown and 1 passing extra point
Great line play by Noah Tawil, Tomer Sharon, Grazi and Eddie Smouha
Great secondary play by Eli Cohen, Joey Fteha, Zeitounie and Esses
