Maccabi Star Reporter: Flag Football News
Even with win against Atlanta, O.C. flag football coach urges his players to take the game more seriously
By Sam Sperling
August 8, 2018
In their first game of the playoffs Orange County played the young Atlanta team. While most of OC’s flag football team is packed with 15 and 16 year olds, Atlanta is filled with 12 and 13 year olds.
It was an entertaining game, but when talking to Yoni Cohen, he said, “We had very sloppy defense but the offense was good.”
Neither team scored in the first drive, but when OC got the ball back, they cracked the scoring open with 6, missing the point after touchdown. The game was dry until Atlanta scored their first points, making the 1 point pat.
OC won big in their last game against Houston, bringing a level of cockiness into their defense this game, the players said. A long pass to Davey Singer put them in position to score again with 1 minute left. Another pass to Singer put them around 10 yards from a touchdown. One more passing play to Yoni Cohen was out of reach.
It was third down for OC. With the clock running, OC rushed to the line of scrimmage. The referee stopped both teams to inform that it was halftime. In their huddle, the Atlanta coach repeatedly said, “Please, please, give me something, please!”
The teams returned to the field and the defense had a new look. Pulling flags quickly and forcing passes, Atlanta was looking good.
Following that drive was an Atlanta endzone to endzone pass, just short of a touchdown. Two plays following the first down, Atlanta scored. The 2-point pat was no good after Cohen made a diving stop to deflect the short pass into the endzone.
“I just knew that I needed to stop that play,” he said in a post-game interview.
Following the diving play, Cohen had three receptions and a touchdown in the next drive.
Singer had the following reception for the 2-point pat. OC was on fire.
The first pass for Atlanta after the touchdown was intercepted by OC’s Jacob. Atlanta still had time to come back as the score was 21-13.
Atlanta was looking like the Monstars after the stole talents, marching down field, 2 incomplete passes and 7 plays to a touchdown. Missing the pat, it was 21-19. It did not take long before OC scored again.
With the pat good, it was now 28-19 with 1 minute left in the game. Atlanta tried to come back but did not have enough time.
Even though OC won 28-19, their coach was not satisfied. He was getting on them as they cleared space for Denver to play. “This was our worst game!” he exclaimed.
Looking over at Denver warming up for their playoff game, OC’s coach mentioned that his own team did not take warm-ups that seriously. He used Denver as an example of a team that is taking the tournament seriously. He ended the talk by reminding his players to stay hydrated for their next game.
Photos by Tyler Moss.
Dallas triumphs over Atlanta/Charlotte in flag football pool play
By Isabella Duzman
August 7, 2018
Picture a collection of massive tents with teens under them cheering on their teammates, coaches constantly calling plays and two flag football teams fighting to win. Ordinarily, this is what the flag football games at the 2018 Maccabi Games look like.
Even though the first half of the competition was rough, the Atlanta/Charlotte team gave an abundant amount of effort overall against Dallas in their flag football game. The activity started off in Dallas’ favor as they quickly scored several touchdowns.
The Atlanta/Charlotte team finally caught their first break when they scored a touchdown. During halftime, Atlanta/Charlotte’s coach gave the team a small pep talk that turned out extremely impacting the way the group played for the remainder of the game.
As the coaches stated, Atlanta/Charlotte’s team had to show the Dallas team “who we are. We are not pushovers. That should be our mentality going into the next half.”
After the coaches gave their knowledge regarding the other team’s strategy and what they can do to improve their own game, Atlanta/Charlotte got back out on the field and finished out the game.
Nevertheless, Zach Rubin, an athlete who participates in three different sports, explained that he was aware that “the other team was older, much bigger and in better shape” than his own team. Rubin additionally said there was more momentum in the second portion of the game because the team became more familiar with how the other team plays. He said this helped them to catch the movements that they could not in the previous half.
As the crowd cheered on each team, the heat only increased. Rubin explained that he became “used to the heat from playing baseball.”
Ryan Robis, Rubin’s teammate, explained that this was his first time that he participated in flag football, but his experience from “cross country helps” because now he does not get tired when running.
Despite the fight that the skilled Atlanta/Charlotte team displayed, they lost the game to Team Dallas.