Troopers, Pioneers advance to IFL semifinals

Avrami Farkas completed 16-of-34 passes for 220 yards and five touchdowns for the Troopers, with Jonathan Curran catching four balls for two scores.

IFL playoffs  (photo credit: TOM NUDELMAN/COURTESY)
IFL playoffs
(photo credit: TOM NUDELMAN/COURTESY)
The Petah Tikva Troopers and Tel Aviv Pioneers didn’t have a difficult time with their respective wild-card opponents, advancing over the weekend to the Kraft Family IFL semifinals, with the Troopers claiming a 38-6 victory over the Mazkeret Batya Silverbacks and the Pioneers routing the Haifa Underdogs 28-6.
Avrami Farkas completed 16-of-34 passes for 220 yards and five touchdowns for the Troopers, with Jonathan Curran catching four balls for two scores. In his long-awaited return from injury, Dani Eastman had six tackles and a touchdown, while his brother David Eastman had four tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception.
In the semis, the Troopers will play the Judean Rebels this Saturday night at the Kraft Family Sports Campus in Jerusalem.
The Pioneers, meanwhile, are eyeing their fifth straight Israel Bowl appearance after downing the Underdogs.
Omri Mizrachi threw a pair of TDs, while Asaf Katz anchored the Tel Aviv defense with 13 tackles.
The Pioneers have their work cut out for them on Thusday night, when they will face the defending champion Jerusalem Lions on Thursday night at the Kraft Family Sports Campus in Jerusalem in a rematch of Israel Bowl X.
Watch and follow all the IFL semifinal action on www.ifl.co.il.