Division 2: Contenders, Pretenders, and We're Not Sure Yet
Welcome to Week 15. While most divisions are battling it out for seeding and trying to see which teams can sneak their way into the playoffs, all eight post-season spots are taken in Division 2, as the action came to a halt when the regular season ended Monday night.
After 60 games, all we have left to figure out is who will win the real season. The rules are simple, win and advance or lose and go home.
In preparation for the playoffs, I give to you my annual Contenders, Pretenders, and We’re not sure yet article. I have written this article nine years in a row. The three categories are self-explanatory. Some teams will agree with where I put them, while others will not. As I say every year, prove me wrong.
Contenders
LeBrontourage (7-3)
They finished with the top spot, and over the second half of season have been arguably the strongest team in Division 2. Their only stumble since the midway point of the year was a (26-24) loss to the Silent Ticklers on Week 7. They then responded by winning three straight games to close out the campaign.
Despite their first-place finish, LeBrontourage lacks experience. Quarterback Phillip Pelletier has only five playoff games under his belt. That’s not exactly ideal when taking on the likes of Phil Cutler, Rocco Christiano, Jeff Rosenblatt, Marc-Andre Reeves, Chris Rivest, Jordan Panetta and Brady Ohanessian, all of whom have logged at least 20 post-season contests. To make matters worse, Pelletier, has never led this team to playoffs, as most of his experience in win or go home games have come with Les Petites Carottes in Division 3/C. Experience issues aside, the team and their QB, did finish first taking on those very same veteran passers.
This squad has all the intangibles as they bring size, speed, skill, and awareness to the table. They also have the top ranked defense in the division. LeBrontourage will have to rely on those traits along with their elite backend if they want to stay in the top spot at the end of the post-season.
Camping Boutin (7-3)
This team deserves a spot in the contender’s category, because let’s be honest, they are always in the mix as one of the final four teams each year. The core of this team has been a part of three consecutive championships with The Merge (The team is attempting to make it four in a row this season). That is in Co-Ed Division however, and walking away with the Division 2 title is a little harder to pull off.
Looking at their regular season, Camping Boutin should be in the mix again. They had a solid finish to the year, as they won three in a row and four out of their last five overall. They won games via blowout versus Silent Ticklers, Les Verges Folles, and Bruins, while also showing they could get it done with their back against the wall by getting past Hard 8 and Shot O’clock.
Last week I mentioned the one glaring weakness they had was length, as no member of the team appears to be taller than six feet, which could pose problems against teams like Hard 8, LeBrontourage, Idaho Udapimps who have several Receivers who are well over that height. Looking at the other side of the coin, not too many teams can match the grit and tenacity that embodies the Camping Boutin roster. This team never stops coming at you. In the playoffs, those are always the hardest teams to put away.
Idaho Udapimps (7-3)
On paper, this is the best team in Division 2. They have All-Star playmakers at the skill positions, championship experience, an elite Quarterback, and a great combo of speed, length, and athleticism.
When you look at this team on the offensive side of the ball, the production speaks for itself. They lead all teams in points scored, passing yards, and touchdowns with 409, 2,500, and 62 respectively. They also have two of the Top 5 Receivers in both yards and TDs in James Nguyen and Danick Coulombe.
On defense, the unit recorded a division-leading 14 interceptions, with Defensive Back Brady Ohanessian recording a team-high four of them. When rushing the passer, Idaho Udapimps tied Camping Boutin for the lead in sacks with 18.
The only red flag I have about this team is that their second half of the season left a lot to be desired. They took care of business with easy wins over non-playoff teams in Les Verges Folles and Flag Slayer Corp. They laid an impressive 29-point beatdown of the Stoics but then needed a late go-ahead touchdown by DonnDre Borden to get past a reeling Bruins squad, and then blew their chance at finishing first in the division as they fell (36-30) to KGP Legends in their finale.
This team is a contender without a doubt, but you can poke holes in their resume. The same thing was said about this squad in the Fall Season, but they ended up winning the Tier 2 championship. Will this year’s holes turn into something bigger come playoff time, or will Idaho Udapimps end up on the top of the mountain again? We shall see.
Pretenders
Bruins (6-4)
Will the real Bruins please stand up? After starting the regular season with a perfect (5-0) record, the Bruins would go on to lose four out of their last five games. They have fallen and they can’t get up. Ok, enough with the Eminem and Steve Urkel references.
In all seriousness, this team is in trouble. Their defense can’t stop a cold right now, and their offense which is ranked third worst among playoff teams, has struggled to produce more than 30 points per game over the last month.
When looking at the team’s defense you will see that things aren’t any better. Out of the 12 teams that make up Division 2, only the winless (0-10) Flag Slayer Corp, gave up more points per game than the Bruins (38.8 to 36.1). A lack of turnovers can help explain some of the team’s problems on this side of the ball, as they have combined for only seven interceptions.
Talent isn’t an issue for this squad. They have top-end playmakers in Owen Bujarsky, Arnis Mehmetaj, Gabe Wiseman, Joey Corcoran, and Juwan Edghill, as well as a top tier Quarterback in Rocco Christiano, who has championship experience. However, talent only gets you so far. Execution takes you further, and this team has been lacking that during their second half nosedive.
The bye this week could be the best thing that happened to the Bruins. A chance to regroup, reset, and devise a new game plan on both sides of the ball. Will this team just try to come out and continue to look to beat teams with their athleticism? Throwing 50-50 jump balls, running around until guys get open, and breaking off patterns early on offense? Jumping routes to get the interception instead of sticking to the principles of the zone, and not communicating on defense? Or will they play team football, and stop giving up big plays, and score some of their own by taking what their opponents give them? We will find out soon enough.
Silent Ticklers (6-4)
I have written about this team for several seasons. Seemingly every year I mention that they have talented and dynamic playmakers in Dan Mancini, Adam Rosen, Tysen Otis Copeland, Tanner Burrell, and Ben McMahon, a very good Quarterback in Jordan Panetta, and big game experience up and down their roster. Not much has changed about this team over the years.
They typically reach the playoffs and usually win a game or two but then stumble in either the Quarterfinals or Semi-Finals due to self-inflicted wounds.
When looking at their weaknesses this year, the two biggest things that standout are scoring and consistency. For the latter, the Silent Ticklers have only put up 30 points or more just twice over the second half of the year, and both efforts came in the team’s final two regular season games. For the latter, a stellar defense that had kept four different opponents under that total from Week 9 to Week 12, has given up 42 and 35 respectively the last two weeks.
Here is the truth about this year’s Silent Ticklers. They could win it all or get easily bounced in the first round. They come into the post-season winners of five of their last seven games. During that span, they notched quality wins over LeBrontourage, Idaho Udapimps, KGP Legends, and The Stoics. Their two losses were one-score games versus the Bruins, and a 10-point defeat against Hard 8. All that means is that they have been finding ways to win as of late.
Can this team continue their winning ways, or will the problems that their victories have been able to mask finally rise to the surface?
KGP Legends (7-3)
With first place on the line, KGP Legends delivered a dud offensively, as they put up a season-low 19 points in a (31-19) loss to The Stoics this past Monday night at Stade Hebert. Setback aside, this is still a talented team that has shown they can beat anyone in the league.
In what might be Quarterback Phil Cutler’s swan song in FPF, this team would love nothing more than giving him another championship on the way out. To do that, they will need to find that missing offense more consistently. They are second lowest scoring team in the playoffs and have only cracked the 40-point plateau once this year, all the way back in Week 6, which coincidentally was their first game of the year.
On the other side of the ball, while they have allowed the second fewest points in the division with 279, the unit has produced only five interceptions which is a Div. 2 low. The lack of turnovers means less possessions for an offense that already struggles to score. This team will have to rely on the three-headed monster they have at Rusher in Ethan Adrian who is their starter, along with the duo of Gabe D'Amico-Mazza, and Julien Paiement. The trio have combined for nearly 400 career sacks. Perhaps a dominant pass rush will lead to more takeaways in the post-season, where the passing windows become tighter.
This is the oldest team in the division. They have championship experience throughout their roster, but Father Time is undefeated, and I am honestly not sure outside of Cutler, Mathieu Lepage, and Ethan Adrian, if they have the speed and athleticism to keep up with some of the other Division 2 teams who have those attributes in droves.
We’re Not Sure Yet
The Stoics (5-5)
On paper, this team has some of the best playmakers in the game with names James Drysdale, Mike Pierrecin, Édouard Leroux, Issac Paquette, and Angelo Mourelatos. If you look beyond the names, you will realize that The Stoics are anything but flashy. At their best, they are a grind it out team that relies a lot on ball control. It isn’t always pretty, but they make you earn every yard that you get. They are tough. That is the best way to describe their Captain and Quarterback Chris Rivest.
As they prepare to enter the post-season, this team has shown that they have been consistently inconsistent on both sides of the ball. One week they can score 50 plus points and then struggle to put up 25 the next. The same trend applies to their defense. They gave up six touchdowns to the Silent Ticklers two weeks ago, then surrendered just three to KGP Legends the their regular season finale.
When push came to shove, The Stoics secured their playoff spot with a (31-19) win over the KGP Legends Monday night at Stade Hebert, edging out the ninth placed Shot O’clock by two points. The question now is can they build off the momentum and pull off the upset against the number one seed LeBrontourage, who beat them handily (42-20) in Week 8?
With tons of experience and championship pedigree on their team, The Stoics are that one squad that other teams should be wary of playing in the opening round. Let’s see what they do.
Hard 8 (5-5)
This team lost the Tier 2 championship to Idaho Udapimps and are looking to take the final step. The additions of Nic Groppini, Mack Dessources, Kreig Yeh, and Gabriel-Charles Dabe Champagne, not only gives the roster more talent than the version we saw last Fall, but it also makes the team a deeper and less top-heavy squad, assuming everyone shows up, as roster consistency has also been an issue for this group.
Hard 8 had a disappointing regular season as they finished (5-5). Looking at the glass half full, they now have a chance to change their story with a deep playoff run. To do that they will need to rely on an offense that has scored the second most points behind only Camping Boutin the last three weeks (136 to 128).
That solution brings the age-old question that surrounds this team every year. That is, how far can Quarterback Jeff Rosenblatt take them? The slimmed-down veteran gunslinger proved a lot of doubters wrong when he led Run It Once to a Division B championship last spring. Sanders Armand and Paul Lapierre along with Rosenblatt are the three holdovers from that season. Can the trio use their summer triumph, and autumn’s loss as motivation this year? We are about to find out.
That is it for this week. The playoffs are a week away as we wait for some of the other divisions to wrap up their regular season. Enjoy the break. I will be back next time with a Quarter-Final Round preview.
If you liked the article, hated it, or simply felt like I left something out, please feel free to contact me at [email protected], or on the FPF Facebook page.