Women's B: Chemistry Changes Everything feat. Lauriane Lapointe
Last week, I made three predictions for the remaining Women's B matchups. Looking at the results now, I went 0-3.
I was at Concordia on Saturday afternoon with three games on my schedule. During breaks and between plays, I was keeping an eye on some of the other games happening around me. One result that immediately caught my attention was Wolfpack defeating the previously undefeated Hiboux by a score of 26-7.
That result alone was enough to make me want to learn more about what was going on with Wolfpack.
When I looked at the Wolfpack roster at the beginning of the season, I found it hard to believe they would be sitting near the bottom of the standings. At the time, they had lost their first three games and on the surface it looked like things weren't clicking. Since then, they've won two of their last three games and suddenly find themselves right back in the playoff conversation.
I reached out to Lauriane Lapointe to learn more about the turnaround and what has changed over the last few weeks.
Wolfpack Finding Their Groove
The first thing I learned when speaking with Lauriane is that this roster is much newer than I initially thought.
When I saw names such as Camille Dumas and Abigaelle Perreault, I assumed this was a veteran-heavy group that would hit the ground running. According to Lapointe, nearly half the team is made up of newer players and inconsistent attendance early in the season made it difficult to build chemistry.
"Nous avons presque la moitié de l’équipe qui sont de nouvelles filles alors je crois qu’il était nécessaire d’apprendre à connaître comment on joue et de développer une certaine chimie."
She also explained that attendance issues forced the team to constantly rotate players and substitutes, making it difficult to establish continuity from week to week.
As of late, things are finally starting to come together.
Wolfpack have now won two of their last three games, including their statement victory over Hiboux. Going into that matchup, Hiboux looked nearly untouchable and many people weren't sure who would be able to challenge them.
Instead, Wolfpack dominated.
Lapointe finished with 230 passing yards and four touchdowns while Emilie Adam failed to reach 100 passing yards on the opposite side. Stephanie Cleroux-Drapeau led all receivers with nine receptions and 90 yards as the offence looked comfortable from start to finish.
When comparing the performance to their earlier loss against Hiboux, Lapointe pointed to improved execution and chemistry.
"L’attaque a été solide, les balles étaient attrapées et les tracés étaient mieux effectués. Nous avons également changé nos jeux depuis la dernière fois qu’on a joué contre elles."
As impressive as the offence was, the defence deserves just as much credit. They limited explosive plays, contained the Hiboux playmakers and forced one of the division's most dangerous offences into its worst performance of the season.
Another thing that surprised me during our conversation was learning that this is Lapointe's first full season playing quarterback in FPF.
As someone who has recently started playing quarterback myself, I can tell you that it isn't easy. One thing that helped me was having teammates who trusted me and allowed me to grow without constantly feeling pressure.
It sounds like Wolfpack has done exactly that for Lauriane.
"Mon équipe a grandement confiance en moi et on m’encourage constamment. Si je fais des erreurs, les filles me mentionnent toujours que ce n’est pas grave et qu’on passe au next play."
What makes Wolfpack even scarier moving forward is that Lauriane isn't actually new to the quarterback position.
She explained that she has several years of experience playing quarterback in flag football, including at the cégep level, and is currently taking first-team quarterback reps in tackle football due to an injury on her team.
"Je joue aussi au foot contact et ma QB 1 s’est blessée ce qui fait que je prends sa place depuis les derniers temps donc je pratique 2-3 fois semaine avec une pression beaucoup plus intense donc je crois que ça m’aide à faire des choix rapides au flag."
To me, that's a huge advantage.
If Lapointe continues developing chemistry with her receivers while simultaneously getting quarterback reps multiple times per week in tackle football, the ceiling for this offence is much higher than its early-season numbers suggest.
When asked about the biggest thing she has learned while returning to quarterback, her answer wasn't about throwing mechanics or reading defences.
"Ça m’a fait réaliser que je dois faire preuve d’une grande adaptabilité et de savoir gérer la pression."
That's probably one of the best summaries of playing quarterback I've heard all season.
Wolfpack currently sits at 2-4 and will face The Merge in a huge matchup. The Merge enters the game riding a two-game winning streak and features one of the most dangerous receiving trios in the division with Samora Fanta Sacko, Tabitha Thomas and Briana Tarricone.
Lapointe knows slowing down that offence will require a full team effort.
"Définitivement ce sera un défi d’équipe donc le positionnement et l’alignement sur le terrain seront un must pour toutes les filles."
When discussing potential difference-makers on defence, one player immediately came to mind.
"Je crois que Maryse Paquette aura un bon défi en tant que safety pour être capable de bien read le deep sur le terrain."
Paquette may not have an interception yet this season, but if Wolfpack continues playing the way it has over the last three games, I wouldn't be surprised if that changes very soon.
A few weeks ago, Wolfpack looked like a team searching for answers. Now, they're starting to look like a team nobody wants to face heading into the second half of the season.
Closing Remarks
That's all for this week's article.
I'd like to thank Lauriane Lapointe for taking the time to answer my questions and give some insight into the Wolfpack's season. It's always interesting to hear directly from the players because sometimes the standings don't tell the whole story.
A few weeks ago, Wolfpack were sitting near the bottom of the table and many people, myself included, were wondering when things would click. Fast forward to today and they're coming off one of the biggest wins of the season against Hiboux. It just goes to show how quickly things can change when a team starts building chemistry and finding confidence.
Women's B continues to be one of the more unpredictable divisions in FPF. Every week seems to bring a new result that nobody saw coming, which makes it even more difficult and fun to follow. With several teams still fighting for playoff positioning, I expect the second half of the season to be even more competitive than the first.
As always, if there's a player, teammate or team that you think deserves some recognition, feel free to reach out. I enjoy learning more about the division and highlighting stories that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Until next time, good luck to everyone taking the field this week and hopefully my future predictions are a little better than 0-3.
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