Division B: Eight Second-Half Questions
Welcome to Week 6. We are officially at the midway point of the FlagPlus Football Spring Season. The action gets underway tonight at the Marie-Victorin Complex with Speed Academy taking on FPF’s Most Wanted. Things wrap up Tuesday when Les Petites Carottes go up against KGP Dynasty in Brossard.
Those games will officially kickoff the second half of the regular season. As is the case in every division, teams will be jockeying for playoff position, scoreboard watching, making sure players have a minimum of five games played to be eligible to play in the post-season, and just as important, trying to work out whatever questions or issues they still have.
Before we get to tonight, I want to look at the eight biggest second half questions facing teams in Division B.
Will Idaho Udapimps take all of the hardware?
This is a valid question. When you look at the top Quarterback, 2-Way player, and Defensive Player of the Year candidates, Brady Ohanessian, Marvin Steinberg, Jerome Hovington lead in those categories. Names like Nellis Jacobs, Jordan Panetta, Sanders Armand, Tysen Otis-Copeland, and Alexandre Szalipszki among others will make the race interesting, but right now, the trio from Iddaho Udapimps lead the way.
Who will claim the final playoff spot?
There are currently four teams battling for the last spot to get into the playoffs. They are KGP Dynasty, Camping Sans Boutin, Ice Pack and #NR, all of whom currently have two points.
KGP Dynasty sits in the driver’s seats with seven games remaining. Camping Sans Boutin is right behind them with six, while Ice Pack and #NR have five and four respectively.
Here is the remaining schedule four all four teams:
#NR: Silent Ticklers, Ice Pack, Speed Academy, KGP Dynasty.
Ice Pack: Speed Academy, #NR, Camping Sans Boutin, FPF’s Most Wanted, Hard 8
KGP Dynasty: Les Petites Carottes, Camping Sans Boutin, Idaho Udapimps, Speed Academy, Bruins, #NR, Silent Ticklers
Camping Sans Boutin: Hard 8, KGP Dynasty, Bruins, Ice Pack, Idaho Udapimps, Les Petites Carottes
Camping Sans Boutin has the hardest remaining schedule, followed by KGP Dynasty, Ice Pack and #NR.
By virtue of having seven games left, I think KGP Dynasty will not only get into the dance, but they will finish clear of the number eight seed. I am picking Camping Sans Boutin because of their past accomplishments, and due to the fact that they have the second most games left on their schedule. It’s a shaky vote at best.
Who is the best 1-loss team?
As we head into Week 6, the leading candidates are Idaho Udapimps, Hard 8, and Les Petites Carottes. When I look at the head-to-head matchups, Hard 8 beat Les Petites Carottes (44-40) in Week 1. Idaho Udapimps will be taking on both teams to finish off the regular season in Week 10 and 11 respectively.
Not all losses are created equally. When looking at their lone defeats, Idaho Udapimps lost on a walk-off touchdown to end the game versus #NR. After a late score and then a successful on-side attempt brought them to within four points, the comeback try died just outside of the redzone for Les Petites Carottes against Hard 8. Leading (26-13) at the half against FPF’s Most Wanted, Hard 8 proceeded to get shutout (18-0) after the break on the way to losing (31-26).
All three teams know how to win, as they’ve all won championships in FPF. The defending Division B champions Hard 8 are a little though, as they were known as Run It Once. There are also only two members of that team on this year’s version in Quarterback Jeff Rosenblatt, and Wider Receiver/Defensive Back Bakari Barrett.
I fully expect all three team to lose one more game on the way to the post-season. Al of that means that this race will most likely be going down to the wire to see who finishes with the better record.
The question of course, is who the best 1-loss team is. Hard 8 did beat Les Petites Carottes, but I think that Idaho Udapimps are the best squad out of this group.
Who will win Receiver of the Year?
The top candidates right now are Tysen Otis-Copeland, Marvin Steinberg, Wedens Alexandre, Daniel Mancini, Alexis Mimeault, Félix Déry-Bernard, and Sanders Armand. The duo of Mancini and Steinberg are tied for the lead in touchdowns with 11, while Otis-Copeland leads all players in both receptions and yards with 30 and 387 repsectively.
With five regular season games remaining for each, names like Jerome Hovington, Felix Boutet, Santino Sparagna, Timoté Nehma-Lacasse, and Jimmy Marneris have a chance to catch up and enter the mix.
Out of all these names listed, there are some players who have won the award before. I am going with someone new. That player is Alexandre. The U of M pass-catcher has been one of the main reason his team FPF’s Most Wanted has been so successful this year. Defenders know the ball is coming his way, but his combination of route-running, speed, and agility, and catch radius make him almost impossible to stop.
With the exception of upcoming games against Idaho Udapimps, Les Petites Carottes, and Bruins, his team remaining schedule sees them play who rank in the bottom half of creating turnovers, in Ice Pack and Speed Academy.
Which team was the biggest surprise the first half of the year?
I thought about putting Camping Sans Boutin in here as well, but that wouldn’t be fair to the team that deserves this spot, and that goes to FPF’s Most Wanted.
They have made the move from the 5v5 game back to 6v6 this season. There are a lot of familiar faces on this roster, as veteran names like Alessandro Barazzoni, Anthony Siggia, Anthony Lazzara, and Raffaele Morelli makeup the core of the team. The additions the last few seasons of Wedens Alexandre, and both Dante and Santino Sparagna have not only made the transition a lot easier, but they’ve made this offense and team, lethal.
FPF’s Most Wanted has a signature win over Hard 8. With second half meetings against the likes of Speed Academy, Idaho Udapimps, Les Petites Carottes, and Bruins, FMW, has a chance to add a few more to their resume before the playoffs begin.
Which team has been the most disappointing so far?
This spot has to go to Camping Sans Boutin. Coming into this season if you would have picked this squad to at least make the second round of the playoffs, I don’t think anyone would have called you crazy. Fast forward to Week 5, and this team sits at (1-3), with their only win coming versus another 1-win team in #NR, all the way back in Week 3. The idea of them making the post-season seems anything but certain right now.
On the bright side, with only four games played, this veteran group has enough time to turn things around. The question of course is can they? Betting against the likes of Marc-Andre Reeves, Denis Martel, Marvin Renaud, Serge Pilon Jr and company is never a good idea, but this is also the same cast of characters who have put together only one win so far. This might very well be the most fascinating team to watch the second half of the season.
Which team looks like the biggest sleeper right now?
I am going with the Bruins. The team that came into the year losing six in a row going back to the Winter Season, is long gone. With a more consistent roster the team has been playing solid ball and come to the midway point winners of two of their last three games, including a comeback victory over #NR.
Even in their losses, unlike the winter version, this year’s squad hasn’t looked bad, outside of heir loss to Speed Academy by nine points, they fell to Hard 8 and Idaho Udapimps, buy a combined eight points.
The team currently sits at (3-3). The second half of the season sees them take on Les Petites Carottes, Camping Sans Boutin, KGP Dynasty, and FPF's Most Wanted. I think the Bruins can win at least three of those games. With an elite Quarterback in Rocco Christiano, and top level playmakers in both Jaeden and Juwan Edghill, Gabe Wiseman, Kristopher Verreault, and Pearce Wright, this team has a chance to make some noise come playoff time.
Who is my mid-season pick to be in the Finals
This is subject to change, but I have Idaho Udapimps taking on Les Petites Carottes. The former has the best offense in the division for teams with a minimum of five gas played, while the latter has the best defense. Just as important, both teams have chemistry and a great mixture of speed, legit playmakers, and championship experience.
Thanks to Chief the schedule maker, we will see a Week 10 showdown between both teams in Brossard where I will be the scorekeeper for. Only time will tell if this will be a championship preview. One thing is for sure; the regular season meeting will be a must watch contest.
Picks
Speed Academy vs FPF's Most Wanted - FPF's Most Wanted
Les Petites Carottes vs KGP Dynasty - Les Petites Carottes
#NR vs Silent Ticklers - #NR (Upset Special #1)
KGP Dynasty vs Camping Sans Boutin – KGP Dynasty (Upset Special #2)
FPF’s Most Wanted vs Idaho Udapimps – Idaho Udapimps (My pick for Game of the Week)
That is it for this week. Good luck to everyone in their games tonight and tomorrow.
I put up a couple of poll questions on the FPF Facebook page. Go check them out.
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.