Division 4A: Week 9 Recap and Sit-Down with Nicholas Fon

Week 9 featured nine games and plenty to talk about. In this 16-team division, 12 teams will make the final dance, but right now every team still sitting in the playoff picture holds a losing record. Several teams played twice this past week, and none managed to go 2–0, which shows just how open this division remains heading into the final stretch of the season. With the playoffs approaching, it feels like anyone could make a run. Before we get to a short Q&A with The Penetrators’ Nicholas Fon, I’ll take a look at some of the biggest headlines from Week 9.

Forfeit loss pulls Trapstars closer to the competition

It’s never a fun time when your opponents forfeit but that’s what happened between Trapstars and Mofos Saturday afternoon. The game was actually played and Trapstars originally won the game 43-14, however, a 30-0 forfeit win was given to Mofos after the fact. This was probably due to a roster violation that was notified after the game as in the game log, Trapstars were under the cap. For Mofos, it wasn’t the game that they anticipated they would play but the win helps them in the standings. They now sit in the middle of the pack, however, I still have concerns with their lack of offence so far this season. For Trapstars, they would get back into the win column later in the week in a victory over Ambush. The score seems closer than what it was as Ambush would score a TD with under a minute remaining on an onside attempt to close the gap but the game was over by that point. Trapstars’ defence would get one INT and force two punts which would be the deciding factor for their offence to score. Ryan Garber would play great as even though he would through one INT, he finished the game with an 89% completion rate. A game between two talented veteran rosters which I believe they can meet again down the road in the playoffs.

Nighthawks win an OT thriller over Rick and Marty

Another game where I got a chance to see in-person was the OT victory from Nighthawks. Rick and Marty were down a few guys compared to their regular roster which is currently without Noah Groper. For Nighthawks, you know you’re going into a game where the crowd is against you no matter which field you’re at with the amount of friends and family that come out each game. With under a minute left, Michael Schiller would score his 2nd TD of the game where it felt like he had half the endzone of space around him. Jonathan Perez would score the extra point, extending the lead to 7. Fabrice Robillard would have 4 straight completions which would lead to Reginald Prophete scoring his 2nd TD of the contest as well as a nice 22yd catch. Going for the tie, Stefano De Seta would find the back of the endzone to save the game for the Nighthawks. On the ensuing possession, three straight incompletions would result in Rick and Marty punting with only a few seconds left. Robillard would be sacked by Perez on the final play of regulation and the QB felt that there was enough contact for a flag to be thrown. He didn’t get the call and would retaliate to the referee which would give him an OC for overtime. Rick and Marty would miss their extra point opportunity and Yvan Salomon had a chance to win the game for his team. Time to be great they said and he would find De Seta in the back of the endzone once again to win the game. An entertaining game to say the least and both teams now sit with the exact same record in the standings at 2-4. 

Dak To The Future and Are You Not Entertained ends with no entertainment for either team

Another OT game was played on Sunday but this one had no team feeling any different than the other. Are You Not Entertained looks to have found their QB in Samuel Omombo who has made a big difference on both sides of the ball. On the contrary, Justin Gauthier would have his best completion game at 68%. It might be small to some but one concern I did have with Gauthier as of late was that half of his throws were to be incompletions. Whether it was a bad ball on him or miscommunication from his receivers, this game was a movement towards the right direction. Nathanael Dinku would score a TD with a few minutes remaining and Nelson Mode would tie the game with the 2pt convert. Gauthier would have the chance to win the game and with being inside his opponent’s territory, was not able to complete a fourth down pass, giving the ball back to Are You Not Entertained with under a minute remaining. Omombo would move the ball quickly but on the final play, he would be intercepted by Concordia LB Samuel Morissette. In the OT period, both teams would attempt a 1pt convert but were unsuccessful, ending the game with a 20-20 tie. The point for each team is key because with only 6 points separating last place to 7th which is currently being held by Are You Not Entertained, that single point can be the difference for either of these teams making the playoffs or having a better seeding. 

Q&A with The Penetrators’ Nicholas Fon

How did you first get into flag football?

During Covid, my friends and I regularly would go to the park and play touch football together. Just a way to get out of the house and hangout. One of these friends was FPF Veteran Rocco Christiano (#52), who had told us about FPF and said we should get a team going. We all played high school football together and loved to play at the park so it was a no-brainer. 

What kind of player are you when things aren’t going your way?

I am ridiculously hard on myself. I hate being the one to make mistakes for the team, so those plays just sit in my mind and I don't shut up about how close I was to making the play. I'll never rip into a teammate (unless it's Justin Goodman because he probably deserved it)  but I am definitely my own worst enemy. I can live with the plays where I get beat clean, but the plays where I feel like I should have been able to make a play on the ball really eat at me. However, I play a bit better across all sports when I'm annoyed or angry (and my friends know this) so there have been a few games where my teammates have ripped into me for bad plays just to get me to that state where I try to prove them wrong and just play. All it takes is one good play and I'm right back into it.

What’s something the stats don’t show about your impact?

I'm a big rules and game theory guy. I like knowing what refs are calling and why they get called, but it's more to see what kind of loopholes or advantages you can find. I used to rush a lot more than I do now, and there's so many rules that affect you as a rusher, so just knowing what can or won't get called is so important. In terms of game theory, I'm talking clock management, timeouts, onside attempts, converts, and things like that. I'm really into analytics and advanced stats in sports, so knowing the optimal decisions during games even if it would theoretically only increase your win probability by a couple percentage points is helpful. I'm pretty much always in charge of those decisions for my team unless Justin is scared of going for 2, but then we just get the Hebrew Hammer to yell at him.

What does playing on this team mean to you?

Everyone is getting busier, so having a couple designated times each month to just play football and hangout with friends is nice. We started the team as a way to do something altogether. There's always a few moving parts on the roster but for the most part we are just that same group of friends who want to see the Hebrew Hammer rumble down the field.

Defense or offense?

Defense all day. I'd be perfectly fine playing only defense if that's what was needed from me. I played corner in high school so I've always loved that side of the ball. Especially in FPF, it is such an offense oriented league, that I just get way more excited whenever myself or a teammate makes a play on D. It's also much more of a team effort. On O, you just need one guy to beat his defender. If one player misses an assignment D, it leads to a big play. Even if it's one guy getting the PD, INT or Sack, that's because all 5 other guys did their job to force the play that way. It is a lot more sweet being able to shut a team down that knows what they are running when you have to figure it out in half a second at the snap. 

What’s one goal you have for yourself this season?

I'd like to get through the season without a drop on offense but that's wishful thinking. For the most part I don't really have any individual goals.I don't think I have ever hit 500 yards in a single season so that would be cool. At the end of the day, I just like winning. If we win, nothing else matters.

Closing Remarks

There you go Division 4A with this week’s article. Thanks Nicholas for being part of this week’s segment. The latest episode of the First & Goal Podcast is now up on Youtube so go check it out! As always, if you didn’t get a chance to respond or want to be included in future pieces, you can reach me on Facebook or Instagram @keyoncyrus.