Categories: Division 4

2nd-and-Short (Div 4) – Week 10

One week. That’s all that’s left before the real games begin. It’s all that’s left before records and style points are thrown out of the window and survival is all that matters. This year, 32 teams will duke it out for a chance to be crowned Division 4 playoffs. The only question now is who exactly those teams will be.

At the moment, six playoff spots across the division are still up for grabs, and plenty of seeds remain to be set in stone. For some, everything is on the line this week. Time to separate the contenders from the pretenders.

 

Recap

 

One Step Closer…to Locking it Down

Sometimes, a dumb penalty called against you can end up actually being a blessing in disguise.

That was the case for Lockdown over the weekend, as receiver Vincent Barriere had to come in as QB for regular starter Gianfranco Ranaudo to start their game against Angry Beavers when Ranaudo had to sit three plays due to wearing a livestrong bracelet on the field.

So what does Barriere do? Sidestep the rusher to throw a 40-yard touchdown, of course. The straight-out-of-Hollywood scene gave Lockdown an early lead and one they would never relinquish thanks to some clutch catches from their receiving corps on offence and an aggressive secondary forcing two interceptions on defence.

The final scoreboard read 45-34 by game’s end, the most points they’ve scored in a single game all season. More importantly though, it’s a win that puts Lockdown in the driver’s seat for the final playoff spot in their subdivision.

 

Trapping Pickles

If you guessed that a 1-7 team would score the most points of the week in Week 9, please come on down and collect your prize money.

Trapstars knew it would take a miracle for them to make the playoffs with that record heading into their game on Saturday, but that didn’t keep them from giving it their all as they toasted Pickle Fiasco 59-12.

The game started off close, with Trapstars forcing a punt on the game’s opening drive. They drove the length of the field for a score and Pickle Fiasco answered, but that’s as far as any hope of a competitive game would go. Pickle were plagued by dropped passes and some off-target passes from QB Avi Yayon, with a pick-six by Charles St-Onge coupled with a few more Trapstars touchdowns making it 22-6 at halftime.

You would think it couldn’t get much worse than that. It did.

In the second half it was more of the same, with Yayon managing to find the endzone just one more time in the game as he threw another pick-six, this time by Pedro Pana, before ceding his place as QB to teammate Vince Pisano, who didn’t do much better as he threw two interceptions himself in his five pass attempts on the night. Trapstars ended up outscoring Pickle 37-6 in the half.

It all made for a game better left forgotten for Pickle Fiasco, and one to remember for all the Trapstars in an otherwise lost season.

 

It’s Rabbit Season Duck Season Longhorn Season

I’m not sure if I’m more impressed by the fact that Quack Attack have recovered from an 0-4 start to a win away from clinching a playoff spot, or that they’ve won each of their last three games with a different quarterback every time.

This week they went with Served With Ice receiver Jean-Daniel Chevalier at the position. Since first playing in FPF in 2010 Chevalier has never played a full season of QB in the league, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know how to pass the ball efficiently. Leading the pack against Longhorns over the weekend, Chevalier finished a respectable 12 for 25 for 188 yards and four scores to just one interception.

It resulted in a tight 27-26 win for Quack Attack and a much needed one at that as the team now sits in eighth place in its subdivision with a 4-5 record.

 

Top 10:

  1. Sea Assassins (9-0): Last week’s game against the winless Affreux marked the first time Sea Assassins were down at halftime this season. The fact they came back with 34 second-half points is the reason they’re atop these power rankings.
  1. La Sauce (9-0): In their toughest test of the season, they passed with flying colours.
  1. Six Fast Guys Plus Ryan (8-1): A complete effort results in a big win.
  1. The Replacements (7-2): Four picks in one game. In case you forgot they have one of the best defences in the division.
  1. Broccasion (7-2): I’m sure if they played La Sauce a second time the result would be a lot closer.
  2. Predators (7-2): If they rebound from their second loss like they did their first, they’ll be just fine.
  1. Lynx (6-2-1): The bad is that they just scored their lowest points in a single game so far this season. The good is that they won anyway.
  1. KGP Lite (7-2): It shouldn’t have been as close as it was considering KGP won the turnover battle 4-0, but it’s one for the win column regardless.
  1. Ball Busters (7-2): With five straight wins since being blown out by Sea Assassins in Week 4, I couldn’t keep them off the list any longer.
  2. 57 (5-3-1): Don’t let their record fool you; with Jeremie Mongeon-Dube at quarterback there’s no doubt in my mind this team could very well finish the season hoisting the trophy.

 

Playoff Picture

Those with an asterisk have clinched a playoff spot, while those without are still in contention. Everyone else is eliminated.

Division 4

East

1. The Replacements* (7-2, 14 pts, 7-2, 183)

2. Lynx* (6-2-1, 13 pts, 5-2-1, 241)

3. The Family* (6-3, 12 pts, 5-3, 265, H2H over Healthy Scratches)

4. Healthy Scratches* (6-3, 12 pts, 5-3, 273)

5. Team Ethnik* (5-2-2, 12 pts, 4-2-2, 164)

6. Two and a Half Dans* (5-3-1, 11 pts, 5-3-1, 188)

7. TCO* (5-4, 10 pts, 5-3, 244)

8. Quack Attack (4-5, 8 pts, 4-4, 194)

 

9. Smokin’ Aces (3-4-2, 8 pts, 3-4-2, 305)

10. Primetime (3-6, 6 pts, 3-5, 252)

 

West

1. Predators* (7-2, 14 pts, 6-2, 194)

2. Coyotes* (6-3, 12 pts, 5-3, 238, H2H over Dragons)

3. Dragons* (6-3, 12 pts, 5-3, 263)

4. Monstars* (5-3-1, 11 pts, 5-3-1, 225)

5. 57* (5-3-1, 11 pts, 4-3-1, 246)

6. X-Men* (5-4-1, 11 pts, 5-3-1, 198)

7. Channel 4 News Team* (5-4, 10 pts, 5-4, 219)

8. Eskimo Brothers (4-5, 8 pts, 4-4, 243)

 

9. Fun Boys (3-5-1, 7 pts, 3-4-1, 191)

10. Kingdom (3-5-1, 7 pts, 2-5-1, 266)

 

North

1. Sea Assassins* (9-0, 18 pts, 8-0, 215)

2. Six Fast Guys Plus Ryan* (8-1, 16 pts, 7-1, 215)

3. Ball Busters* (7-2, 14 pts, 7-2, 247)

4. Outlaws* (6-3, 12 pts, 6-3, 260)

5. 69ers* (6-3, 12 pts, 6-2, 256)

6. Mustangs* (5-4, 10 pts, 4-4, 188)

7. Fools of the Country (4-5, 8 pts, 4-4, 224, H2H over Lockdown)

8. Lockdown (4-5, 8 pts, 4-5, 279)

 

9. Angry Beavers (3-6, 6 pts, 3-6, 256)

 

South

1. La Sauce* (9-0, 18 pts, 8-0, 155)

2. KGP Lite* (7-2, 14 pts, 6-2, 243, H2H over Broccasion)

3. Broccasion* (7-2, 14 pts, 6-2, 261)

4. BearSkins* (6-2-1, 13 pts, 6-2-1, 226)

5. ZOO* (5-3-1, 11 pts, 5-2-1, 268)

6. Les Maloudes* (5-4, 10 pts, 5-4, 226)

7. Backyard Bullies (4-4-1, 9 pts, 3-4-1, 249)

8. Les Prédateurs (4-5, 8 pts, 4-5, 284)

 

9. Flying Comics (3-5-1, 7 pts, 3-5-1, 263)

10. Checkmate (3-6, 6 pts, 3-5, 279)

 

Fantasy Football

Unfortunately three players on my fantasy team failed to show up to their games this past week, leaving me without a fighting chance in the Division 4 semi-finals. The results were as follows:

4. Domon (147.30) vs 1. GM (186.23): GM
3. Eagle (176.83) vs 2. Justin (145.30): Eagle

The final will be:

1. GM Kolethras vs 3. Eagle.

 

Well, at least I’m still alive in the D3 fantasy playoffs. And of course at least I finished ahead of Simon.

 

Picks of the Week:

My 16-9 last week was bested by Simon’s 17-8. I have to say I love the way he characterizes these results. If 16-9 is “mediocre” his 17-8 isn’t all that much better. But alas, it comes down to one last week as his record stands at 149-76 while mine sits behind at 134-91. I need to pick a near-impossible 16 games better than him this week to win this competition. Time to go all-out with the upset picks.

X-Men vs. Knights

Eskimo Brothers vs. Coyotes

Kingdom vs. Monstars

Dragons vs. Predators

Turf Toe Inc. vs. Channel 4 News Team

ZOO vs. Pickle Fiasco

Checkmate vs. Les Prédateurs

Trapstars vs. Broccasion

Lynx vs. Banana Republicans

Playground vs. 69ers

Healthy Scratches vs. Quack Attack

Primetime vs. Fruit Loops

The Family vs. The Replacements

Lockdown vs. Mustangs

57 vs. Fun Boys

Six Fast Guys Plus Ryan vs. Fools of the Country (N/A)

Sea Assassins vs. Outlaws

Ball Busters vs. Angry Beavers

The Junks vs. Gotham Knights

Backyard Bullies vs. La Sauce

Jaggerbomb vs. Flying Comics

KGP Lite vs. Les Maloudes

BearSkins vs. Les Affreux

Team Ethnik vs. Longhorns

Project Mayhem vs. Two and a Half Dans

T.C.O. vs. Smokin’ Aces

 

***

That’s all for today. Be on the look out later this week for the last joint article from Simon and me this season. As always, you can reach me by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @JBlanchFPF. If you haven’t checked out the latest Calling the Audible podcast episode with Peeze and Brent you can do so at http://www.theunclehood.com/flag-plus-football/. See you at the fields, and good luck to all this week!