2nd-and-Short (Div 4) – Week 2 – FlagPlus Football League

Isn’t it odd how much weight we place on Week 1? We always feel a little better about ourselves after winning the first game of the season, whereas starting off 0-1 often leaves us feeling like the sky is falling. (As for those of you who started 0-0-1…well, I don’t really know what you’re feeling.)

And yet, on paper, a win or loss in Week 1 is no different than a win or loss in Week 6. In a 10-game season, nothing is guaranteed after one week of football.

So to those of you who lost this past week, don’t worry, the 2012 New York Giants also lost their Week 1 game and they happened to win the Super Bowl that season. As for those of you who started 1-0, just remember that the 2013 Houston Texans did, too—2-0, in fact. I think we all know how that turned out.

Recap

Predators Eat Fruit Loops

James Floreani made his name as receiver of the season in Division D in the spring. He could very well do the same as quarterback this season.

It may only have been one game, but it couldn’t have gone much better for Floreani, who threw for 231 yards and six touchdowns—both tops in the division in Week 1—to just one interception against Fruit Loops over the weekend.

The game started off rather slowly, with Ryan Lelinowski marching his offence down the field for a touchdown before Floreani did the same to make it 6-6. A safety made it 8-6 in favor of the Predators before Floreani unleashed a 40-yard bomb to Mathieu Brunet to go up 16-6 following a two-point conversion.

Fruit Loops got to within six early in the second half, but a second 40-yard pass from Floreani to Brunet down the seam made it 31-18, and a deficit too great for Fruit Loops to come back from as they fell 45-36 in the end.

69ers 86 Les Affreux

Like Floreani, Karl Lavallée proved to be one of the top receivers in Division D this past spring. Unike Floerani however, Lavallée still has a ways to go before being recognized for his quarterbacking skills.

Going under center for Les Affreux against the 69ers on Saturday, Lavallée saw his first pass of the game intercepted by Darcy Cloherty, leading to a quick 69ers touchdown. Dropped passes and misfires by Les Affreux kept the team out of the endzone throughout the entire first half while the 69ers found the endzone twice more, including with two plays to go before halftime to go up three scores.

Lavallée found his rhythm in the second half, throwing two touchdowns to Simon Richard. But it was too little too late by then, as Les Affreux ultimately fell 26-12—losing receiver Mat Domon to injury in the process.

Jaggerbomb Diffused

It’s not often a quarterback can score six touchdowns to no interceptions and still lose the game. But that’s exactly what happened to Simon Duchesne and Jaggerbomb on Saturday, when they took on ZOO.

After trading unsuccessful drives to start the game, both sides wound up going score-for-score from then up until the very end, when Duchesne found the endzone with five plays left to get to within one point. But defence ultimately proved to be the game-changer, as ZOO forced an incomplete Duchesne pass on the ensuing convert to hold onto a 37-36 lead. One ZOO first down later and the game was over.

Balls Invade the Playground

Offence was the name of the game in this one. Led by Mathieu René at quarterback, Playground took a 13-12 lead into halftime before each team’s offence exploded for score after score in the second half.

Playground looked headed for victory with the ball and a one-point lead late in the game. But a fourth down stop by the Ball Busters defence gave the ball back to QB Dylan Taylor, who led his offence into the redzone with time winding down. With just two plays left in the game, Taylor found receiver Mario Choueri in the endzone for just his second catch of the game as Ball Busters went on to win 40-34.

Step 1. Get a Sister. Step 2. Kiss Your Sister

This week’s reminder that last season means little was Smokin’ Aces’ tie against Team Ethnik. The Aces, who made the Division 4 playoffs with a 7-2-1 record last year, likely thought they had an easy win ahead of them when they took the field against Team Ethnik, who managed just a 4-6 record in Division 5 last winter.

But it was Team Ethnik who found themselves ahead by seven at halftime in what proved to be a tight battle from start to finish. With the game tied late in the second half, Ethnik even looked poised to score the go-ahead lead as they quickly drove down to midfield.

But that’s when their drive stalled and with three plays to go, it was the Aces who instead had the game’s last chance at victory. The Ethnik defence stood strong, however, keeping the Aces from gaining even a single yard as the game ended 25-all—a tie on paper, but definitely a moral victory for Ethnik.

Top 10

The Family: I’m not entirely sold on the idea of The Family actually being the division’s top team, especially considering they beat a brand new team by only one point. But a win is a win, and The Family retain the top spot.
The Replacements: It’s easy to win a game in which the opposing quarterback tosses five interceptions, but credit goes to the winning team for forcing them.
Sea Assassins: Like The Family, a one-score win over a brand new team isn’t exactly comforting. Time will tell whether the Assassins have regressed or whether the Angry Beavers are as strong as they played this past week.
Predators: It’s a quarterback-driven league, and the play of James Floreani is unparalleled after one week.
Pickle Fiasco: Throwing five touchdowns to zero interceptions, Avi Yayon showed on Saturday that his dominance through the air last season was no fluke.
Ball Busters: That they gave up 34 points worries me, but as they say, the best defence is a good offence.
KGP Lite: A six-touchdown performance by QB Phil Cutler coupled with a second-half shutout of last year’s Division D finalists is far better than what I expected from this team in Week 1.
La Sauce: In just six games last winter, François Raymond threw for 32 touchdowns and led La Sauce to an 8-2 record. After finding the endzone six times on Saturday, you have to believe an even better record awaits the team if Raymond plays every game.
Lockdown: Few teams can say they held both Mikey Candussi and Kendall Mayers out of the endzone and under 30 yards combined. Lockdown is now one of them.
Six Fast Guys Plus Ryan: You couldn’t ask for a better start to a season than with a 33-point defeat of a team that was three wins away from playing for the division championship last winter.

Picks of the Week

I went 10-10 in my Week 1 picks compared to Simon Dagenais’ 12-9, who picked an extra game seeing as his was cancelled while mine wasn’t. He may have technically won the first round, but this race is a marathon, not a sprint. I’ll catch up soon enough.

Turf Toe Inc. vs. Project Mayhem

Kingdom vs. X-Men

Knights vs. Eskimo Brothers

Monstars vs. Dragons

Channel 4 News Team vs. Fun Boys

Banana Republicans vs. Healthy Scratches

Fools of the Country vs. The Junks

Quack Attack vs. Coyotes

Lynx vs. T.C.O.

Pickle Fiasco vs. Broccasion

Two and a Half Dans vs. The Family

Playground vs. La Sauce

Mustangs vs. Sea Assassins

Les Affreux vs. Angry Beavers

Smokin’ Aces vs. Primetime

Ball Busters vs. Gotham Knights

Lockdown vs. Six Fast Guys Plus Ryan (N/A)

Outlaws vs. 69ers

The Replacements vs. Team Ethnik

Les Maloudes vs. Trapstars

BearSkins vs. KGP Lite

Fruit Loops vs. Longhorns

57 vs. Predators

Les Prédateurs vs. Backyard Bullies

Checkmate vs. Jaggerbomb

Flying Comics vs. ZOO

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That wraps up another edition of 2nd-and-Short. Be sure to send any questions my way at [email protected], or tweet me @JBlanch6. See you at the fields!