2nd-and-Short (Div D) – Week 2

It’s only Week 2, but already just by scrolling down the Division D homepage you can already get a sense of where each team is headed. You look at the likes of Les Rois Lions and Backyard Bullies, who look destined to finish near or atop the division coming off back-to-back blowout wins. Then there are teams like Angry Birds and Jagerbomb, who at 0-2 and coming off blowout losses appear headed for at the very least a difficult season. And then there’s everyone else in the middle of the pack.

But looks can be deceiving—we won’t know for sure until much later in the season just who exactly are the contenders and the pretenders. There’s still plenty of time left to turn things around—or to see everything fall apart. 

Recap

Daoust Time

If you’ve ever wondered how much arguing and yelling takes place in a huddle with four brothers, watch Primetime play for a few minutes. 

If you’ve ever wondered how much destruction four Daoust brothers can lay on opposing teams, watch Primetime play an entire game. 

Primetime made it look easy on Wednesday in a beatdown of FOTC that was really over by halftime. On the game’s opening drive, FOTC QB Étienne Guilmain was able to get past the rusher once for a big gain, but he was essentially shut down from there.

A short run, an incomplete pass and an interception on the next three plays gave the ball to Primetime, who marched downfield with little trouble behind a perfect mix of short and intermediate throws and runs by QB David Daoust. Daoust capped off the drive with a 12-yard spin-o-rama touchdown run to make it 6-0, adding two more touchdowns—along with two-point conversions on after each—through the air to make it 22-0 at halftime.

From there Primetime were able to put the game in cruise control as they won by a final score of 40-12. 

 

Singin’ the (Texas) Blues

If you need any proof of how much the competition in FPF has improved over the past year, look no further than Longhorns.

Just last year, in Division D, one of FPF’s oldest franchises finished 9-1 and made it all the way to the semifinals. On Thursday, that same franchise fell to 0-2 on the season following a six-point loss that didn’t feel as close despite the game coming down to the final play.

The Longhorns defence was simply no match for Les Blues Branleurs’ speed, the latter notably scoring two touchdowns on 40-yard bombs to Phil Angers and Samuel Proulx. Longhorns, meanwhile, struggled to move the ball consistently as QB Jon Moodie was handled well by rusher Alexis Cartier. Cartier pressured Moodie all night long, and was rewarded for his efforts with three sacks while also forcing many more incomplete passes.  

With the score 31-25 as time was winding down, Longhorns got a much-needed stop down near their own goalline. Two plays remained in the game when Moodie got the ball back, and though he was able to gain about 20 yards on the first, his last-play Hail Mary was intercepted by Minh Ton That in the end zone to close out the game.  

 

Let’s Put a Smile on That Face

Fun Boys didn’t have too much to smile about in a three-win season this past winter, but they’re certainly among the happier teams in the division after beating Recipe 4 Disaster this week to move to 2-0. 

Like last week, receiver Terrance Morsink put on a clinic right from the get-go in this game, catching a deep bomb for a touchdown on Fun Boys’ opening offensive possession, then coming back with a shoestring interception on the following drive. He added a deep one-handed grab in the back of the end zone on a later drive, but came down out of bounds.  

Morsink’s performance helped give Fun Boys a 22-12 halftime lead over Recipe, who called in Channel 4 News Team’s Jake Applebaum to replace an absent Kevin Boustany at quarteback. 

Applebaum was able to rally the troops in the second half, but it wasn’t enough as Recipe fell 28-24 in the end. 

 

Sunday Forecast

BrotherHood turn Lachine Into Their Hood

Pardon My Swag must hate my now that I’ve not only picked them to lose once again, but that I’m also about to explain my pick for the second straight week. 

Going up against The BrotherHood, I think QB Gianfranco Ranaudo is going to struggle against a defence perhaps even faster and more aggressive than last week’s opponent. 

And on the other side of the ball, Jamal Gittens, coming off a five-touchdown performance in his first game as an FPF QB, figures to match, if not improve on that performance this week. A shootout looks in the works; I’m not convinced PMS will be able to keep up.  

 

Demons Don’t Have Balls, Ball Busters Bust Them Anyway 

A game I’m personally looking forward to this weekend, I only hope Ball Busters vs. Speed Demons be as good on the field as it looks on paper.

On one side is the Speed Demons defence, one of the lower divisions’ toughest in recent seasons led by the athletic Bryan Nguyen. On the other side is the Ball Busters offence and QB Hai Minh Luong, who scored six touchdowns in his first outing with the team last week.

If we consider those two match-ups a tie, it’ll be up to the other match-up, that of Speed Demons’ offence vs. Ball Busters’ defence, which will decide the game. And if that’s the case, I have my money on Ball Busters. 

Ball Busters had one of Division 4’s better defences last year, holding most of their opponents to few scores a game. Speed Demons, on the other hand, saw QB Sam Holden throw the third-most interceptions this past winter—and that was in Division 5. 

Give me Ball Busters by a few scores.

 

Random Thoughts

-I’ve heard, “Ready, Set, Go,” “Down, Set, Hut” and the like, but Jon Moodie has to be the only one in FPF—if not in the entire province of Quebec—saying “Ready, Set, Hut One.” (Or is he saying “Hot One”? Because that would be pretty boss)

-I went to the Adidas outlet store in Boucherville last week, looking for shorts without pockets. As it turns out, they didn’t have any. At all. I couldn’t find any at Wal-Mart either. Why is it so hard to find shorts without pockets?

-My Division C teammate Ryan Aridi showed up to his Recipe 4 Disaster game with a T-shirt on that had “I Nailed Your X” written on the back. I checked online, and his number on the FPF website is actually “X”. Awesome.

-Anthony Raspa, wearing a number 52 jersey with the name “Swayze” on the back, scored on not one but two pick sixes on Thursday. It was surreal.

-I’m probably blind, but I looked quickly in the FPF rulebook and didn’t see anything regarding the acceptable size or shape of the football. It got me wondering what FPF would look like with little NERF footballs flying around everywhere.

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Well that’s all for today. Don’t forget you can always reach me by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @JBlanchFPF. Be sure to tune in to the Division D podcast Calling the Audible this Monday night at theunclehood.com to see Peeze Della Reeze and Brent Callender talk about…stuff. See you at the fields!