2nd-and-Short (Div D) – Week 8

Week 8 is officially here. For a sign that the late-season craziness has already begun, look no further than the fact I went 4-5 in my picks for Wednesday’s and Thursday’s games, while Mat Domon went 5-5 in his own picks. I asked for a wild finish—looks like I’m getting what I wished for. 

 

 

 

Like Peeze, I wasn’t fully convinced that Monstars were as strong as their 5-0 midseason record suggested, but unlike him I wasn’t crazy enough to bet that Monstars would win no more than one of their last five games. Monstars got that second win on Thursday, although it was no easy task.

 

Facing off against Speed Demons, Monstars had no answer for first-year FPF receiver Tony Vilhena throughout the first half, as he made a highlight reel’s-worth of acrobatic catches to help lead the Demons to a 13-12 halftime lead.

 

But Monstars quickly shifted momentum back to their side in the second half, starting off with a long touchdown pass from QB Rod Mashtoub to last-minute pick-up Fred Viens to make it 18-13. A perfectly-placed 15-yard seam pass to Viens on the ensuing Monstars drive would make it 25-13 before the Demons were able to make it a one-score game again on a Sam Holden run.

 

But that’s as close as the Demons would get, as Mashtoub ended up finding the endzone one last time with just a handful of plays left to seal the win by a final score of 31-20. 

 

The result will make it an uphill battle for the Demons to earn a playoff spot. As for Monstars, I can’t help but wonder whether the way they’re winning today will hurt them tomorrow. This game saw an impressive offensive showing on their part, with Mashtoub going 14-of-17 for over 180 yards and five touchdowns to just one interception. But three of those scores went to Viens, who’s one of six players on the Monstars’ 15-man roster that have yet to play five games. What will Monstars do come playoff time when none of them will be eligible to suit up in the postseason? 

 

 

 

For some teams, the drop-off from starting QB to replacement QB is minimal. For others, it’s huge. The BrotherHood are among the latter.

 

With Jamal Gittens out with a hamstring injury, BrotherHood called up Hisham Abdel Rahman to take the snaps for their game against Show Me Your TDs on Wednesday night. The fact Abdel Rahman played receiver in Division 4 last winter for a team called Past Our Prime should give you an idea of how ugly things got against SMYTDs. 

 

Though the BrotherHood defence was on point nearly all night long, making 4th down stop after 4th down stop, the team’s offence struggled to move forward for much of the game. The one time they made the redzone in the first half, Abdel Rahman’s shovel pass was intercepted and taken to the house by Alex Russell. 

 

Entering the second half down 12-0, things went from bad to worse when a BrotherHood snap went over Abdel Rahman’s head and into the endzone for a safety to make it 14-0 SMYTDs. Then a terrible display of tackling saw Russell catch a short hook and shake-and-bake his way past three would-be tacklers into the endzone to extend SMYTDs’ lead to 20-0. 

 

BrotherHood mounted a furious comeback in the game’s dying minutes, narrowing the deficit to 20-12 with just a few plays left. But facing a 4th and 1 with one play left, receiver Ahmed Majid dropped Abdel Rahman’s pass in the endzone to end the game. 

 

BrotherHood are no doubt disappointed with the result, but if there’s a silver lining in this game it’s how well the team’s defence played, holding an offensive juggernaut to just three scores a week after holding Les Affreux to 24 points.

 

 

 

A not-so-good Division E quarterback who hosts the Division D podcast once said that if you let the referees decide the game, you didn’t deserve to win anyway.

 

Pardon My Swag’s 32-25 loss to FOTC on Thursday night was one such case. After both sides traded touchdowns back and forth from start to finish, FOTC put themselves in front 32-25 with just five plays left when QB Étienne Guilmain hit Mael Veron on a short drag and let him do the rest. Three plays later, receiver Jonathan Pétard made a clutch catch on the sideline to put PMS about 20 yards away from the endzone. But on the game’s last play, QB Gianfranco Ranaudo’s pass to Bryan Joseph in the front of the endzone was batted away on a play that looked as though Joseph was held before the ball reached him.  

 

But there was no flag to be seen on the play, clinching the win for FOTC and dropping PMS to a lowly 2-6 on the season. Perhaps the refs missed the call, perhaps not. But you can’t say they were the ones that put PMS in a position to need a call to win the game. That blame falls squarely on PMS’ shoulders.

 

Once again, only one matchup really jumps off the page in this weekend’s games, and that’s T.C.O. versus Grip n Rip. The 6-1 T.C.O. are feeling pretty good about themselves coming off a comeback win against SMYTDs last week, while the 6-1 Grip n Rip haven’t lost since Week 1 and lead the division in points per game. 

 

This is one matchup that figures to come down to the wire, and although T.C.O. have shown an ability to come out on top in those situations, I think Grip n Rip take this one. The main reason is that as solid as T.C.O. are defensively, their biggest weakness appears to be the deep ball—which happens to be one of Vinny Gualano’s strongest attributes, especially with some top deep threats in Matt Da Silva and James Donald.  

 

Then there’s the question of rushing. I’m not sure T.C.O. have a rusher capable of consistently keeping Gualano in the pocket, while on the other side, Grip n Rip rusher Mike Zenobi has already shut down running QBs Étienne Guilmain and Jamal Gittens this season. That doesn’t bode well for the mobile Doug McKernan. 

 

All signs point to a Grip n Rip win in this one. Although crazier things have happened. 

 

 

 

-I saw a player on Jagerbomb playing with warm-up pants on the other night. And he was the rusher. How he made it through the night without sweating himself to death, I don’t know. 

 

-To Tomahawk Nightmare: If you were oblivious to the QB rating rule when you called up Tam Vilaydeth to play QB in your Thursday night game, shame on you. If you were oblivious to that rule and to the fact you went over the cap when you added on Corey Greenaway, double shame on you. If you knew you were breaking both rules and would have to forfeit but wanted to give both you and Primetime your money’s worth, I tip my hat to you.

-If I calculated this properly, every team in the Conference B East subdivision is still mathematically alive for the playoffs. That would be crazy if all five teams made it through.

 

-Props to Backyard Bullies Daniel O’Conner for making one of the nicest one-handed interceptions I’ve seen all season. I don’t even care that he did it while covering me; that pick was a beauty. 

 

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That’s all for me this week. Check back again early next week for the first official breakdown of the race to the postseason to find out who has clinched, who’s eliminated and who’s still fighting to stay alive. Until then, you can reach me by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @JBlanchFPF. Be sure as well to check out the latest edition of the Division D podcast, Calling the Audible, this Monday night for a chance to see Peeze in a shiny new Monstars jersey at www.theunclehood.com. Good luck to all this weekend!