35+ Mid-Season Report

While the 2nd season of FPF 35+ has been a success so far, growing from 1 Division and 6 teams to 2 Divisions and 10 teams, the coverage has been lacking due to a certain someone (Rhymes with Sehan Rarwar) deciding to play 35+ and “forgetting” to write articles, hence my debut article (don’t expect weekly).

35+ this year is set up with two divisions, a “Set teams” Division, where teams submitted a full Roster, and a Draft Division where players registered as individuals and were drafted by Captains and balanced evenly. Teams play 8 games with 2 byes, with everyone playing eachother twice. All teams make the playoffs with teams 1/2/3 getting a first round bye.  Draft and Team Divisions do not cross over, they are completely separate. Maybe the champs of each will have a friendly game after the playoffs and see who is the best.

 

Teams Division 

 

35ers (3-0-1)

Leading the pack at the halfway point, 35ers are clearly a force in the Teams Division.  QB Rick Nincheri has put together a very strong “Hitmen” staffed squad, after a strong first week, Rick missed a couple games due to an injury, but when your “back-up” QB is Carmine Pollice, you know you are in goods hands.  Averaging 46 points per game, it will be a challenge for anyone to slow down their offence.

While the offence been doing its job, the other side of the ball has been playing at an elite level as well. Their defense has allowed the least amount of points thus far, and in addition, an impressive six players have recorded at least one interception; this defence is ready to stop anyone. Despite all that, the Leons showed that they can be scored upon, putting up 54 points in Week 3’s Game of the Year candidate that ended in a draw.

 

The Leons (2-1-1)

Holding down second place at the halfway point is The Leons. QB Cory Pecker leads the division’s top offence, averaging 47 points per game. You wouldn’t know how strong he’s been this season without being at the field, since he has zero stats due to lack of a numbered jerseys.  Good way to keep your rating down, I guess. (Rob’s note: get yourself a jersey!)  Ryan Tereskewitz and Kevin Wyeth are the leading receivers with fairly equal numbers, but clearly Kevin is in Cory’s good books as he has 11 receiving TD’s to Ryan’s 0.

 

Where Jeff Rosenblatt’s squad needs improvement is on defence.  While the offence is at the top of the charts, the defence unfortunately is at the bottom of the division in points against.  The Leons have everything to be able to win the division, but if “defence wins championships”, that unit needs to step it up in the 2nd half.

 

Oldpack (2-2)

Making their debut this season in 35+, Oldpack is holding strong at .500 at the mid-point.  A Week 4 56-55 shootout loss with the Leons kept them a couple of points away from a possible 3-1 record. QB  Pascal Murray leads the Teams Division with 22 passing TD’s. Top Target Patrice Bernard is the only receiver to cross the 300 receiving yard mark this season so far.

 

Much like all the teams in 35+, while their offence is rolling, their defence needs to improve, as they have almost given up just as many points as they’ve scored holding at +2 plus/minus. A very balanced defence however with everyone contributing, which is a good sign; Remy Paré leads with 3 picks while Alex Cavanaugh leads with 11 tackles. Oldpack is ripe for a great 2nd half, they would be a smart pick to upset the top dogs during the playoffs.

 

Monster (2-2)

The inaugural 35+ Champions Monster Football definitely started the season with a championship hangover as they found themselves in the unlikely position of being 0-2.   But with back to back wins they have gotten back to form and are poised to have a big second half.

 

Averaging in the low 30’s for the first couple games, their offence has come alive and averaged 47 points in the past two games. Andy Peterkin continues to do what he does best, spread the ball around, buy time with his legs and find the one guy you forgot to cover- which is usually Craig O’Brien, who leads with 14 catches and 4 TD’s.

 

Defensively at the ripe old age of 77, Glen Cooper continues to dive and flag like he’s 22, and leads the Monster defence with 13 tackles. There is no doubt that even at 2-2, everyone is expecting Monster to be a force as we head towards the playoffs, no one wants to run into them in a first-round playoff matchup.

 

Old Goats (0-4)

Another newcomer to the 35+ division, Old Goats, has unfortunately found themselves looking up from the bottom of the standings.   While they have a roster full of experienced FPF players, it hasn’t translated yet into wins.

 

Offensively, Jason Rossie has been moving the ball well and leads the Teams Division with 80 completions so it’s just a matter of time before they start punching in more TD’s. That’s an average of 20 completions per game, many FPF teams would kill for that, its just they need to translate completions into TD’s.  They have many players with double digit receptions, with Bruno Lajoie tied for the Teams Division lead with 19 catches. Improvements in the red zone will get Old Goats that elusive first win.

 

Another balanced defence with many players making tackles, the Old Goats defence isn’t the issue, they need scores from the offence to help improve their plus/minus. Timothy Kaufman is having a strong season for Old Goats defensively, with 13 tackles so far.

 

Draft Division 

 

Dagwoods (4-0)

Dagwoods finds themselves exactly where they ended last 35+ season, in the top spot of the standings. While they have a perfect 4-0 record, the offence surprisingly only ranks 4th in the Draft Division, but when you have the top Points Against defence by almost 30 points, they score enough to have solid +42 plus/minus ratio.

Offensively, while Rob Allen is a threat anytime he’s on the field, QB Lonnie Johnson has created a triple threat offence with Rob (200 Yards/6TD’s), Dave Weiss (234 Yards/4 TD’s) and newcomer Enzo Bellini (253 Yards/6 TD’s) all being massive contributors on offence.

Defensively they are on fire with only 83 points against which leads all 35+ divisions by far, they are a balanced defence that plays aggressive, they lead all teams with 25 Pass Defended.

 

Paramount (3-2)

Paramount is of course blessed with the greatest center ever, but it’s the Jon Moodie show for them as usual. Offensively, Moodie has his familiar Longhorns players having solid seasons (Chris Rosen/ Karim Yasmine), but newcomer Tom Young is having a strong season on offence as well.

Defence has been solid so far, Chris Rosen leads the division with 5 INT’s and Kevin Kousaie doing his usual thing with 19 tackles.  Again, Tom Young showing his versatility with double digit tackles as well.

 

Aptech (2-2-1)

Brian Zenobi’s mixed bag of X-Men/Venom/Longhorns/Rookies has meshed well and while in 3rd place they have the division’s 2nd ranked defence and have been competitive in every game they’ve played this year.

QB Guatama Swaminadhan leads the Draft Division in Completion Percentage with 71.1% which is something he’s excelled in throughout his FPF career, actually holding the 10th spot in all-time completion percentage, which is impressive considering all the QB’s that have gone through FPF over the years. Domenic Tosi and Gautama have found a connection as he’s found him for 7 TD’s this year so far. Derrick Lavoie, who’s never played football before, is tearing it up on offence with 23 Catches, 253 Yards and 6 TD’s.

On defence, former Venom Captain, Eric Linkutis, leads all 35+ divisions with 21 tackles, no surprise there, as he’s always played hard and even survived an accidental head shot which resulted in solid black eye. Former Ottawa Gee-Gee and FPF newcomer Ted Stote isn’t letting Eric have all the fun as he’s right behind him with 18 tackles.

 

Polvige  (1-3-1)

Polvige is probably more frustrated with themselves as anyone, as they are the #1 offence in 35+, but coupled with the lowest ranked defence, has them in 4th with a sub .500 record.  Even more frustrating is that their 3 losses were by 1, 2 and 6 points.

Eugene Mclaren’s return to FPF and the QB position has been nothing but outstanding as he leads all QB’s with 954 Yards passing. He’s been firing the ball to everyone as they have 5 receivers with double digit catches.  Tim O’Hara leads the pack with 20 catches and 5 TD’s, which isn’t bad for a depressed Vikings fan.

Defence needs to start limiting the scores if they want to make it through to finals, Vince Mancini and Brian Martin are doing what they can with both contributing with 13 tackles each.

 

Relics  (1-4)

Consistency is key to the Relics success, they started the season with a great win, but with 14 different players having played so far, and usually only 6-7 players per game, getting wins has been tough.   Their last 2 games against Dagwoods and Aptech have been close so they aren’t too far away from turning it around.

Captain Ryan Etinson handles the bulk of the load on offence with 19 catches, Rob Bohbot is close behind. QB David Souaid had his best game last week against Aptech, so hopefully with a consistent offence in front of him, he can turn it up in the 2nd half.

Joel Shahrabari has been the Relics star on defence with 18 tackles, but he’s not alone as Shawn Payne leads the Division with an impressive 8 passes defended. Once they start putting more points up on offence, the Relics defence is strong enough to compete.

 

Last Words…..

For both Divisions, the 2nd half will be interesting, all teams get to play the same teams again so they have a chance to either redeem themselves or fall victim again.  The majority of the teams are all in the same boat: they can score, but will need to make defensive adjustments going forward if they hope to get to their respective championship finals. Some outstanding games have been played in 35+ so far and expect more of the same as teams work towards gaining momentum heading towards the playoffs.

For those of you who are getting up there in age, start considering 35+ in your future FPF plans, with two divisions, there is room for everyone and anyone.  There are players from 35-65 years old in the league, so it’s really built for everyone to be able to compete and have fun. The games are definitely competitive, and everyone loves not have to chase 18 year old’s around the field.  If you are interested, come out and check it out: Thursday nights in Kirkland; four 35+ games every game night. Plus, as an added bonus, they serve you beer and pizza right on the sidelines!

If you are interested in either fielding a team or joining as a draft player for next winter, reach out to Rob Campana or myself, I’m the giant phat bald guy.  You can find me on Facebook, at Longhorns Games, FPF JR games, or Thursday nights in Kirkland with 35+.

See you on the field.