35+ Week 1 Recap & Week 2 Preview

And with that, Week #1 is now in the books for the 35+ Division.  On a positive note I only saw one player having to withdraw from action due to muscle pull, stretch, age, etc…

 

One of the advantages to covering this division is that all the action is on the same night in the same complexe.  It does make it easy to watch most of the action.

 

What did we learn from Week 1?

• – The score at the half does not really affect the final result. 3 of the 5 teams losing at the half came back to win/tie.  Playing until the final whistle is as relevant a saying as ever.
• – 4 of the 5 games were within a score so, for Week 1 at least, we do have parity
• – PATs played a crucial part of 3 games. Need to focus on them…even if there are NO STATS!
• – Most of the QBs looked rusty/out of sync with their receivers. Ah those Week 1 kinks to work out

What did we not learn from Week 1?

• – Hard to judge Tier 1 after the first week. The only squad that fielded their actual roster was the Old Pack.  The first Tier 1 game was delayed as the scorekeeper had to create players on the spot because they were new to the league!
• – Polvige are not as bad as the score indicates. Multiple dropped balls and an inability to contain Eugene McLaren really put them in bad situations time and time again.
• – Jason Rossie also created matchup problems with his legs, both by buying time and by rushing for almost 80 yards. Will this be the trend for the year?  GOXM were figuring out their rush 30 seconds before the game so I think this caught them off guard.

 

JMJ over FPF 29-26 (Draft Division)

Let’s just stick to the initials and save my word count!  One of the surprise scores on the evening as I was expecting Lonnie Johnson and the FPF squad to fare better.  Glad that I did not post any predictions in my opening article!  As I wrote last week, JMJ will be led by Rob “I can do everything” Allen and Kevin Kousaie.  Sure enough they combined for 10 of Stephen Harripersaud’s 17 completions and all 3 TDs.  Rob was also the main man on defence with 6 tackles and an INT.  Odd to see Lonnie Johnson let an opposing team play with his balls that often, as JMJ finished with 2 INTs and 4 PDs.  Very good showing on their part!  Both teams put up 4 TDs (JMJ with a pick 6) but those dreaded converts make the difference in this one.

 

Paramount over Polvige (Draft Division)

I do believe that we have seen the end of the yellow dishwasher gloves that Jon Moodie chose to wear during the first week.  Whether they were affecting his grip, or were simply distracting his receivers to the point that they were looking at his gloves and not the ball, it made for a poor evening at the office.  Multiple drops and a few misfires simply gave too many advantages to the Paramount squad.  Not that Eugene McLaren really needed them.  He looked poised and confident throughout the match.  He was a dominant factor on both sides from drive #1.  He opened the game by side stepping the rush and walking in from 9 yards out and then forced a turnover on the first defensive series with a great rush (including a PD) and then a failed 4th down conversion.  2 plays later and, after a great bullet pass to the corner of the end zone, Paramount were up 2 scores to 0 and not looking back.  Only real highlight for Polvige on this night was a nice throw & catch from midfield between Jon Moodie and Brian Martin who ran a nice post pattern.  The only person on the Paramount squad with anything to work on might be Dave Allen’s field awareness.  For those who missed it, I invite you to ask him about it…

 

Pacemakers over the Grumpy Old X-Men (GOXM) 27-26 (Tier 2)

Yet another game where the first half score was reversed in the second half.  Jason Rossie was missing his brother Jordan but that did not stop/slow him down as he repeatedly found Chris Brockwell all over the field.  Chris is a rookie to the 35+ Division but has been playing with Jason for multiple seasons now and their chemistry was evident as he finished as the top receiver in the game with 78 yards and 3 TDs.   Not to be out done, Jason rushed for 79 yards and a score to finish as the top individual producer on the team.  For the GOXM this was a game of missed opportunities.  First drive of the game saw the defence drop a gift INT (not sure what Jason saw on the play, but I know what he did not see) and then gave up a Chris Brockwell TD reception on the very next play.  I also think that Guatama Swaminadhan (GS for the rest of the season) needs to go back and watch Brett Favre’s last career throw.  “Experienced” QBs (that means older ones) should not roll right and then try to throw back across their body to the middle of the field.  It will generally not end well.  IN this case it was an easy INT for Bruno Lajoie.  Once again, we had a game decided by the dreaded XTRA Points.

 

Monster Gym TIES the Spitfire 24-24 (Tier 1)

Somewhat difficult game to draw anything from as both teams were playing short bodies and with players in different spots.  Monster caused the aforementioned delay as Marco Ottoni was new and had to be created in the system.  Being down by scores at the half did not stop Monster Gym from coming back in this game.  Missing their starting QB Andy Peterkin, they were led by Craig OWIE O’Brien, who is no stranger to throwing the ball.  Both team traded INTs early in the game.  Ironically it was both QBs (Carmine Pollice & Craig O’Brien) who intercepted their counterparts.  JF LeClair turned back the clock and had, arguably, his best game since joining the 35+ Division.  He finished with 7 receptions, 2 TDs, 4 tackles, and a very controversial pass break up on the last play of the game.  For the Spitfire the lack of chemistry showed.  Defensively Jeff Brown was everywhere for the squad finishing with 9 tackles.  Both teams played fairly conservative football as shown by the combined 72 pass attempts.  This was an old school grind it out type of football game.  The difference?  No one converted any PATs.  The Spitfire were in a position to win on the last play from the 10-yard line but, as mentioned earlier, a somewhat controversial play ended with both teams walking away with a point.

 

O.A.S. over the Old Pack 41-38

Finally!  A game with converted PATs!!  O.A.S. were missing their starting QB, Corey Pecker, but when your CAP allows you to dress the league’s best QB, Kevin Wyeth, you should do alright.  The Relics have transformed into O.A.S. and have a definitive Chateauguay Raiders feel to them with Wyeth, Andrew Blevings, Tony Lalla, and Kishon Thompson on the squad.  No lack of chemistry amongst this group.  The offensive difference maker on the night was Jason Prince, who finished with 90 yards and 4 TDs.  Both teams scored 6 TDs but, as mentioned, those pesky PATs, made the difference.  Pascal Murray finished the night with 6 TDs but O.A.S. made him earn it as he finished under 50% on the completion side of things and threw 2 INTs.  Patrice Bernard started the game off strong with a 25-yard catch and run TD on the first drive but that was his only catch on the evening.  He needs to be more involved for the Old Pack to be successful.  Considering their size advantage, I found it odd to see Remy Pare, Patrice, and Alain Rousseau held to a combined 5 receptions.

 

Week 2 preview

Polvige vs. JMJ (Draft)

I fully expect Jon Moodie to bounce back from the week 1 debacle.  Having said that, I am not sure that they can pull this one off.  When Rob “I can do everything” Allen is on his game he can make life miserable for the opposing team on both sides of the ball.  Throw in the narrow field at Kirkland and Rob literally ends up being everywhere.  While Jon Moodie is normally able to buy time with his legs, he was shut down by Eugene in Week 1 and Kevin Kousaie is also a very good Rusher, so Jon’s life gets no easier in Week 2.

26-18 JMJ

Monster Gym vs. Old Pack (T1)

This game is hard to call because MG play two different styles based on their QB.  Andy was absent for Week 1 but is supposed to be there for this week’s action.  How many of the new players does Monster Gym keep on their roster?  Going to be a couple of weeks before we can accurately judge this squad.  The Old Pack have the ability to play with anyone in the league.  They have both size and speed, so I am not worried about them.

38-32 Old Pack

FPF vs. Paramount (Draft)

Paramount looked really good in Week 1.  As mentioned, Eugene McLaren played lights out on both sides of the ball and will need to do so in Week 2.  The Paramount defence was “helped” my multiple drops in the first week.  If receivers get open like that, Lonnie Johnson will definitely find them.  I know that he sat on the sideline for a few games on Thursday with an unhappy scowl on his face, so he will want to prove that Week 1 was just a “blip”.  Having said that, I think that Paramount are the better team at this point in time

20-18 Paramount

GOXM vs. Relics (T2)

Due to the uneven # of teams in the Division each team gets a bye week.  Week #2 will see the Relics take the field for the first time in 2019.  Let’s see how this goes as this squad was part of the original 2017 season, but QB Jeff Rosenblatt got injured and things changed dramatically.  Happy to see him back in form (or what passes for form).  For the GOXM they get to shake off all their mistakes from Week 1 and prove that they are the team to beat in T2.  I do think that they beat themselves this past Thursday and this will not be repeated.

27-12 GOXM

Spitfire vs. O.A.S. (T1)

If the O.A.S. squad has a Chateauguay football flavor to it, then the Spitfire team could be accused of being their North Shore counterparts.  This should be the game of the week with both teams being able to put up a tremendous amount of points and both defences being opportunistic.  Both squads were missing players in Week 1, so things are hard to judge.  Unlike other columnists I have no issues in picking a winner in my own games (heads up: I will always pick my team to win…) but I will probably be out to lunch on the actual score.

46-39 Spitfire