Inside the Red Zone (Div 3) – Week 6

We had a great week of football in week 6, and now with only four games remaining in the season, playoffs are in sight. For the top teams, it’s time to start fine tuning their squads and for the rest, it’s time to secure or fight for a playoff spot. Slowly but surely, the playoff picture is getting clearer. As we get closer to the post-season, I will have a deeper look at all the teams that are in the hunt.

 

Last week’s topic of discussion looked at the possibility of a system that allocates points to players with the goal of making all divisions more competitive and it drew an overwhelming response. This week’s topic asks who is the best QB to WR duo in Division 3 and why? Please share your opinion on the wall in our Facebook group.

 

Headlines

Still Got It

The Trojans defeated the Sandlot Saints in a hard fought battle. Before this game, the Sandlot Saints were averaging 18 points against per game and just like that, the Trojans dropped 41 points on them. Both QBs had over 200 yards passing but the extra interception thrown by Dallon Kuprowski (Sandlot Saints) turned out to be the difference. Nathan Thompson (Trojans) continues to impress, however a lot of credit, as he’ll tell you himself, also goes out to his supporting cast. The Trojans are now 5-1, averaging 38 points for per game. They have to be feeling pretty good about themselves after this win, especially since they served the Sandlot Saints their first loss.

 

Ladies and Gents, Mr. Lagarde!

Eric Lagarde hasn’t QB’ed every game for the GPK this season, however GPK is 3-0-1 when he has been their pivot. The latest stint had 328 yards and 9 TDs passing performance against a talented VPC team. Justin Blanchard, FPF’s own, who delivers a great piece for this column every week, also had a great performance on the field with 113 receiving yards and 3 TDs. GPK just needed one stop on defense and Corey Greenway provided that in the form of an interception. With such talented players, I would hate to face a team like GPK in the playoffs.

 

On A Roll

Prestige World Wide has won three games in a row giving them a record of 3-3. Only three weeks ago, their season seemed to be in jeopardy, but being a veteran squad they got it together in the nick of time. They have defeated Dirty Dawgers, Pap N’ Co and Raw Dawgs in that very order. What has been the difference in the last three weeks? For starters, Hall Of Famer Alex Lever has had QB rating of 100+ and additionally, he threw for only one interception compared to the nine in the first three weeks. With four games remaining, they face only two opponents with above .500 records, but those two teams combine for a record of 11-1 (Trojans next week and Dirty Birds in three weeks). Even if they finish the season with a record of 5-5, it will be nothing to sneeze at considering they started 0-3.

 

STATEMENT OF THE WEEK

Trojans 41 – Sandlot Saints 36: Trojans proved to themselves, and most importantly to Conference B, that they are ready to take down anyone in their half of D3.

 

Jacques Void – Matt Connell (Pap N’ Co) threw for 7 TDs and Jacques Void caught every single one of them.

 

Power Rankings

 

1. D-Boys – The Division 3 domination continues with a 50-6 win against Picksquad.

 

2. Dirty Birds – A close win against Les Eudistes, but a win nonetheless.

 

3. B.D. Bandits – Opened week 6 with the only division 3 game on Wednesday night and had a “D-Boys” like performance against Ball So Hard University.

 

4. Trojans – They made a statement against the Sandlot Saints and move up in the rankings. Defense is still a concern.

 

4. DK – After a tough loss to the D-Boys, they took out their frustrations by beating Le Loft by a score of 57-18.

 

4. Rude Bwoys – Brian Eudoxie continues to impress on both sides of the ball. Rude Bwoys win a thriller against G-Men.

 

7. Jonesers – Currently at 4-2 and winners of three in a row, they are playing good football right now.

 

8 Prestige World Wide – With three straight wins against good opponents, look out for PWW!

 

9. GPK  – At 3-2-1, GPK are a middle of the pack team however they’re streaky and not an easy opponent to face.  

 

10. Les Eudistes– A good outing against the Dirty Birds that unfortunately resulted in a loss, however at 4-2, Les Eudistes prove they can keep up with the best of them in Division 3.

 

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Meet the Competition: The Jonesers

By: Justin Blanchard

 

Sometimes, it’s the quietest teams which should be feared the most.

 

In Division 3, perhaps the best example of that is the Jonesers.

 

Formerly the Jewish Cucumbers, the Jonesers may not have the gaudiest statistics (just two receivers, David Chitayat and Adam Perez, have double-digit receptions), the most impressive point differential (eight) or the most athletic roster in Division 3 (team quarterback Ryan Lelinowski’s career CIS highlight was one catch for five yards at Concordia).

 

What the team does have, however, is wins—four to be exact, good enough for second place in Conference B’s East division.

 

A quick glance at the team roster, which counts 16 players, would lead one to believe strong depth has played a major role in the Jonesers’ success.

 

That belief would be a false one. “We only have about six or seven guys on our actual full-time team,” said Chitayat. “Due to our lack of depth, we often have to call subs which explains the large amount of players seemingly on our roster.”

 

But what they lack in depth the Jonesers makes up in team chemistry. “Myself, Adam and Ryan have a strong bond that began to form nearly a decade ago when we played “kibbutz-ball”, as we called it, back when we were youngsters,” said receiver David Chitayat. “Being Jewish, our parents never loved the idea of us throwing around the pigskin, but we made do with synthetic fabrics and a tough attitude.”

 

It’s an attitude which shows up on the field, where the team has shown an ability to execute in the clutch as just one of their four victories was by more than one score.

 

Fortunately for the Jonesers, the rest of the road to the playoffs looks to be a smooth one, with three of their last four games coming against last-place teams. “Our schedule does soften up considerably down the stretch, and we intend to take advantage of every opportunity we can get,” said Chitayat. “Although winning our division will be tough, we still have a lot to prove.”

 

Perhaps most importantly to themselves. “Last year we made it to the semi finals and basically laid an egg,” said Chitayat. “This year our goal is consistency, better defense, and simply to play smart football.”

 

“Defense has been the real weak-spot for our team this year and we have been working day-in day-out to get that taken care of.”

 

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Predictions

Last week, I was 11-3 and that brings my total to 53-17. Here are this week’s picks:

GPK vs. Raw Dawgs: Raw Dawgs

Served With Ice vs. Pap N’ Co: Pap N’ Co

High Rollers vs. Pick Squad: High Rollers

Fighting Irish vs. Eagles: Fighting Irish

B.D. Bandits vs Dirty Dawgers: B.D. Bandits

Jonesers vs. CF: Jonesers

One Night Stands vs. KGP Champs: One Night Stands

DK vs. G-Men: DK

Legends vs. Lazy But Talented: Legends

VPC vs. Dirty Birds: Dirty Birds

Prestige World Wide vs. Trojans: Prestige World Wide

Ball So Hard University vs. Le Loft: Le Loft

Afternoon Delight vs. D-Boys: D-Boys

Sandlot Saints vs. Les Eudistes: Sandlot Saints

 

 

Well that’s it for this week’s coverage of Division 3. DON’T FORGET TO FOLLOW OUR TWITTER SECTION ON THE HOMEPAGE! If you liked what I wrote or completely hated it, please share your feedback by sending me your thoughts/comments/suggestions. You can contact me at [email protected] or on Facebook, twitter or in person. I wish everyone luck in their upcoming games. Till next time, stay classy Division 3!