Recap of the 35+ opening week

After a few seasons of hiatus, I’ve made my (editor: hopefully!) triumphant return to FlagPlus Football as a columnist. And what better division to cover than the one that’s nearest and dearest to my…. age. Due to popular demand, FPF has now introduced its’ first ever 35+ division. The goal is to give the “oldies” a chance to come out and compete, all the while avoiding the joy of having to chase all those 18-25 year olds up and down the field!

After the first week of games, here are some of the things I noticed:

 

Star Studded

It was amazing to see how many talented players are 35 + years of age. Carmine Pollice, Andy Peterkin, Kevin Wilson, Andrew Carruthers, Gino Di Fazio, Corey Pecker, Brian Martin, Vince Mancini and Tony Lalla just to name a few. It worked out well that we ended up with 6 teams, this way the rosters are relatively balanced and talent is pretty apparent across the board, resulting in parity and entertaining games.

 

History

Monsters Football and Hitmen Retro have an age old rivalry, no pun intended. They have fought many battles in the past, mostly in outdoor tournaments and leagues. So it goes without saying that they not only know each other quite well but also surely enjoy competing against their long time rivals.

Luckily for us, they met in the first week of the season and watching them battle was a great treat for me and anyone else in attendance. They went toe to toe with both teams making big plays. Despite the low scoring result, it was quite entertaining. The encore in week 6 will nothing short of spectacular.

Similarly, Polvige Tech and Dagwoods have a long history- albeit a friendlier one. Both teams were made up of KTFL (Kirkland Touch Football League) players who were looking to play some flag in the winter. Some of the players are FPF vets, others are new to our league. The roster creation was handled primarily by Dave Allen, and although the goal was to balance the two teams off as equally as possible, they surely still want to compete for brraging rights over each other. In fact, Polvige’s Vince Mancini told me pitchers of beer are on the line for both matchups between the two squads!

As for Relics, they’re also FPF veterans and have a core that’s played previously with Legends (Div B champions), Bearskins and Keyport Lock. They will develop great chemistry, and play with intensity. Another asset is having two capable QBs (Jeff Rosenblatt and Cory Pecker) who exhibit different offensive schemes making it tough for opponents to defend.

Last but definitely not least we have Venom. They have played in FPF some seasons ago so they’re not brand new. They were a little rusty in week 1 and will probably need a couple of weeks to get it going. Some additions will help Eric Linkutis’ old squad; Eric Cantin, started the game a little late but made an immediate impact, also back this week is veteran QB Andy Meikle who is a force at QB and will allow week 1 QB Brian Zenobi to put his focus back on defence, where we can help the most. In week 1, their offense seemed very telegraphic and easy to read, this week should be much better for the boys in teal.

 

Old Is Gold

I didn’t know what to think when I was asked to cover the 35+ division. My initial reaction was that the games will be slow paced games but can still be fun to watch. However, after watching all three games, especially the one between Hitman Retro against Monster Football, it was evident that age is just a number. On one of the first couple of plays, Monster’s Kevin Wilson tracked down a deep throw, picked it off and almost ran it back for 6. In the earlier games, Brian Martin and Vince Mancini were playmaking machines. Throw in Cory Pecker’s stat line of 7 for 9 and 121 yards and 3 TDs and it’s clear there is tons of talent in this division! I’m sure Thursday nights in the dome will continue to produce excitement and quality football; so what if some the guys are a little long in the tooth!

 

Weekly Picks

 

I’ll make my weekly picks and at the end of the season, we’ll see how much of an expert I claim to be.

 

Polvige Tech versus Monster Football

Brian Martin and Vince Mancini will need to come up big against that quick and intelligent defense of Monster Football who held Hitmen to only 18 points. John Moodie is a deep-ball QB but he’ll need to mix it up often if he hopes to be successful against Monster Football. Andy Peterkin controls the offense well and his signature pre-snap rollout can be hard to defend with the extra time it wins him. Craig O’Brien had a great game last week even though the stats didn’t show it. I believe it’s going to come down to the last five plays. Prediction: Monster Football

 

Hitmen Retro vs Dagwoods

Dagwoods coming off a huge win and Hitmen Retro are looking to bounce back will make for an interesting game. One thing is for sure and that’s Lonnie Johnson won’t have the same looks he had in week 1. He’ll need to scheme and execute quickly, but he’s a smart IQ player who spreads the offense around and should be fine. On the other side, Chris Moufrage didn’t have his best debut as QB but that can be attributed to not having played the position in some time. What’s impressive is he still was able to put up 3 TDs against a great defense. Once he starts to get into rhythm, he’ll be a threat. Prediction: Hitmen Retro

 

Venom versus Relics

As I said earlier, Venom are shaking off the rust and still finding their chemistry so it will be a bit rough for them in the first couple of weeks. Jeff Rosenblatt will look to pick apart a defence that showed the same look for most of the game last week against Dagwoods. As for Venom’s new QB Any Meikle, he will definitely need to transition from the big outdoor field in a hurry. One tip would be relying moe heavily on stud WR Eric Cantin, his height and sense of the game will be hard to defend. Even with an all out effort, I see the Relics playing to their full ability and winning this match up. Prediction: Relics

 

That’s it for my first week’s article. If you any suggestions for what should be covered, written or done please let me know as I am also your scorekeeper every Thursday night. Aside from tracking me down at the field, my email is [email protected] and I can also be reached on Facebook.

Thanks again for tuning, good luck in your games and see you next time.