After five weeks: no one is undefeated or winless

What an incredible week of football we just had! A winless team got their first taste of victory while an undefeated team experienced their first loss. We’re five weeks in and the final standings are getting progressively harder to predict. One thing we know for sure is that all 6 teams will be in the playoffs, and that the top two teams move straight to the semi-finals. There is still a lot to play for with three weeks remaining.

All three games were very exciting to watch so here is the official recap of week five.

 

Recap

Venom 33 – Polvige Tech 21

Venom notched their first victory of the season and they did it by playing some well-structured football. Remember last week I mentioned they need to incorporate short plays and hold onto the ball a bit better? Well either they listened to me or realized on their own, but in any case that was their strategy and it worked well. Before the game started, they chose to defend the opposite side of the field (far side of the dome where you face the entrance) for one tactical reason; the lights would not be in their receivers’ eyes. Believe it or not, some of their players had some balls go through their hands the week before because of some bright lights on the top of the dome.  So, when the whistle blew and clock started, Venom was on a mission. They scored on their first drive, forced Polvige on a 3 and out and scored again to go up by two scores. Then the captain Eric Linkutis picked off Jon Moodie on the first pass of that drive which led to another Venom TD by Rob Tessier.  During the game, Polvige did stage a small comeback, however a late safety against them gave Venom the last bit of momentum they needed to ice the game. They finished the game with the proverbial “ cherry on top”; With Polvige down by a score, Jon Moodie was put up a hail mary attempt (a play he pulled off a couple of times during the game where he rolls one way and throws long across his body) to Brian Martin, however Kevin Kousaie played it well by getting in position, intercepting the ball and taking it back to the house for the exclamation point.

All members were contributing to the cause on both sides of the ball. Four different Venom receivers caught a TD on offense. Steve Batsos had a huge game even though the numbers might not have showed it. One thing to note is the rush on Nik Hatziiliou. Most of the night it was Chris Ackard, who coming back from injury, wasn’t that effective; however they switched-in Jon Moodie sparingly, and he created enough pressure that led Nik to throw an INT. Overall, Nik did adjust well to that by using his legs more to buy time when the rusher was quick. All in all, it was a great night for Venom who have now moved into 5th place, while Polvige sits in last.

 

Hitmen Retro 34- Relics 33

The second game of the night was just as exciting. It showcased Hitmen Retro against Relic. It was a back and forth game with both teams exchanging scores. Just before the half, with Hitmen down by 8 points, they had a chance to equalize, but their receiver popped it up on a pass by Chris Moufrage and luckily for Relic, Darnell Lovelace was there to intercept it and end the Hitmen drive.

Tony Lalla was Corey Pecker’s go to guy all night as he was turning short passes into long gains with “Shakira hip don’t lie” esque moves.  But there were two turning points in this game and both went against Relics. First, Ryan Grad was hurt in the second half which brought their roster down to 6 guys. Offensively they still managed to go score-for-score against Hitmen even with six guys, but defensively, Cory Pecker was forced to play D. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, however Cory was battling a hamstring injury which made it tough for him to cover ground against Hitmen receivers which was a disadvantage for Relics. The second and final blow came at the end of the game when Relics were close to the red zone with only a minute left till 5 plays. A score there would have pretty much guaranteed them a win but Corey Pecker got an OC for saying something less than friendly to an official, and was kicked out for 5 plays. So now not only do Relics lose their QB to punch it in but they’re also only five guys. Tony Lalla took over QB duties but couldn’t punch one in for his team.

Hitmen got the ball with a few plays left and scored to make the score 33-32. Having all the momentum, they decided to go for the win and took the 2 point convert attempt.  On an in-pattern, Andrew Carruthers catches the 2 point convert to put Hitmen Retro up by 1. Relics still had 1 play left and they used Shawn Payne to throw a Hail Mary but it was picked off by Carmine Pollice to end the game. I want to say that Hitmen deserve credit for persevering but Relics also fell apart at the end with the huge OC penalty.

That said, going for the 2 point convert took guts and I commend the Hitmen for doing what Herman Edwards said once, playing to win the game!

 

Monster Football 45 – Dagwoods 27

The last game of the night saw the undefeated Dagwoods take on Monster Football. Dagwoods have looked great so far but this was a game to forget for them. On their first drive, Lonnie Johnson was picked off by Shawn Costello which led to a Craig O’Brien (only his second game; newly minted father so congrats to him) TD. Dagwoods’ next drive was cut short by another interception, this time it was Craig O’Brien himself. Dagwoods clawed their way back after Rob Allen picked off Andy Peterkin with 2 plays till half. Unfortunately, they couldn’t capitalize on the turnover, and at the half, it was 26-21, Monster. Which could have been a moral victory for how poorly Dagwoods played in the first half.

Second half started with Monster scoring quickly and from that point, never looking back. Monster had a great offensive showing but more impressive was them limiting Dagwoods to 27 points. So why was Monster Football able to dominate the top seeded team? It’s because they finally had a full roster. Plain and simple that’s the key to them fulfilling those high expectations- having everyone show up. As for Dagwoods, they still fought hard but you could tell it was just not their night, especially on defense. Andy Peterkin had only one INCOMPLETION all game, and that was the interception by Rob Allen. Besides that they couldn’t generate any turnover or even pressure. Even the best teams have games like this so I have no doubt they’ll bounce back but with the loss, Monster and Hitmen are right behind them in the standings in the battle for the first-round bye.

 

Unsung Heroes

It’s easy to talk about the guys who rack up the stats however I want to mention a couple of guys who had huge impact for their team without having the numbers to show for it.

Steve Batsos (Venom) Steve had a big hand in his team’s first win especially on defense. He was covering extremely well and was playing aggressive all night which didn’t go unnoticed. He had a huge PD at the beginning of the game which set the tempo for Venom.

Shawn Costello (Monster) I know he has an INT on the statsheet but he was by far the best defensive player for Monster last week. He is not the guy who comes in after the catch to get a tackle which is easy. He’s the guy who makes sure the catch is not made. He reads the opposing QB well and with his long strides and limbs, receivers have a hard time catching the ball in his area. Great player!

Joel Shahrabani (Relic) Probably the quietest guy on the team but has a huge impact. Mostly relied upon to rush but can also drop back in coverage; he gives it 110% each game. He won’t produce a lot of sacks but he rushes well enough for Relics to make plays behind him. On offense, he’ll make the occasional catch but those are always when his team needs it the most. Case in point last game, Cory Pecker looked like he had no open options on a big play, and Joel found an opening in the zone on a clever route to secure a pass to keep Relics moving down the field.

 

Dagwoods

This week I interviewed Dave Allen who is the captain of Dagwoods. Dave is a FlagPlus Football veteran, and is a pretty well spoken guy. He is a always a pleasure to chat with…

1. What made you guys want to enter the 35+ division as well as also being another with Longhorns?

Longhorns are still going in Div 5A, but when the 35+ was announced, almost all the Longhorns who are eligible signed up. FPF is so well run that playing a 2nd game per week was an easy decision, especially being in the West Island and Thursday nights. Also not playing against 18-21 year olds is a nice change as we move up in age.

2. Given the variety of players at your disposal from KTFL, how was this roster decided?

We sent out the 35+ invite to all KTFL players. 22 signed up and those are the guys who make up Dagwoods and Polvige. Vince/Moodie and Myself/Lonnie split up and drafted the teams (at the Manoir like most sports teams do in the West Island.)

3. Currently 4-1, what were your honest expectations pre-season? How do you feel about your chances to win it all?

We wanted to be competitive and we have been so far. I figured we would be somewhere in the middle so 4-1 is nice, but doesn’t mean anything if we don’t keep it up. The environment has been great, all teams are playing hard but with respect so it’s been a blast for everyone. Playoffs are going to be a battle, everyone has won and everyone has lost. Will be interesting.

4. Last week, you guys had your first loss and more shockingly, you allowed 45 points. What went wrong and how can you fix it for future weeks?

Monster played an excellent game, no shame in losing to an experienced team like Monster. 2 turnovers on the first 2 drives isn’t the start we wanted and the capitalized plus we got caught on a lot of deep balls, we’ll learn and adjust. We get to play them again in week 8 so I’ll be a different game I’m sure.

      5.Dagwoods have proven that the you and Lonnie can switch roles and still be successful. In what situation can see you throwing instead of Lonnie?

Zero chance. Lonnie is the guy. Barring injury or absence, that was a one hit wonder.

6. Who is your most underrated superstar?

The Kirkland Dome, they serve you beer and pizza on the sidelines. There is no greater superstar than that.

Finish this sentence. We are NOT going to win the Division 35+ championship because… before we talk about the championship we need to earn the right to make it to the finals, which starts with finishing the season strong and getting through rounds 1 and 2, I believe any team in 35+ has a chance so looking forward it.

 

Quick predictions for week 6:

 

Polvige Tech vs Dagwoods: Dagwoods will bounce back after a double-digit loss last week. Polvige are slipping every week it won’t change this week against their KTFL brethren.

Relics vs Venom: After a huge win, I am going to go out on a limb and say Venom will put together another win. Relics are a great team but can be rattled at times which is something Venom will need to use to their advantage.

Hitmen Retro vs Monster Football: This is definitely game of the night but hard to call because as I said before, it all depends on Monster Football full roster being present. On the other hand, Hitmen always have 10 guys minimum weekly which always gives them a chance to win. I am going to go with Hitmen retro for that exact reason.

 

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 reading, good luck in your games and see you next time.