Categories: DivisionDivision 3Men'sWinter

Czikk’s Cover 3: Cooke carries B.D. Bandits in thriller

While Week 6 gave us several lopsided scores, Week 7 produced an ample amount of exciting, close finishes. The Brotherhood, Two and a Half Dans, Coyotes and Dad Bod Squad all kept up their undefeated seasons, but it wasn’t easy.

Prestige World Wide notched their first win of the season, 6 + R moved to 5-1 on the year and Top Sauce improved its record to 5-2. But several other games were worth watching as well.

Wolfpack takes defensive showdown vs. BearSkins

QB Pascal Murray and his Wolfpack teammates knew coming into Sunday evening that they had a tough opponent. BearSkins had only lost once in five games.

Wolfpack (4-2) came out on top with the 19-13 win, sporting a strong defense and showing the rest of the league that they can turn it on when necessary. 

Things got started when Murray hit Hugo Dupuy for the game’s first points. On BearSkins first play of their ensuring drive, QB Neil Etinson tossed a 40-yard TD to Marco Bertoldi. Once Wolfpack got the ball back Dupuy made another nice catch, but former Concordia Stringer defensive back Connor O’Brien picked off Murray in the endzone a few plays later.

Etinson targeted the speedy O’Brien several times in the game because it became apparent that he was either beating corners or was getting open in zone coverages. Still, BearSkins surrendered several drives in the first half to turnover on downs.

When Murray got the ball back Thomas Chaussé took a comeback route for a nice 25-yard gain, but Wolfpack would give the ball back on downs. Etinson threw a pick to Francis Lapointe on BearSkins next possession. The day would be one of Etinson’s worst all season, going 13 for 31, two TDs and two picks.

Murray got the ball back and promptly threw another of his interceptions on the day to Bertoldi. The first half ended at 6-6.

In the first play of the second half Etinson scrambled for close to 20 yards, but again it resulted in a turnover on downs after Bertoldi dropped what should have been a TD.

Murray hit Alexandre Cavanaugh on a nice ball in their next possession but the QB threw his third pick of the game, this time to Sasha Papich. Etinson finally found O’Brien on the deep ball for 25 yards and BearSkins took the 13-6 lead.

Murray lead his men up field after surrendering the lead and found Eric Deschambault on a nice corner route for the score, then again on the conversion. 13-13.

BearSkins couldn’t do anything with the ball and Murray again led his team down the field. He hit Vincent Lajoie on a short TD, who just managed to cross the line.

BearSkins (4-2) had five plays left in the game, but Deschambault picked off Etinson, sealing the win for his team. The hero of the evening said BearSkins had been running the same play all game, with both the slotback and center running slants. He had been jumping the center.

On that play, he tried to jump the slotback receiver’s pattern, and it worked out.

We caught up with both Deschambault and Cavanaugh after the game, and talked about the big play and Wolfpack getting a hard earned fourth win against a good team.

B.D. Bandits steal high-scoring thriller on Cooke’s five TD night

On the other side of the field, B.D. Bandits (2-4) came out on top 38-30 in a fireworks show against Red Raiders (2-4).

Bandits receiver Casey Cooke, a former McGill Redmen, caught five of Mark Belvedere’s six touchdown throws, finishing the day with eight receptions for 115 yards. Belvedere went 24 for 30, 248 total yards and didn’t throw a pick.

Steve Sanner (6 rec, 33 yards, TD) caught Belvedere’s other score, but the day seemed all about Cooke and his dominance.

On the other side of the ball, Mike Roy and his Red Raiders offense continued some nice momentum after last week’s come-from-behind win over Brocassion. Kenton Lowe played the hero last week, and on Sunday he made another huge impact, hauling in three TDs on five catches and 76 yards. Jeremy Rooney chipped in four catches for 72 yards and a pair of scores.

The game turned out to be a true back-and-forth affair, with both teams answering back when the other would score. At the end of the first half it was deadlocked at 18-18, and the Bandits came out on top with a last minute touchdown to Cooke. That was after Roy hit Lowe for Lowe’s third TD of the game.

We caught up with B.D. Bandits Belvedere and Cooke to talk about the receivers huge day. Cooke made it clear: “we gotta run the table. It’s real simple.”

Around the League

Dad Bod Squad (6-0) narrowly avoided having its perfect season ended on Saturday when they beat Jonesers (2-5) 31-30. It was tied at halftime 12-12. Dads QB Sean Avraam had a nice game, going 20 for 27 for 215 yards and five scores, while Jonesers QB Ryan Lelinowski completed 13 of 26 passes for 182 yards and five TDs.

Dave Chitayat had another massive night for Jonesers, hauling in 126 yards and four TDs, but it wasn’t enough. Four of Avraam’s receivers had at least 25 yards.

Coyotes (6-0) also won a close game to remain undefeated when they took out the winless Les Buddays (0-6) 44-39. Coyotes pigskin-launcher Sammy Feder threw golden tickets to Josh Feder (2), Shawn Steen (2) and Kevin Smuda (1). It also says AJ Rashkovan caught five balls for 40 yards and a score, but it must be a mistake.

On the other side, Alexandre Doucet registered three catches, all of which went for TDs.

The Brotherhood moved to 6-0 by crushing the morale of Show Me Your TDs (3-3) 44-6. Theo Ojeaha threw six TDs, spreading the magic around to Khalil Kerr (2), Kevin Kaya (2), Jamal Gittens (1) and Saad Majid (1).

Two and a Half Dans also kept up their undefeated season, beating 8 Boys 1 Cup 25-21. Danny McFee grabbed a pair of touchdowns on eight receptions (and two sacks on defense) while Matthew Rupcic picked off two passes. QB Joey Taylor was picked off twice despite throwing four TDs, the first time he’s thrown an interception since Week 3.

6+R improved to a nice 5-1 record after taking out Les Messieurs Chats (0-6) 38-24. It was already 26-12 after the first half. Frédéric Viens threw five TDs and had just five incompletions on 22 pass attempts. On defense Veins went beast mode, picking off two of David Centomo’s passes and taking one to the house.

Top Sauce (5-2) also notched their fifth win of the season by beating Gros Chefs Bandits (1-5) 35-26. QB Vince Nardone hit Jean-Daniel Chevalier for four touchdowns (5 rec, 120 yards). Justin McLean added 60 yards and a TD. Nardone added a game-high six tackles.

It was a big day for Prestige World Wide (1-5), as the guys finally got their first win of the season against the winless Heismans (0-6) 47-38. Paul Lapierre had a monster game catching the ball for Prestige, registering 11 catches for 131 yards and two scores. Louis-Michel Dubreuil scored three times on five catches.

The Heisman’s Chris O’Kill, who has a great last name, caught a few passes and made an interception on defense in the losing effort.

It was a disappointing finish for Laval’s Finest (4-2) Saturday night as they dropped just their second game of the season. And it wasn’t pretty either, losing 46-25 to F.O.E (4-2). F.O.E QB Alex Holowach went 22 for 29 for 242 yards, six TDs and no picks. He spread the action around nicely, throwing TDs to Jeremy Anderson (2), Jordan Moses (2), Travis Moses (1) and James Nowakowski (1). Nowakowski also pick-sixed Laval QB Justin Lavallee in the decisive win.

Brocassion (4-2) took a “L” last week but bounced back nicely Saturday night. They hammered OTF (1-5) 44-24, and woke up in Beast Mode.

QB Kristian Cerantola threw six TDs on just 12 completions, but threw scores to all six of his receivers. Now that must have been a happy team. Kyle Lebofsky also housed an interception on OTF QB Mario Porreca, who had a miserable day at the office (9 for 21).

Power Rankings

  1. The Brotherhood (6-0): The Brotherhood had another big night this past week, destroying Show Me Your TDs 44-6. Theo Ojeaha’s ridiculous TD-to-INT ratio now sits at 35-to-1. Their defense has allowed a league-best 69 points while their offense has scored a league-best 264 points.
  2. Coyotes (6-0): Coyotes won again, but this time they put up a season-high 44 points. Their offense is well positioned to do damage in the playoffs and Sammy Feder continues his strong season under center. He leads the league in completions (122) and completion percentage (75.3%).
  3. Two and a Half Dans (6-0): The Dans did it again this week, beating 8 Boys 1 Cup by 4 points. I’m not sure they’re as powerful as Coyotes, but I get the feeling these guys could be playoff wonders.
  4. Dad Bod Squad (6-0): This week ended up being all that the Dads could handle, as they escaped Jonesers by one point. It’s not the first time the Dads have won a game by one point. The question is, is this a good or a bad sign?
  5. 6 + R (5-1): They move up one spot from last week after another win. These guys seem to have a nice defense with a lethal pass rush (Anthony Garant leads the league with 16 sacks). On offense they’ve scored at least 38 points in four of their six games.
  6. Top Sauce (5-2): Top Sauce has scored more points than every team except the brotherhood, and QB Vince Nardone leads the league with 1,343 pass yards. Justin McLean has emerged as one of the league’s best receivers (562 yards, 13 TDs).
  7. Laval’s Finest (4-2): Despite two losses, Laval’s Finest has put up some very good numbers with 206 points scored and a respectable 138 against. Since taking over for the last four games at QB, Justin Lavallee is throwing for 218 yards per game. His receivers all chip in with five guys having scored at least four TDs.
  8. F.O.E (4-2): F.O.E moved into the top 10 after a convincing win by a wide margin over Laval’s Finest this week. A capable group of receivers will look to lean on QB Alex Holowach as the playoffs near. Holowach has passed for 1,212 yards, second best in the league.
  9. BearSkins (4-2): Despite a disappointing loss to Wolfpack on Sunday night BearSkins still sit with a good record at 4-2. Neil Etinson likely had his worst game of the season in the 19-13 loss, but he can exact revenge on a 1-5 OTF team that hasn’t won since January.
  10. Brocassion (4-2): Brocassion jumps back in the top 10 after an uplifting 44-24 win over OTF on Saturday night. They’ll be licking their chops this week when they look to notch their fifth win against the winless Heismans.

 

Big Matchups in Week 8:

  1. F.O.E (4-2) @ Dad Bod Squad (6-0), February 25 at 10:00 PM
  2. 6 + R (5-1) @ Top Sauce (5-2), February 26 at 7:00 PM
  3. Two and a Half Dans (6-0) @ Wolfpack (4-2), February 26 at 8:00 PM
  4. 8 Boys 1 Cup (2-4) @ Lightweight (4-2), February 26 at 11:00 PM
  5. Laval’s Finest (5-2) @ Lightweight (4-3), February 27 at 10:00 PM