Division 4A and 4B Mid-Season Report

Welcome to Week 5 of the FlagPlus Football regular season. Since we are at the mid-way point of the campaign, I will be giving you guys my annual Mid-Season Report.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with how this works, I will be putting teams into three categories; Pretenders, Contenders, and We’re Not Sure Yet.

In the past, I have received mostly positive feedback not just for the article, but for where teams are placed at the mid-point. For those who are unhappy, the solution is simple, go out, and prove me wrong.

Without further delay, here we go…

 

Contenders

69ers (4-1) – Obviously, the best offensive team in 4A, will end up in the in the Contenders category.

With arguably the best Quarterback in the division, in veteran Shea Harbour, who leads all passers with 26 touchdowns, a smart, and solid tackling defense led by Dean Demetriou, and a veteran team overall, this squad will be tough to knock-off this post-season.

 

A (42-32) upset loss to The Commission Saturday night in Brossard, raises some questions, especially after the 69ers were gift-wrapped a (13-0) lead, due to multiple players from TC arriving late to the game due to traffic, and road conditions.

 

Is this just a small bump in the road for a team many predicted would be the odds on favourites to represent Conference A in the 4A Finals, or is it the start of something bigger? Let’s wait and see.

 

Warhawks (4-1) – While they give up a few more points than they should with 160, led by the impressive trio of Quarterbacks Fred Mallette, and Wide Receivers Raphaël Ducas-Lapalme and Laurent Ladouceur, the Warhawks have no problem lighting up the scoreboard on opposing defenses.

Creating turnovers, is also a bit of a problem for this squad, as they have only forced four so far. For a team with the Warhawks talent, you would assume that they would have more than that.

Hopefully, the Warhawks, will be able to fix their problems sooner than later, because they finish the regular season, with arguably the toughest schedule of all, as they face the Alpha-T’s, The Commission, 69ers, The Tide, and Les Montagnards. 

 

Mountain Lions (4-1) – If you look at their roster, heading into the season, you had to expect that this team would be strong on offensively, but after allowing only 93 points through five contests, simply put, these guys are beasts on the defensive end.

On second thought, that statement shouldn’t be surprising, as this team is loaded with playmakers on that side of the ball, in Kevin Smuda, Adam Rockman, Andrew Langburt, Zack Goldstein, and AJ Rashkovan, who leads the team with four sacks.

They suffered their first loss of the season Saturday night in an upset versus the Backyard Bullies (32-13). I expect them to have a bounce back game next week against the Siths.

 

Keyport Lock (4-1) – Jeff Rosenblatt’s team, is a dark horse to win the division, as they are deep and talented. More importantly, they have shown they can win tight games, which come playoff time, will serve them well.

While Rosenblatt, might not always throw the prettiest deep ball, he has been extremely effective at spreading the ball around to his receivers, which forces opposing defenses to have to pick their poison, as they will have to contend with Jad Aridi, Kevin Boustany, and red-zone threat Daniel Farag.

A big (26-25) win over Top Secret last, kept Keyport Lock in the Contenders category. A victory over Jagerbomb, in a key game this Sunday in Lachine, would give them even more reason to be here.

 

Alpha-T’s (3-2) – This team has the championship pedigree, which is the main reason why they end up in thid category. The Alpha-T’s, also showed they can rebound nicely, with their Week 4 victory over Gotham, that came on the heels of a heart-breaking loss to Mutation.

 

After losing (33-27) to Les Montagnards, Saturday night in Brossard, they will have a chance to immediately show if they can bounce back again, as they take on the Warhawks this weekend.

The Alpha-T’s have the talent and know-how to weather the storm, and shake off their early season stumbles. Let’s see how they do.

 

Mutation (3-2) – Another team with championship experience.

 

After starting off the season with two straight losses, Jean-Félix Marquis, and his team, have won three in a row, with wins over The Alpha-T’s, Top Secret, and Gotham.

The team formerly known as Trinity, is deep, talented, and fast. They also know what it rakes to preform on the biggest stage, as the core of the team has two championships under their belt.

This team has climbed all the way up from Division 6 a few seasons ago. Over the next few weeks, they face veteran teams in The Commission, Up & Coming, and the Siths. Going undefeated, or even (3-1) during that stretch, will definitely turn some heads.

Top Secret (3-2) – Top Secret bounced back after a tough Week 4 loss to Mutation, by edging out Friends in Low Places (34-33), this past Wednesday at Stade Hébert.

Top Secret, looks as they have the appearance of a team that plays both up and down to their competition, as 4 out of their five games have been decided by 7 points or less.

More importantly, they haven’t beaten a top team so far this season. With talent like Cédric Nuckle, Nicolas Saro, and the criminally underrated Alexis Labonté, they clearly have the talent to do so. Key matchups over the upcoming weeks against Keyport Lock, the Mountain Lions, Jagerbomb, and the B.D Bandits, will give us a better idea of who Top Secret, truly are.

 

Jagerbomb (4-1) – Led by Quarterback Simon Duchesne, for the first three games of the season, Jagerbomb, had the best offense in 4A as they dropped 38, 46, and 38 points respectively.

 

The last two weeks, has seen the offense hit a bit of a bump, as they were held to 12 points by the Jaguars, and 21 versus Show Me Your TDs. Luckily for Jagerbomb, they were able to go (1-1) in those games.

 

With Simon Lahaie, Jean-Felix Daloze, Felix Fontaine-Larouche, and Jeremie Lavoie-Patry, helping hold opposing teams to an average of just over three touchdowns a game (25.8), Jagerbomb, has shown that they can beat you with their defense as well.
Over the next three weeks, they have games against Keyport Lock, Backyard Bullies, and Top Secret. A (3-0) or even a (2-1) record during that time, would conceivably propel Jagerbomb, into the conversation among the division’s elite.

 

We’re Not Sure Yet

The Commission (3-2) – The season couldn’t have started off any worse for the Spring Division C champs, as they had un-inspiring Quarterback play, and in-fighting, that led to them starting the season (0-2), and looking completely loss.

The change at Quarterback from rookie Alessandro Barazzoni, to veteran Chris Olson, has seemed to spark the team, as they have won two in a row, and look to be on the right track. More importantly, the change allowed the offense to be more diverse, and made it possible for more of their receivers to get involved in the game.

While the arguing and trash-talk with other teams, and even each other has never stopped with this group, (yeah I’m looking at you Dom and Julian) it has become more bearable since the wins have started to come along for the ride as well as well.

After a big win against the 69ers, TC, will have their hands full with games against Mutation, Warhawks, and The Alpha-T’s, over the next three weeks. Let’s see what happens.

 

Les Montagnards (3-2) – Fittingly enough, given their Philadelphia Eagle-esque green jerseys, These guys are the kings of the shootouts and comebacks.

Their latest victims were the Alpha-T’s, who they knocked off (33-27), last night in Brossard.

Having played in Week 1, I can say that they are also good at capitalizing on your mistakes in coverage.

Les Montagnards, finish the regular season, with games against Gotham, TOPSZN, Mutation, Brocassion, and the Warhawks. Let’s see how they do.

These guys are the poster child for this section, as they have been the epitome of inconsistent. Are they the team that got handled by The Commission, or are they the team that looked great last night in a huge win over the previously u defeated Warhawks? It’s hard to tell.

One thing that isn’t tough to figure out, is that team is extremely talented. Whether or not they display it on a game-to-game basis, is another story.

 

B.D Bandits (3-2) – Led by veteran Quarterback Mark Belvedere, who put up a more than respectable 23 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions, and the always dangerous Steve Sanner at Wide Receiver, the B.D Bandits, are a team, who can put up points on just about anybody.

The other side of the ball, is a bit more questionable, as before last night’s (32-19) victory over The Tide, in which they picked off Quarterback Chris Pinsonneault 4 times, and sacked him twice, the B.D Bandits, struggled to create takeaways, and they had virtually no pass rush.

Hopefully, they can use last night’s win as momentum going forward, because for this talented team to not only make it to the post-season, but to make a run while they are there, they will to step-up their game more consistently on the defensive end.

 

Backyard Bullies (2-3) – This team is loaded with talent and championship experience, so it was more than a little shocking to see them get off to a (1-3) start.

They stopped the bleeding, with a huge upset victory over the previously undefeated Mountain Lions, (32-13) last night in Lachine. The win however, came at a cost, as Receiver/Defensive Back, Sean Avraam, injured his leg in the game.

The squad is deep, so they should be able to withstand the potential loss of Avraam, if he ends up missing any games.

Quaterback Scott Macdonnel, will also need to step up his game if Bullies want to go anywhere this season. Despite having talented receivers in Vinny Gualano, Rich Humes, the recently added Jordan Allard, and the aforementiond Avraam, the offense has been to under 20 points three times already.

Their remaining schedule sees them play three teams who can put up points, in the Jaguars, Jagerbomb, and the B.D Bandits, over the next three weeks. Let’s see if the Bullies, and their Quarterback, can keep up.

 

Jaguars (2-1-1) – With 10 sacks through the teams first four games of the season, Darryl Dorcely, who leads Div. 4 in Quarterback take downs, has proven to be the team’s MVP, as he has helped a defense that only has 4 interceptions, shutdown Jagerbomb, and Friends in Low Places.

Despite the lack of takeaways, the Jaguars defense, have shown to be fast and aggressive. While they sometimes get burnt, they have shown an ability to stay hungry, and more often than not, come up with a big play when the team really needs it.

 

On the other side of the ball, Quarterback Jimmy-Lee Janvier, has picked up where he left off last winter, when he throw for 50 touchdowns with this team. This season, all of his receivers have at least one touchdown. His ability to keep all of his receivers involved in the game is key, as it doesn’t allow opposing defenses, to focus on stopping just one player.

 

This is still a team that is still a little inexperienced as a whole. With upcoming games against experienced squads like LOB, Backyard Bullies, 69ers, and The Tide among others, it will give the Jags a chance to really make a statement.

 

Pretenders

 

Friends in Low Places (2-2-1) – Although they have wins over Show Me Your TDs, and the Backyard Bullies, FILP’s inability to pull out tight victories, has killed them.

Obviously, this team lives and dies with 4-time All-Star Danny D’Amour (as would most teams).

Credit however, should be given to Jared Buck, who has transformed himself from a solid Div. 6 Quarterback, to a good higher division receiver. 
For this team to go places, and to add more checks in the win column, they will need other players to step up their game, and come through in crunch time.

 

TOPSZN (2-3) – After losing three games in a row, TOPSZN, got back on track, with a much-needed (49-32) win over the Siths.

In the game, TOPSZN Quarterback Jarryd Taylor, had a solid performance, with 7 touchdowns, while throwing for a hair under 275 yards (274), while outdueling HOF QB Gino Di Fazio.

 

The team’s two next games, will be against the scoring duo of the 69ers, and Les Montagnards. TOPSZN, will need Taylor, and the rest of the offense to continue offensive explosion.

 

Siths (2-3) – Having had my defense shredded by them in Week 2, I can honestly say that the offense is primarily a two-man show, that consists of Sean Kennedy, and FPF Hall of Famer Carmine Pollice. In 5 games this season, the duo have combined for 68 catches, for 570 yards, and 14 touchdowns.

The only problem with their success, is that no one else is really involved in the offense. If you take away Pollice’s 40 receptions, and Kennedy’s 18, the next closest receiver (Etienne Caron) has 8 catches, followed by Tyler Grondin, who has 6.

Receivers can’t throw the ball to themselves, so it is on Di Fazio, to incorporate his other three offensive players on the field into the game plan a bit more. For a team that has only forced one turnover this season, a more balanced offense is a must.

 

Show Me Your TDs (1-4) – I’ll make this simple, with all due respect to their current Quarterback in Mike Addona, the loss of QB Jesse Dupuis, and Wide Receiver Alexis Gaumont, who they had on their Spring roster, has killed them.

Through five games this season, they averaged 20 points a game offensively, and they have scored more than three touchdowns in a game only twice.

Comparing it to their team from the Spring Season, through five games, with Dupuis as Quarterback, the offense averaged 28 points, and topped the 30 point mark three times.

While the team’s receivers in Alex David, Kevin Lubin, Anthony Addona, Donald Jacques, have been a productive group, they are likely not to match Gaumont’s team-leading 10 touchdowns.

Where this year’s team has looked good, is on defense. Through five games, have forced seven interceptions, as well as sacks, and they have held opposing teams to three touchdowns a game.

This year’s team will most likely have to rely on their defense to led them to where want to go.

 

LOB (0-4) – In what has to be the biggest surprise in all of D4, this veteran, and championship-laden squad, is winless through four games. Led by the always reliable Lonnie Johnson, and in possesion of playmakers, like François Deslauriers, Kenton Lowe, Jeff Brown, and Simon Bosquet Beaudoin, among others, heading into the season, there would be no way you could convince me this was possible.

What is even more puzzling, is how they have lost this season. Their offense has been virtually invisible, as they have been held to three touchdowns or less, in every game.

Defensively, the team has looked just as bad, as they have only registered three takeaways, and they allow opposing offenses to score thirty-three points a game.

 

The LOB schedule, sees them play 6 teams with a combined 13-15-1 record, which suggests that the team still has a good chance of putting a couple of wins together, and maybe with a lot of help, making a push for the playoffs. Before any of that happens however, they need to clean up their act on both sides of the ball.

 

The Tide (2-3) – Currently stuck in a two game slide after suffering losses to the Mountain Lions, and B.D Bandits, The Tide, will look to right the ship, when they take on Show Me Your TDs, this Sunday at Loyola.

Predominantly the same cast of characters as every other season, the only real big change this year, was inserting Chris Pinsonneault, at Quarterback, in place of usual starter Doug McKernan, who moved over to the Snapper position. Pinsonneault, has been solid at QB, with 19 touchdown passes, but his 9 interceptions are a little concerning.

Looking at the bigger picture however, the shift in passers, robs the offense of their best Wide Receiver, as despite the solid play of WR Sami Beg, who leads the team in catches (21), yards (258), and touchdowns (8), Pinsonneault, was the one player on the offense, who could consistently beat Defensive Backs deep, and score from anywhere on the field.

As good as McKernan, and Brent Callender, are at making big plays in small spaces, for a team that has only two interceptions this season, getting explosive plays on offense is key.

 

Brocassion (2-3) – They have proven thst they can hang with some of the elite in Division 4A, as they fell to 69ers, and Warhawks, by one possesion each. Unfortunately, for Brocassion, close only counts in horseshoes.

Wins over TOPSZN, and Friends in Low Places, have put this team in the thick of the playoff hunt. In order to sepeate themselves from the pack, Brocassion, needs to put together some wins over the next few weeks, as they face Up & Coming, the Siths, Gotham, Les Montagnards, and Mutation to close out the regular season. 

To get some extra checks in the win column, Brocassion, will have to get more production from their secondary receivers, because after Joey Taylor, and Justin Cerantola’s combined 33 catches, none of the team’s other pass-catchers has more than 5 receptions. With talent players like Brandon Aylward, and Alec Cerantola, in the offensive huddle, the lack of production is inexcusable.

Up & Coming (2-3) – At first glance, this team is way to talented, and has way too much big game, and championship experience, to be on the Pretenders side of the column, but Up & Coming, has looked like a squad that is down and out for the majority of the season. 

Whether it be a win o er the lowly Siths,  blowout losses to the B.D Bandits, and The Commission, or a tough 1-point defeat to Les Montagnards, Up & Coming, had the look of a team that beat on the weaker teams, but couldn’t get the job done against the tougher ones.

A solid (42-26) win over the previously undeafeted Warhawks, quieted some of the doubters for now. 

With 10 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions, Quarterback Travis Moses, hasn’t been horrible so far this year, but he also hasn’t really helped his team all that much either. 

The team, and their QB have the talent to turn their season around. Let’s see if they can.

Gotham (0-5)  – My, how the mighty have fallen. Ok, maybe mighty is too strong of a word, but the tough and gritty team who played some of the ugliest football you would ever see, but still managed to find ways to win, hasn’t been able to capture the same type of magic this season.

Quarterback Chris Rivest, has been up and down so far, as 14 touchdowns, to go along with a divisin-leading 10 interceptions. For an offense that has scored a combined 25 points over their last 2 games, protecting the ball has to be priority number one.

One the positive side, there is still hope for Gotham. Wide Receiver Isiah Allard, has been a monster, as he has put up 21 catches, for 350 yards, and 6 touchdowns, while Fellow WR Alexandre Provencher-Rivest, hasn’t been to shabby either, as he has recorded a more than respectable 21 receptions of his own, for 213 yards, and 4 trips to the endzone.

More importantly, besides their losses to the 69ers, and Apha-T’s, in which they lost by 19 both times, Gotham’s other three defeats, have been by a touchdown or less. Last season, the team went (2-1-1) in games decided by one possesion.

Going forward, the major question that needs to be asked, is whether or not they can shake off their disastorous first half.  With games against the Siths, Brocassion, and TOPSZN coming up, we’ll see what Gotham, can do.

 

4B

 

Contenders  

 

Blue Chips (5-0) – The only undefeated team in the division, Blue Chips, have been dominant from the first game of the season, as they have beaten their opponents by an average of nearly 22 points (21.6).

In the Spring Season, this offense was predictable, in the sense that Quarterback Jordan Mitchell , would mostly just run around to buy time for his receivers to get open, and then chuck the ball up to them. At 4-5 times a game, he would throw a 50-50 ball.

This season, the FPF veteran, has learned to embrace the short pass a little bit, as his yards per attempt are slight down, but so are his interceptions.

This is still a relatively young team, so time will tell what will happen when the post-season rolls around. Regardless, with their unique combination of speed, and athleticism, they have the ability to go all the all the way. Whether they do or not, will be up to them.

 

Norfolk In Chance (4-1) – One of the many teams who could be left standing when it’s all said and done, Norfolk In Chance, have been annihilating teams with a suffocating defense that has given up an average of just over a touchdown a game (9.25 ppg).

 

They are coming off of an impressive (34-6) win over the Sphinx, in which they dominated from the beginning to the end.

The only hiccup they’ve had this season, was a (19-18) loss to Be Ready in Week 2. Hopefully, we’ll get to see the rematch in the post-season.

 

Be Ready (4-1) – A mostly veteran squad who are looking for their first championship, Be Ready, is led by a turnover generating defense, that has forced a division-leading 17 takeaways.

The only real concern I see popping up with this team is on offense, where the majority of it flows through only Devin Daoust, and Dilan Daoust, who have combined for 38 catches, while the rest of the team has put up a grand total of 19. A more balanced game plan is needed here.

Looking at the bigger picture, their aforementioned win over Norfolk In Chance, was big, but Be Ready’s pretty easy remaining schedule the rest of the way, means that we might not get to see how good this team really is until much later. For now, I will give them the benefit of the doubt.

 

Martine et le Flag (3-1) – The dynamic duo of Guillaume Ranger, and Justin Dion, who have combined for eight touchdowns on offense, and twelve interceptions on the other side of the ball, are a huge part of a team is a legit threat to go all the way.

 

Games against Norfolk In Chance, Be Ready, and A-Squad, will be big tests. We will see if Martine et le Flag, can take care of business.

Les Studs (3-2) They lost by five points to the Sphinx, in Week 1. Over the next three weeks, they beat the Grinders, Lobster Dinner, and The Manglers, not exactly a murderer’s row, then lost last night (53-40), in a shootout versus Truth Squad.

With players like Samuel Caron, William Nkaye , and Félix Laflamme , there is no doubt that this team has talent, but at this point of the season, it looks like Les Studs, can’t get the job done against stronger teams. Games against Blue Chips, A-Squad, and All Hooks, over the next few weeks, will show us more about Les Studs

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A-Squad (4-1) – This team has playmakers on both sides of the ball, to go along with a lot of experience. Yacoub Telemaque, has been the model of efficiency at Quarterback, as he has 18 touchdowns, and zero interceptions so far this season, and has thrown his name into the conversation for Quarterback of the Year.

 

Their defense, led by Junior Luke, and long-tenured FPF vet Rick Cummins, has eight takeaways to date. While the A-Squad, will need to force a few more turnovers wants to make a championship run, they have been stingy, as they’ve allowed only 8 points over their last 2 games.

 

Although they finish with an extremely easily schedule to wrap up the regular season, a Week 9 showdown with Martine et le Flag, will be worth watching, as it will have huge playoff implications.

 

Le Red Tiger (4-1) – With wins over Be Ready, Martine et le Flag, All Hooks, and LV, these guys have quietly been one of the best teams in 4B. 
Gabriel Samné, has submitted his name into contention for Two-Way Player of the Year, as he leads his team in receiving yards and touchdowns, with 232 and 7 respectively, while also recording 6 sacks, which puts him tied for third in the division.

The only stumble they’ve had so far this season, is a (34-6) beat down at the hands of Norfolk In Chance. (That seems to be a reoccurring theme for some teams).

A Week 7 affair at Stade Hébert, with the aforementioned Game Changers, will not only definitely be one worth watching, but it’ll give us a better idea of what Le Red Tiger, is really capable of.

 

Truth Squad (4-1) – Over the last few weeks, the Truth Squad, has shown they can be a sleeper team that is capable of going all the way. After pitching consecutive shutouts in weeks 3 and 4, that saw the team improved their record to (3-1), they won (53-40), in a thrilling shootout last night against Les Studs. The victory, put TS, one game out of first place in the Conference B East Division, behind the undefeated Blue Chips. 

 

Led defensively by Andrew Philipeaux, who is tied for the division lead in INTs with five, (the team has 10 overall) it is clear, they can create turnovers.

They are also the only team to give the undefeated Blue Chips, a run for their money, as they only loss their Week 2 matchup by a score of (34-26). Their remaining schedule, gives them an opportunity to place themselves among the top teams not just in Conference B, but in all of Division 4B, and hopefully another shot at Blue Chips in the post-season.

 

We’re Not Sure Yet

 

Lobster Dinner (2-3) – Their two wins have come against the Sphinx, and Grinders, while the team’s three defeats were handed down by Les Studs, All Hooks, and Martine et le Flag. What that says, is that Lobster Dinner, can handle the weaker teams, but they fall short against better ones.

 

Without question, there is talent on this team, in Brian Eudoxie (how is he not in HOF consideration?), Jean-François Trudeau, Mathew Bourbonniere-Morin, and Meïssa N’Garane, but they need to beat at least a couple of middle of the pack/contending teams, to be taken seriously.

 

Sphinx (3-2) – This team has been around forever. I remember playing against them before the league took stats the way they do now. 
Quarterback Etienne Cloutier, has put his name among the elite passers in the division, with 18 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, and a QB rating of 107.5. Hus distribution of the ball has also been noteworthy, as he already has four receivers who have at least 4 TDs.

Defensively, the face of the franchise in Mathieu Fafard, who leads his team with 3 INTs, is the leader of stellar unit that has only given up more than 20 points once so far this season.

With the exception of getting hammered by Norfolk In Chance, (34-6) in Week 4, the Sphinx, have been competitive in all their other games. 
It will be interesting to see where the end up at the end of the regular season.

 

Game Changers (3-1) – This is a very skilled team, who is capable of beating you in a tight defensive game, or a high-scoring shootout. Some of the core players are from a solid Yamajo squad, who made a run to the Division E Finals last spring.

Their dominant (37-13) win over a veteran LV team in Week 3, really impressed me, as the game appeared over about five minutes after halftime.
The team’s Week 2 loss to noname©, was concerning, given that the Game Changers, are clearly the better team. Perhaps, it was just a bad game.

Their remaining schedule, sees them play some solid competition in All Hooks, Le Red Tiger, and a must-see matchup with Blue Chips in Week 10, among others.

 

Past Our Prime (3-2) – With players like Craig O’Brien, Corey Cook, Ryan Payne, and Dale Williams, the experience, and championships, are plentiful.

While the offense is led by Wide Receivers Angelo Kalaidopoulos, and Tanner Burrell, it truly flows through everybody, as O’Brien, gets all of his receivers involved.

With a relatively easy schedule to finish the regular season, POP, has a chance to climb the standings, and solidify their spot in the post-season.

 

All eyes will be on a Week 8 showdown with Martine et le Flag, as it stands as a big game for both teams.

 

noname© (3-2) – After years of filling in at Quarterback for the usually ineffective Mike Roy, Jonathan Grizzley, has taken over the position full-time this season. The results have been mixed, due to the fact that while his stats look pretty good, and the team has a winning record, two of those three wins have come against weaker teams in Team Ethnik, and Grabuge. The move to put Grizz, at QB, also robs the team of their best receiver, despite the fact that Johnny Symonds, has helped pick up some of the slack so far.

 

Remaining games against stiffer competition in Norfolk In Chance, All Hooks, and Blue Chips, will prove whether or not the move was a good one.

 

All Hooks (3-2) – They have wins over the Mean Machine, Grinders, and Lobster Dinner, and losses to the Sphinx, and Le Red Tiger.
With players like Jeremy White, Jean-Christophe Ferland, and Felix-Antoine Lavigne, there is no doubting this team has talent, but they need it to translate into more impressive victories.

 

For now, I am going to loosely put them in the We’re Not Sure Yet category, but to be taken seriously, they will need to knock off some of the bigger dogs.

 

Pretenders

 

Mean Machine (2-3) – On paper, with players like Benji Ziegler, Matthew Gottlieb, and Jacob Goloff, this team clearly has talent. 
What they also have, is a lack of wins, and a problem with turnovers, in the sense that starting Quarterback Daniel Goloff, has thrown 13 interceptions (tied for the second most in 4B), while their defense has only forced seven of their own.

Out of their five remaining games, four are against teams with winning record. Although they are currently fifth, in the Conference A West division, they are only one game out of first. Time is of the essence however, if the Mean Machine, want to make the post-season, so hopefully they will be able to build off of the momentum of their (26-25) upset win over the Small Giants last night.

 

Vikings (1-4) Once you get past their solid receiving duo in Philippe Kotrbaty, and Felix Vaillancourt-Tremblay, it is clear that a lack of creating stops on defense, and the league-leading fourteen interceptions thrown by Quarterback Nicolas Gendron-Vallée, are killing them. This team must eliminate the turnovers, if they want to make the playoffs.

On the other side of the ball, they need to tighten things up, as they have given up more than 30 points, to all but one of their first five opponents.
LV (2-3) – With the exception of last night’s game against Le Red Tiger, LV through three quarters of football, had scored a grand total of 13 points. Not surprisingly, they have lost their last two games.

The planned change at Quarterback from Gabriel Côté, to Alex DaSilva, has not worked out, as the latter threw five interceptions in his debut, in a 37-13 loss to Game Changers, more importantly, Da Silva isn’t as explosive running with the football, as Côté is, which makes teams not to have to respect the run as much.

Team Ethnik (1-4) – Despite being the deepest team in Division 4B, Team Ethnik, can’t make enough stops, as all but one of their opponents have failed to scored 30 or more points. With guys like Angelo Garofalo, David De Andrade, and Alexandre Noel on the back-end, that is surprising.

 

On offense, this team has talent as well, but drops by receivers, and interceptions (13), as well as sacks (8) given up by Quarterback François Martin, who was superb in the FPF Cup, are hurting the team right now.

 

The team will also need other players besides Angelo Garofalo, and Henry Dam, to step up their game as receivers, and help out Martin.

 

Small Giants (2-3) – With names like Daron Migdesyan, Justin Lerner, Emmanuel Sarikakis, and Greg Kritselas, it’s safe to say that his team has an experienced roster.

In his third year with the team as Quarterback, Lerner, is on pace to throw for 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. The three-time All-Star, has been good at spreading around the ball to his weapons.

Their (26-25) upset loss to the Mean Machine, dropped them a few pegs in the standings, but with games against mostly middle of the pack teams remaining, the Small Giants, have a chance to separate themselves from the rest.

 

Tone It Down (1-3) – With the exception of (34-7) win over Grabuge, last week, Tone It Down’s defense, looked like a scene out of the Super Bowl, as teams have pretty much been able to score at will on them.

On offense, this team has two legit playmakers at receiver in Angelo Mourelatos, and Chris Coll, who have combined for 284 yards, and 5 touchdowns.

 

At Quarterback, the team appears to be rotating with Corey Watson, and Marvin Golding. Both plays can make plays with their arm and their legs. If I had to choose one, it would be Watson, as he has put superior numbers (7 TDs/2 INTs/66.7 Completion percentage versus 5 TDs/3 INTs/59.5 Comp %), against tougher competition, in LV, and the A-Squad.

Naturally, my opinion doesn’t count, so we’ll have to wait and see what Tone It Down, decides to do.

 

39 cent wings (1-4) – Can a team win, when their Quarterback throws more interceptions than touchdowns? The simple answer is no. The perfect example of that is with this team, as Malik Salim, Mike Maggio, and the legendary Jordan McLaren (why is a talent like him being used at QB?), have combined to throw a jaw-dropping five touchdowns, and seventeen interceptions…Yes, you read that right.

There is some talent on the team, in Dean Gragasin, Jovan Cober, Andrew Denis Lynch, and especially Mike Maggio, who has done some damage as a Wide Receiver and Defensive Back, but the team will need at least some positive play out of the game’s most important position, if they want to go anywhere.

 

Grinders (1-5) – You know what really grinds my gears? Sorry, but I had to…The old saying that if you have more than one quarterback, than you really have no quarterback, has been proven 100% right once again, as this team has trotted out four different players at the position, and the results have not looked great.

The best of the bunch, seems to be Benjamin Reed, who has a team-leading three touchdown passes, and a 58.2 QB Rating. Credit though, should be given Philippe Buchholz, who led the team to their only win this season, a thrilling (8-6) victory over 39 cent wings in Week 4.

Despite the multiple passers (he got a shot at the position himself), Mathieu Provencher-Tom, has been the most consistent player on offense, as he leads the team with 9 receptions and 156 yards, and is tied for the lead with 2 touchdowns.

On defense, Pierre Kalar, and Maxime Buteau, are leading the way, with a combined 5 interceptions.

Unfortunately, as is the case with many teams, the Grinders won’t be going anywhere until they can find a solution at quarterback.

 

The Manglers (0-5) – Needless to say, this is a building season for The Manglers, as very little has gone right for them.

Their abysmal record is surprising, as they have a veteran Quarterback in Ross Olshansky, who made his return this year, to FPF, after two seasons off. Before his exit, the fourth-year vet, had a fantastic two-year run from 2015-2016, where he threw for an astonishing 4,657 yards, and a combined 112 touchdowns.

I have watched Olshansky during that time frame. He is a good QB, that can extend drives and make plays, with his arm and legs. Right now, he is obviously struggling, as he and his offense have failed to score more than one touchdown in three straight games, and have scored a grand total of 46 points overall, which is the worst in the league.

Greg Lee, Shawn Bant, and Raymond Arsenault are three pieces that the squad can build around going forward, but this team, and their QB, clearly need more playmakers.

 

Grabuge (0-6) The second winless team in 4B, Grabuge, has been garbage on defense, as they have given up 180 points, which is second worst in the league.

The team’s offense is partly to blame for the defense’s struggles, as the O turns over the ball too much with 14 giveaways, and only 6 touchdown passes between Quarterbacks Alexandre Lemire, and Simon Lamarre.

Their one-point loss to Lobster Dinner (26-25) last night was encouraging team, as they pushed a better team to the limit. Hopefully, Grabuge, can learn from the game, and this season in general, and come back better next season.

 

That’s it for this week. My apologies for the lateness of the article, this took even longer than I thought, and there were also a couple of games this weekend that I wanted to see, before finishing the entire process.

Quickly, the Super Bowl was fantastic. I hate the Patriots, but even if they had won, I would still say it was a great game, because it was, so we all win in the end…Joe Montana is the real G.O.A.T.

If you loved the article, hated it, or simply felt like I left something out, feel free to e-mail me at [email protected], or hit me up on Twitter @BADNEWSB51

Cheers!