Blowouts. Blowouts everywhere.

It was a “weird” week. After a couple of weeks where we thought we had D1/2 figured it, this happened and I don’t think I even know who’s the top teams anymore. And that’s a good thing. The less I know, the better.

If I could predict the division’s winner preseason, what’s the point of even doing all of this, right? Right?

Let’s get started.

Week 6

Flag Moi L’Sac manhandled Monstars, Gladiateurs had a very, VERY convincing first win of the season over Wolverines who can’t stop spiralling, Waste Yout made a statement, Got-Skills jumped DK in the Rankings with that one-point victory and karma found a way to bite our fellow analysts in the ass as CLR Forces took down the previously undefeated Clockwork.

There is no better picture than this meme to really explain the situation.

MarcoMeme

Thoughts of the Week

I gotta give props to Jarryd Taylor for making a nice play on the ball on his interception that was overturned, but the highlight of the game came a bit later when Quaysie Gordon-Maule turned a 5-yard hook into a 40bomb by juking the entire BYOB team on his way to the endzone.
Congrats to the 5 new Hall of Famers: Serge Pilon Jr, Alex Pilon, Adi Sharma, Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze and Ryan Aridi. All phenomenal players who truly deserve to be inducted this year!
Special shoutout to referee extraordinaire Steve Hodhod. Most of you have had the chance to see him in action; he was a special player and he’s an even better referee. It’s truly a pleasure to work side by side with him.
Last, but not least, the infamous Peeze Della Reeze; Congratulations buddy. For all the work you put into this league on a weekly basis, this induction doesn’t seem like a big enough deal to really represent how grateful we are to have you among us. Although my name was on the ballot this year, we both knew this was your year.
I can’t be the only one who felt like Clockwork had it coming this week. Some of these memes were brilliantly placed; I love this community.
Was good to have Brent Callender back with us on the podcast, even for a short period of time.
I guess DK isn’t quite the team without the Pilons brothers.
I still think STL is gonna be just fine even after last week’s disaster.
Could Gladiateurs finally have their defence figured out? Having JP St-Pierre back at rusher is definitely a step in the right direction.
Braves 2.0 finally got their first win of the season (amongst many other teams this week) in impressive fashion. Is this more of them playing well or S Club Legion not being up to par with their opponents? Hmm.
Speaking of S Club Legion, they need to bounce back FAST. They’re playing Served With Ice this week; it’s bound to be a VERY interesting game.
BYOB vs #NR is bound to have just enough friction to turn this into a real barn burner. Does BYOB have the firepower to go toe-to-toe with the currently ranked #1 team in the division?
You Can’t Sit With Us vs Braves 2.0 is my pick for this week’s Game of the Week. It’s going to be much better than most people anticipate.

Recaps

Gladiateurs vs Wolverines: With their first and previous 4 games recorded as losses, Gladiateurs were in a bad spot trying to climb back out of the bottom seeds and make the playoffs, but displayed one of the best performances of the season this weekend against Wolverines who looked nothing like a D2 team. Myles Gibbon isn’t quite there yet and continues to struggle when defences give him multiple looks in a single drive and Francois Lebeau did not disappoint as he torched whoever lined up against his receivers for a hell of a performance. With 7 receivers recording a reception and 5 different guys getting touchdowns, there’s no better way to turn a season around. Mathieu Gratton had an instant impact in his D2 debut recording an interception and Paul Lapierre’s presence on this roster can only make their offence better moving forward; Glads could take a handful of teams by surprise in the upcoming weeks if they keep playing this way.
CLR Forces vs Clockwork: Probably the most hyped up game by yours truly and his fellow media member, CLR Forces needed a spark as their season was going off the rails and jumped on the opportunity to take a shot at Clockwork who thought they were, virtually, invincible this week. The game was quite close for the most part, but AJ Gomes’ drop/chest allowed for CLR Forces to pounce and make a play when they really needed something to go their way and the rest was history. Kudos to CLR Forces for finding a way to dig themselves out of a tough hole against a tougher opponent; I won’t read too much into this game. CLR got the break they needed and I’d hate to be stuck playing them this weekend, but this doesn’t mean that Clockwork isn’t still one of the favorites to go all the way this season.
You Can’t Sit With Us vs STL: Speaking with guys from YCSWU after the game, it was clear they got in Dylan Taylor’s head early and forced him into uncomfortable situation. When struggling, he tends to really heavily on Theo Ojeaha and teams seem to have picked up on it as of late, at least, You Can’t Sit With Us has. Rusher Chris Milard had an instant impact on this game forcing early throws and way too many discards-turned-into-interceptions that Dylan Taylor wouldn’t make on most nights. Although he wasn’t able to actually record a sack, the pressure he put out got his team interceptions and that’s, well, even better. STL’s defence did a fine job defending their endzone for most of the first half, but, at some point, they won’t hold forever and the flood gates broke open in the second half as Liam Mahoney managed to figure out what to do to put points on the board. All in all, a very impressive showing for YCSWU who climbs back up in the Rankings.
Waste Yout vs BYOB: Two weeks ago, during the podcast, we had a tweet-in from Jarryd Taylor stipulating he’s ready to put money on the line that Waste Yout would go undefeated the rest of the regular season. Wednesday night was a statement game that makes me believe they actually could make it happen. Their schedule is far from favorable, but they balled out. Trading blows for most of the game, Waste Yout were up 7 at halftime after Jarryd Taylor’s interception was overturned due to defensive holding prior to the pass. Fast forward a bit into the second half, BYOB has the ball, down a score, and needs to get something going, but Waste Yout made their stand and there was no denying Daniel Lazzara on Wednesday night, let me tell you that much. Although the game got “ugly” in the second half and multiple dumb penalties occured, it was clear the fast tempo from BYOB wouldn’t be enough to overcome the deficit. Down 2 scores with only 5 plays left, BYOB decided to keep fighting because, honestly, why not and with 3 plays left on the clock, Quaysie Gordon-Maule jumped the route perfectly and brought the ball all the way back for 6 to really seal the deal and turn a 12 point lead into an 18 point dominant showing.
Flag Moi L’Sac vs Monstars: Fellow media member Matt Kirouac said it best this week on the podcast: This Flag Moi L’Sac’s defence is disgusting. They can man up against pretty much everybody when their full roster is present, Francois Rocheleau is the kind of rusher they’ve been missing last season as he keeps the pressure on the opposing QB and allows FMS to execute their gameplan to perfection. With their only loss coming to Finest in week 1 of the season, FMS has been rolling since then and it’s tough to imagine these guys faltering again seeing how efficient they can truly be when all their guys show up. I do feel like this was more of a FMS performing excessively well kind of game rather than Monstars not being “good enough”; they were and will be competitive, but it’s not the type of team that will go 10-0 in a season. In what was, basically, the duel of the two QB gunning for the QB of the Year award, Alex Nadeau-Piuze came out on top by a significant margin.
Montreal’s Finest vs Rainmakers: Kicking off the game with 6 points, regardless of how long it took them, is exactly what Rainmakers needed. Michael Chitayat managed to set his team up perfectly early intercepting a pass from Kevin Wyeth and giving Rainmakers a shot to go up two scores early and take control of this game, but Ryan Kastner simply couldn’t make it happen and saw Kishon Thompson just a route on his way to the endzone for a pick-six that simply nullified the previous turnover and that was it. Momemtum had shifted back towards Finest and Kevin Wyeth isn’t known to make more than one mistake per game as he sailed “effortlessly” through the rest the game as he scored 6 Tds and kept Rainmakers at a safe distance. In what could’ve been the biggest upset of the week turned into “the same old performance” the Rainmakers seem to suffer week-in and week-out; it’s always close, but.

Players of the Week

Jonathan Maheu (Braves): After a handful of bad weeks, this is as clean and dominant as it gets: 7 passing touchdowns and no turnovers.
Mikhael Davidson (Flag Moi L’Sac): 50 receiving yards, but 4 touchdowns this week. His talent as a receiver were on full display this week.
Pat Jerome (Montreal’s Finest): 6 receptions, 55 yards, 3 touchdowns and one absurd back of the endzone catch that really showed how disturbingly good he is when Kevin Wyeth is throwing the ball.

Jamal Gittens (We P.O): After missing last week’s game, he made up for it with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions this week. It doesn’t get nicer than this; a couple of touchdowns and a defensive hat-trick.
Francois Lebeau (Gladiateurs): Gunslingin’ at its finest: 19/25, 224 passing yards and 7 Tds. That’s the dream right there.
Jonathan Maheu (Braves 2.0): 3 incompletions (total), 5 passing touchdowns, 2 INTs (one for six) and 2 Pds. Dirty.
Frederic Dupuis (CLR Forces): It doesn’t get better than this: 302 combined yards after being called out by your opponents. I think everyone is legit impressed here.
Quaysie Gordon-Maule (Waste Yout): Although his pick-six came on the last play of the game, he still made a great play on the ball. Oh, and he finished with 92 receiving yards and 3 Tds. You know, just because.

Power Rankings

Flag Moi L’Sac (4-1): We’ve got ourselves a new #1! They took down the previous #1 and earned themselves the right to call themselves #1 for at least a week.
Montreal’s Finest (4-1): Another impressive showing by Montreal’s Finest shows us they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
D-Boys (4-1):They’ve only allowed 105 points this season. Oh, and they have the best +/- in the division, just saying.
Monstars (3-2): You can’t win them all, at least not this season. They’ll be back though.
Got-Skills (3-2): With the head-to-head over DK now established, this could pay huge dividends in a few weeks time when we start talking matchups.
DK (2-3): This team isn’t quite the same without the Pilons in the lineup even with all their current star power. Can they claw their way back into the Top 4 by season’s end?
Braves (2-3): Another decisive win puts Braves back on the map and into contention status. I’m curious to see how things will unfold in the 2^nd half of the season for these guys.
MNX2.0 (2-3):After an impressive start, they’ve hit a hard slump and are falling quickly. They’re still primed for a playoff spot with the head-to-head over Top Guns and Rainmakers, but.
Top Guns (1-4): All this team really needs is one or two real play makers to be permanent addition and they’ll be feared once again.
Rainmakers (0-5): It’s always close, but it’s never enough. I haven’t changed my prediction; they will upset someone by season’s end.

#NR (5-0): The only team left undefeated in D1&2 combined. I’m not Moe Khan, I know these guys are for real.
Clockwork (4–1): Karma has a way to bite you back, huh. To be honest, I’m not worried a bit for these guys.
You Can’t Sit With Us (4-2): Huge climb after one of the most impressive performance of the season. Do not take these guys lightly.
Waste Yout (3-2): After seeing them play on Wednesday, I can no longer ignore their contention status in D2 this season. The two losses remain troublesome, but they seem far away now.
BYOB (4–1): An ugly loss that saw them miss one too many opportunity. A single bump or the road or signs of what’s to come? This is the toughest part of their schedule.
We P.O (4–2): Somehow ranked 6^th after 6 weeks, at full roster, these guys are an absolute juggernaut. The only possible worry is when they’re missing a handful of guys.
STL (2–3): Tough losses will have you drop a few spots. They need to end the slump now and get back to what really works for them.
Terror Squad (1-2-2): I can’t help but feel like their current +/- (of 0) really tells the story well here. They’re still in a good spot, so I wouldn’t worry just yet.
Gladiateurs (1-3-1): This week’s win goes a long way in helping them make the playoffs. Their offence has never been an issue and I’m starting to think they’ll be alright.
CLR Forces (1-4): They needed a spark and got it. Now it’s time to see whether this is permanent or not.
Braves 2.0 (1-3-1): Finally got off the lump and got their first W of the season (in quite the remarkable fashion). Is this the beginning of a hot streak or just a fluke?
S Club Legion (2-3): Back to back disappointing offensive performances is starting to worry me a bit. The rest of their schedule is favourable and should see them rise once again. Should.
Served With Ice (1-4): A loss by a score to the #1 ranked team shouldn’t sound any alarms, but they’re now tied for the last seed.
Wolverines (1-4): I cut them some slack earlier this season, but it’s getting uglier by the minute. They’ve got some figuring out to do if they want to remain competitive by season’s end.

Predictions

Montreal’s Finest vs Top Guns: Montreal’s Finest
DK vs MNX2.0: DK
Got-Skills vs Monstars: Monstars
D-Boys vs Braves: D-Boys
Rainmakers vs Flag Moi L’Sac: Flag Moi L’Sac

Gladiateurs vs We P.O.: We P.O.
BYOB vs #NR: #NR
STL vs Terror Squad: STL
Wolverines vs CLR Forces: CLR Forces
S Club Legion vs Served With Ice: Served With Ice
You Can’t Sit With Us vs Braves 2.0: You Can’t Sit With Us
Waste Yout vs Clockwork: Waste Yout

That’s it for me this week. Hopefully this will trigger you just enough to drop me a message either via email ([email protected]), twitter (@DagenaisFPF) or in person. Remember, I didn’t do this to you, YOU did this to you. Until next time…! One Job Eags, ONE JOB. Queue the right sound. Geez.

Week 6: Karma, blowouts and underdogs