Division C Week 2: Blowouts, Upsets, Arrivals, and Statements

Welcome to Week 2 of the FlagPlus Football Winter Season.

Week 1 is in the books, and what a week it was. Upsets, blowouts, arrivals, and statement games, dominated act one.

Blowout contests also stole the headlines during kickoff week.

As I stated last week, I pretty much had no idea who The Crew were, or what they were all about. Well, now my team (The Commission), and I know.

Full of first year players, The Crew looked like anything but, as they demonstrated skill, poise, and aggressiveness on both sides of the ball.

Quarterback Jean-Samuel Coderre, looked like a season pro. The chemistry he had with his receivers, was evident from the team’s first offensive series, as he made a number of big throws, and displayed the accuracy and touch on the ball, normally associated with All-Star passers.

On defense, the team picked off The Commission QB Domenico Benevento once. The number could have been a lot higher, as they officially knocked down seven of his passes, and contested a number of other throws.

 

Clearly, The Crew, made a statement made a Week 1 statement to the rest of Division C.

There were a couple other blowouts in Week 1.

Blue Chips laid the hammer down, and wouldn’t let up, as they blew out The Magicians (39-6), Sunday night at the Stinger Dome.

Blue Chips Quarterback Jordan Mithcell, was a one man wrecking crew, as he torched The Magicians defense for 3 touchdowns through the air, and another three on the ground. Maybe the Baltimore Ravens should’ve called on Mitchell last Sunday.

On defense, Blue Chips Defensive Back Edwouard Valmé, was a beast, as he recorded a Division C high 9 tackles, to go along with 1 interception, and a pass deflection.

For The Magicians Quarterback Justin Lavallee, the rust he showed having not played since the 2017 Winter Season, was evident, as he missed a few open throws, and struggled to get in rhythm all night long. The former All-Star completed an underwhelming 7 of 26 passes, for 27 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT.

Let’s see if the veteran QB can rebound tomorrow night at Stade Hebert against the BearSkins.

Martine et le flag dished out a (32-0) beating of Freshmen, on the shoulders of Samuel Bédard’s 5 touchdown performance, 3 of which went to Wide Receiver Cédrick Cabana.

On defense, Martine et le flag, got contributions from Justin Dion, and Guillaume Ranger, who each recorded an interception, and the duo of William Marchand, and the aforementioned Cabana, who picked up a sack.
Last week I talked about Bédard, possibly being an up and coming QB in Div. C. Clearly, he delivered in Week 1. Let’s see what he and his squad do against a much tougher test, in the Junkyard Dogs.

Powered by 4 touchdown performance by Quarterback Ryan Lelinowski, and 2 interceptions by Defensive Back Jean-Christophe Binette, the Dirty Dawgs, cruised to (24-0) victory over the Big Ballers.

Big Ballers Quarterback David Polynice, struggled, as he only completed 10 of 24 passes, for 110 yards and 3 interceptions.

There were some positives however for the young squad, and it revolves around their defense.

While the former McGill Redmen Defensive Back didn’t have a strong outing throwing the ball, he provided solid coverage all game long, and recorded an interception.
Fellow DB Guillaume De Palma, was active on that side of the ball as well, with a game-high 5 tackles.

In the big picture, the Big Ballers defense, played pretty well, as they held a Dirty Dawgs team, who a enraged 30 points a game in the Spring Season, to only 24 points.

Kudos to both the Dirty Dawgs, and the Martine et le flag defense, on pitching shutouts. No matter what division you play in, keeping your opponent off the scoreboard is not easy to do, especially in a game like this, that is heavily geared towards offense.

Last week I talked about the potential explosiveness of the BearSkins offense, and unfortunately for Olympia Performance, they got to experience it firsthand.

After sitting out the Spring Season, Quarterback Neil Etinson, didn’t miss a beat, as he threw 7 touchdowns. If that wasn’t impressive enough, consider the fact that he had only 5 incompletions. Wow.

Etinson, spread around the ball all game long, as the 16-year vet, connected on passes with 6 different receivers, and threw 2 TDs to Vinny Gualano, Kevin Libman, and Marco Bertoldi.

For Olympia Performance, the first thing they must do to right the ship, is to settle on a Quarterback. They had nearly as many QBs (4), as they had points (6).

The best of the bunch appears to be Cory Watson, who completed a team-high 4 of 12 passes, for 34 yards, and 1 touchdown.

The goal for the team moving forward, should be finding out if Watson is their man, and then building the offense around his strengths.

Missing his brother Vincent Marquis, Trinity Quarterback J.F Marquis, and the Trinity offense didn’t miss a beat, as they put up nearly 40 points, in the team’s surprising (37-14) victory over the Junkyard Dogs, Wednesday night at Stade Hebert.

As expected, both Alexandre Samson, and Alexandre Jubenville, two players who have been with the team since the franchise made their FPF debut in the 2016 Spring Season, played a role in the win, with the former registering an interception, and the later recording a team-high 3 tackles, to go along with 3 catches for 51 yards, and a touchdown.

Trinity Snapper Stephane Turmel, had a solid performance as well, by leading the team with 8 receptions for 59 yards and a game-high 3 touchdowns.

The team’s additions of Marc-André Lapointe, and Nicolas Gendron-Vallée, that really paid off for the team, as both former All-Stars made plays on offense and defense respectively.

All in all, it was a really impressive win for Trinity, as they dominated their opponents, and pulled off what some, including yours truly thought was a minor upset.

Another minor upset took place at Stade de Montreal Monday night, as Les Studs, knocked off Les Maloudes, (37-32).

Last week I talked about Quarterback Samuel Caron, and the second year passer didn’t disappoint, as he threw for 245 yards, and 6 touchdowns, against a veteran defense.

Snapper Félix Laflamme, had a monster night of his own, as he caught 4 of Caron’s 6 TD passes.

For Les Maloudes, they played a solid games, and their offense looked in mid-season form. Dual-threat Quarterback Anthony Beauchamp-Frezza, lived up to his billing, as he threw for 5 scores, and averaged over 10 yards a carry, on 5 rushes for 56 yards.

The team’s defense, is what caught my attention. Although Defensive Back Marc-André Paradis, recorded an interception off of Caron, with the game on the line, and their team needing a stop, Les Maloudes, did very little to stop the Les Studs offense.

Clearly, with it only being Week 2, there’s no need to sound the alarm, but it will be interesting to see what they do against another strong offense, in the Dirty Dawgs this week.

Bears and Eagles fans would be proud of the defensive slugfest that was on display Wednesday at Stade Hebert, between Top Sauce, and The Brotherhood.

Both Quarterbacks, in Theo Ojeaha (The Brotherhood), and Vince Nardone (Top Sauce) really struggled, as they both threw 2 touchdowns, but they combined for 5 interceptions, and neither completed more than 50% of their passes.

One player who didn’t struggle, was Khalil Kerr of The Brotherhood. The 9-year vet, had a team-leading 4 catches for 41 yards offense, and led all players on the other side of the ball, with a game-high 5 pass deflections, to go along with a sack.

The difference in this contest, came down to conversions. The Brotherhood got one (they went for 2 in the first half), and Top Sauce didn’t get any.

Again, it’s early in the season, so I expect both teams to rebound offensively.

The Cougars versus The Brotherhood matchup should be a good one, as both teams have enough to stretch the field.

The potential chess match between AJ Gomes versus Theo Ojeaha, on both sides of the ball, should be something to watch, as Ojeaha will probably cover Gomes on defense, and Gomes, playing Safety for his team, will try to pick off any deep balls that Ojeaha launches.

The Jaguars versus The Crew, should be a must watch game as well.

Both teams have speed, and are aggressive on both sides of the ball.

Quarterbacks Jimmy-Lee Janvier (Jaguars), and Jean-Samuel Coderre (The Crew) looked great in Week 1, as they shredded LGM, and The Commission defenses respectively, and threw TD passes to multiple receivers, in their team’s victories.

Let’s see if they can repeat their performances this week.

After receiving an unintentional bye last week, due to a scheduling mishap with the Sports Complex of St. Laurent, South Harmon Institute of Technology, and Scored Your GF, had their game moved to Week 11.

Instead, South Harmon Institute of Technology, will kickoff their season against Blue Chips tomorrow in Lachine, while Scored Your GF will make their debut against Olympia Performance, Monday night at the aforementioned Sports Complex of St. Laurent.

Both games should be interesting to say the least. The former has the makings of a shootout, as each squad has the veteran experience, and firepower to light up the scoreboard, while the latter features two new teams, who are looking to establish some footing, in what will shape up to be an ultra competitive Division C.

Let’s see what happens.

 

Picks (favorites in bold)

 

TOPSZN vs Trinity – Trinity (My pick for Game Of The Week #1)

Big Ballers vs Sweat & Beers – Sweat & Beers

Les Studs vs Top Sauce – Les Studs 

The Commission vs The Alpha-T’s – N/A

The Magicians vs BearSkins – BearSkins

The Crew vs Jaguars – The Crew

Blue Chips vs South Harmon Institute of Technology – South Harmon Institute of Technology (My Pick for Game Of The Week #2)

Lightweight vs LGM – Lightweight (Upset Special #1)

Martine et le flag vs Junkyard Dogs – Junkyard Dogs (Upset Special #2)

Olympia Performance vs Scored Your GF – Scored Your GF

Les Maloudes vs Dirty Dawgs – Dirty Dawgs

The Brotherhood vs Cougars- The Brotherhood

Freshmen vs KGP – KGP

Last Week: (8-3) Sorry, but I can’t predict field issues

Season: (8-3)

 

NFL Picks

 

Indianapolis Colts @ Kansas City Chiefs – Indianapolis Colts (Upset Special #1)

Leading all Quarterbacks with 50 touchdowns, and a favorite to be named NFL MVP, Patrick Mahomes, has simply been incredible this year.

With 39 touchdown passes, Colts QB, and the odds on favorite to win Comeback Player of the Year, Andrew Luck, has been no slouch either.

For me, this game is simple. The Colts have the better starting Running Back, with the underrated Marlon Mack, and the superior defense.

Furthermore, the Chiefs are notorious chokers, they haven’t won a home playoff game since the true G.O.A.T Joe Montana, was throwing passes for them, and besides having two good pass rushers in Justin Houston (when healthy), and Dee Ford, the Chiefs, have a VERY suspect defense. Also, their best defender, in Safety Eric Berry, hasn’t practiced all week, and isn’t expected to play.

The run game, and defense travel, and that’s why I am going with Indianapolis.

 

Dallas Cowboys @ Los Angeles Rams – Los Angeles Rams

The Rams give up 5.1 yards a carry, which is definitely not the recipe for success, when facing the league’s leading rusher, in Ezekiel Elliott.

For some reason, (I assume it’s because of the fact that they are playing the Cowboys) everybody seems to forget that Todd Gurley III, is playing in this game too.

After resting in Week 17, and having the bye-week during the Wild Card round, the Georgia product, and his 1,250 yards, 5 yards per carry average, and 17 TDs, will make his presence felt as well.

Since Elliott and Gurley III cancel each other out, I think this will come down to three passing game. Both teams can get after the Quarterback, as they combined for 89 sacks, which is why I think that the team who wins through the air, will win the game.

Despite Losing one of the best slot receivers in the game in Cooper Kupp, the Rams, still have Robert Woods, Brandin Cooks, Josh Reynolds, and Tight End Gerald Everett.

For the Cowboys, after Amari Cooper who else can make a play? Allen Hurns, is done after breaking his ankle last week, Cole Beasley, is reportedly a game-time decision, with an ankle injury of his own, and despite putting up 119 yards against a hot-garbage New York Giants defense in Week 17 (it was only his second game of the year with more than 50 yards), that had Cowboys fans losing their minds talking about how Blake Jarwin, was the second coming of Jason Witten, the Tight End, is dealing with an ankle injury too, but is expected to play.

I think this game will be close, but I am going with the home team here.

 

Los Angeles Chargers @ New England Patriots New England Patriots – Los Angeles Chargers (Upset Special #2)

The Chargers defense sacked Lamar Jackson seven times in their Wild Card win over the Baltimore Ravens. For the Bolts to win, they will need that pressure against Tom Brady.

Chargers Quarterback Phillip Rivers, is (0-7) versus Brady, and the Pats. As I said last week, he is not even playing all that great as of late. Even last week against a Ravens squad that turned the ball over three times, the Bolts settled for five Field Goals, and only reached the endzone once.

The Patriots are the Patriots. Even with a semi-broken down Rob Gronkowski, and a somewhat suspect defense, betting against the Pats is just not smart.

Something however, intrigues me about this Chargers team. Look at their wins over the Steelers, Chiefs, and even last week against the Ravens, Anthony Lynn’s team, plays their best when their backs are against the wall, and they are considered the underdog.

Call me crazy, but I think the we against the world (maybe the Bolts will be playing some Tupac in the lockeroom before the game) attitude, and the fact that they are no longer playing in San Diego (stupid, but still) will help propel the Chargers to victory.

 

Philadelphia Eagles @ New Orleans Saints – Philadelphia Eagles (My pick for Game Of The Week and Upset Special #3)

I’ll make this short and sweet. Foles magic (not that junk Ryan Pickspatrick had people believing in this season), and the Eagles defensive line, are for real.

Also, when you blowout a team once in the regular season, especially when they aren’t a division opponent, it is hard to do it again.

Furthermore, the Saints aren’t exactly great at closing out close playoff games, while Nick Foles, has proven just the exact opposite.

 

Last Week (3-1)

Playoffs: (3-1)

 

NCAA (0-1)

I have never been happier to be so wrong. ACC All Day!!!!

 

That’s it for this week. I will be back next week with a recap of most of the games, a preview of Week 3, and a few other things.

Enjoy the games, good luck to everybody, and try to avoid the cold if you can.

If you loved the article, hated it, or so play felt like I left something out, feel free to contact me at [email protected] or on Twitter @BADNEWSB51