Upsets Continue in Co-ed

The Spring 2019 co-ed season has already reached its halfway mark. Last season, I remember complaining about the predictability of co-ed. The teams I expected to win, did win, week in and week out. This season, I have the opposite problem. Predicting the outcome of games is just about impossible since there are a couple of upsets every single week. Week four was no exception. Out of the three games, I only predicted one correctly.

That game that I did predict correctly was the one between Midtown and Party Mix. As I anticipated, Party Mix managed to escape with the victory. In last week’s article, I said the only way to beat Midtown was to take away the deep ball and force them to march down the field with short passes. While I did not see the game, the stats seem to indicate exactly that. In Midtown’s week 4 win against Kiss My End Zone, QB Phillip Enchill averaged nearly 15 yards per completion. In Midtown’s loss to Party Mix, he averaged only nine yards per completion. There is nothing wrong with averaging less yards per completion, however, it does indicate that fewer deep passes were completed. Limiting Enchill to less than ten yards per completion was quite the feat. It was the first time all season he was forced to throw so many short passes. Coincidently, it was also the first time they lost. That fantastic defensive effort on the part of Party Mix was led by their marquee players: Jeff Brown and Benjamin Léger. These two players are both extremely talented in their own right, but they play a very different style and their stats support that. Brown tends to let players catch the ball in front of him and then he makes the tackle to limit yards after the catch. Having a player like him in the flats is invaluable against a team like Midtown, especially since they rely heavily on yards after the catch. Brown finished with five tackles and a defended pass. On the other hand, Léger is a more traditional safety. He plays deep in the secondary and does his best to prevent the opponent from completing passes over the top. He finished the game with an interception and a defended pass. Clearly, he did a fantastic job since Midtown hardly completed  any passes over the top. These are two talented teams and there is a good chance they meet again in the playoffs. If they do, it is sure to be another exciting matchup.

The outcome from the match between Yin&Yang and Michael Scott’s Tots definitely surprised me. The last time these two teams met was in the winter 2018 co-ed semifinals. It was a match for the ages and went right down to the very last play. MST has essentially the same roster as they did in that semi-final. On the other hand, Y&Y has upgraded massively. They have Gino Di Fazio at quarterback and added dynamic playmakers such as Isiah Allard and Phil De Kovachich. In short, Y&Y constructed a star-studded team designed to win the championship in co-ed 1. On the other hand, MST were playing with the same roster that lost them the co-ed 2 semi-final last season. This really shouldn’t have been a close game. Somehow, MST managed the impossible and drew against a much-improved Y&Y squad. That draw was largely duo to the fantastic play of Rico Tulino. He torched Y&Y’s defence with five receptions for nearly 100 yards and three scores. While it would be easy to only talk about MST and their underdog performance, Y&Y still had a decent game and put up 34 points in the progress. The offensive prowess is largely due to the superb play of their two women. Olivia Sormany led her team in receptions with six, in receiving yards with 76 and in touchdowns with two. Keiya Allen-Beckles had a quiet night by her standards: only two receptions for 50 yards. Y&Y are facing another co-ed 2 team next week in Kiss My End Zone. While they will enter that game as heavy favorites, week 4’s tie against MST proves they are vulnerable.

 

Week 4 Team of the Week:

Each week, I name 12 players to the team of the week (TOTW). Since this is co-ed and there always needs to be two girls on the field, both the offensive and defensive team of the week will feature two or more girls. If you are on the offensive TOTW, you cannot be on the defensive one.

Offence

Quarterback: Sara Parker (3rd Down for What) 264 passing yards, 6 passing touchdowns, 72% completion rate 

Receiver: Olivia Sormany (Yin&Yang) 6 receptions, 76 receiving yards, 2 TDs

Receiver: Jeremy Murphy (3rd Down for What) 8 receptions, 126 receiving yards, 3 TDs

Receiver: Rico Tulino (Michael Scott’s Tots) 5 receptions, 92 receiving yards, 3 TDs

Receiver: Emma Racine (Party Mix) 5 receptions, 69 receiving yards, 2 TDs

Receiver: Raphael Ducas-Lapalme (Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce) 4 receptions, 81 receiving yards, 2 TDs

Defensive

Rusher: Marilou Cote Noel (Party Mix) 1 sack

Defensive Back: Alexandre Samson (Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce) 2 tackles, 3 defended passes

Defensive Back: Abigail Cockerton (Kiss My End Zone) 1 interception

Defensive Back: Jeff Brown (Party Mix) 5 tackles, 1 defended pass

Defensive Back: Phil De Kovachich (Yin&Yang) 3 tackles, 2 defended passes

Defensive Back: Edouard Leroux (Black Mamba) 6 tackles

 

Week 4 Game of the Week:

Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (46) vs 3rd Down for What (41)

I mentioned earlier that there were three surprising outcomes this week. Well, the third and most surprising of those was the game between 3rd Down for What and Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce. I expected 3DW to go undefeated this season and potentially win the championship. SHCS threw a wrench into those plans. All season, I have been critical of the play of Jean-Felix Marquis. I have criticized him for running too much and for throwing to the same receivers. I would love to say it was my constructive criticism that fixed Marquis’ play. The more likely explanation is that the return of Raphael Ducas-Lapalme sparked life into SHCS’s offence. My biggest criticism of SHCS has always been that they do not spread the ball enough. Well, this week they spread the ball and guess what, their offence came up big. Marquis passed for 175 yards to go with his six touchdown passes. However, what ultimately made the difference was Marquis’ legs. 3DW’s  quarterback also threw for six touchdowns, but what ultimately made the difference in this game was Marquis’ 51 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. Impressively, he racked up all those yards with only two rushes.

On 3rd Down for What side of things, the absence of Alexis Gaumont was a major factor. Without the lanky and speedy deep threat, their offence was unidimensional. Luckily, for 3DW that one dimension was the uber talented Jeremy Murphy. Even if SHCS knew where the ball was going, there was absolutely nothing they could do to stop it. Murphy had a game for the ages with eight receptions for 126 receiving yards and two scores. If these two teams meet again, it will be in the playoffs. Likely, Alexis Gaumont will be back for that game. If Parker and company put up 41 points on SHCS’s defence without their start receiver, they could easily score 50 with him in the lineup. This was a statement victory for SHCS, but their defence will need to rise to the occasion if they hope to beat 3DW again.

 

Week 5 Predictions:

Midtown (3-1) vs Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (2-2)

Midtown are fresh off their first loss of the season and Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce are flying high after beating one of the best teams in the division. The easy thing to do here would be to predict a SHCS win. However, I don’t think that will be the case. Midtown lost because Party Mix were able to take away the deep ball. Last week’s performance proved SHCS’s defence was porous so I do not think they will be able to do take away the deep ball like Party Mix did. While SHCS’s offence will score points, I think their defence will concede more.

Prediction: Midtown

Black Mamba (2-2) vs Drunk Again and Looking to Score (2-2)

Last week, Black Mamba once again defied my predictions and secured a victory. However, that game was against a Kiss My End Zone team with only 7 players. Three of KMEZ’s top players showed up at the wrong time and so they were left scrambling. Both of Mamba’s wins this season have come on the very last play of the game. At a certain point, their luck will have to dry up. I think that point is now.

Prediction: Drunk Again and Looking to Score

3rd Down for What (3-1) vs Party Mix (3-1)

Party Mix proved that they can play with the very best in their week 4 win over Midtown. However, 3rd Down for What are a very different team than Midtown. 3DW have no qualms about marching down the field slowly and methodically. Sara Parker has the patience to throw slants and hooks all game long as well as the accuracy to avoid turnovers. I do not think Party Mix’s offence will be able to keep up.

Prediction: 3rd Down for What

Kiss My End Zone (1-3) vs Yin&Yang (1-2-1)

Last week, Y&Y proved that they can basically score points at will. On the other hand, certain flaws in their defence were also exposed. Unfortunately, Kiss My End Zone’s defence is still a work in progress. Stopping Gino Di Fazio and his array of stars is no easy task and I’m not quite sure KMEZ is ready for it.

Prediction: Yin&Yang

By the time you are reading this, it will probably be just a few hours before your week 5 game kicks off. I hope this article got you in the mood for your game! Best of luck to all in week 5 and please, please try to make a few more of my predictions come true this time!