Bombsquad’s Breakdown (Div 1/2) – Week 2

Week 2 is in the books and we are starting to see a trend in Division 1, as all the teams seem very close in talent and in scoring but where is the defense? In Division 2, it is a different story, as four teams are slowly establishing themselves as the teams to beat. So let’s get to it.

Countdown to detonation.

3. Montreal’s Finest take down the Redhawks 41-18. Kevin Wyeth and Rochdi Benabdelkader have apparently purchased the same book and seem to be on the same page as they continue to build rapport hooking up for a beautiful pass and catch at the end of the game. Wyeth is still spreading the ball around to everyone on the team and their brother. Wyeth was 16 for 22 for 162 yards and 6 TD’s. Five different receivers reached the end zone for the Finest. The Redhawks defense struggled in this one. Charles St-Martin did not turn the ball over but some key stops by the Finest’s D led to the gap in the score. But everyone in D1 better become aware of Jean-Christophe Viens who had 5 catches for 83 of St-Martin’s 130 yards and 2 of the 3 TD’s for the Redhawks. This team will be winning games very soon.

2. The Rainmakers fell to the defending champion Old Skool 53-47. Again the difference was a single interception by the Old Skool defense. But this game was a pure shootout. At one point we had three consecutive passes for 120 yards and 3 touchdowns. Ryan Kastner was just under 300 yards passing and 7 TD’s while Andy Peterkin had 278 yards passing and 8 TD’s. Shane Williams is quickly re-establishing himself as a beast on offense: 8 receptions, 152 yards and 5 touchdowns against his Spring season teammates. Three of those scores were 40-yard bombs. Kastner also had a hundred yard receiver in Charles-Antoine Sinotte who caught 6 for 112, including a pretty incredible score getting through most of the Old Skool D after the catch. Both teams spread the ball around but that costly pick was the difference.

1. The Demons defeat the Expos 39-30 in Round 1 of their season battle. Carmine Pollice hit early season favorite target Jacques Void 6 times for 88 yards and 2 TD’s and distributed the ball evenly to the rest of the offence. Pollice also helped his own cause, intercepting Expos’ QB Chad Byers. Byers who threw 4 scores and ran for another had two receivers with 7 catches a piece. Ricky Martin had 7 for 109 and 2 TD’s while Anthony Vendrame had 7 for 73 yards. The rest of the receiving corps had 4 receptions total. This matchup can go either way on any given weekend and this time the sun shone on a determined Demons team, which seems to have solved their major defensive issues from a year ago. I know the Expos are not worried this early in the season and I’m sure they are already looking forward to the next meeting.

7. One Night Stands got pounded 50-26 by the Gladiateurs led by Francois Lebeau who shook off the rust from week one and threw 7 scores on 174 yards passing and ran one in. It was a great week for fill-in Charles-Antoine Sinotte as he caught 5 TD”s from Lebeau on 9 catches. Alex Manseau had an efficient week as he caught 1 pass for 1 TD and also had 1 interception. On the other side O.N.S. just couldn’t get the job done. Craig O’Brien returned to the helm and had a 50% completion percentage, with 4 scores and a pick. Andrew Blevings was the workhorse catching 6 for 58 yards and 3 TD’s but it wasn’t enough on this day.

6. The Blazers got smoked by Victorious Secret 36-14. It was another rough outing for Blazer QB Leon Holder who threw 4 interceptions to four different defenders. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t thinking of spreading the ball around in that manner. Holder only completed 12 passes out of 26 tries for two scores. His receivers don’t have much to brag about either: Kenton Lowe led the way catching 4 passes for 26 yards and a score. On this day Paul Lapierre did what he had to do to win. He only had 10 completions for 159 yards but a big 4 TD’s. With Jason Prince and Rochdi Benabdelkader each chipping in with a pick-six, the game was out of hand earlier than expected. The Blazers need to find an identity. Paul Lapierre needs to up his completion percentage if he has hopes of repeating as a champion QB.

5. The Wolfpack edge the Tomahawks 37-31 behind Pascal Murray’s 19-29 passing for 249 yards and 6 TD’s. Two of which were to Mikhail Davidson, who also caught 8 passes for 112 yards. Snapper Alexandre Cavanaugh also had 2 TD’s on 5 receptions and 44 yards. Once again the difference in the game was the one interception thrown by Grilli who was 21 for 33 for 223 yards and 5 touchdowns. Grilli was very efficient throwing all 5 TD’s to different receivers. His go to guy was Dany Ostiguy who caught 8 for 76 yards. The way this season is going it seems that the smallest slip costs you the game. But at least Grilli had the lone pick and improved over his first outing.

4. The Triple Sixers defeat the Wolverines in a relatively close 19-7 battle. Big story is Karim Choaual had 34 pass attempts! He completed 24 for 183 and 3 TD’s to three different receivers while still counting on JF Marcotte and Pat Jerome to share the bulk of the load. The pair had 12 receptions between them. The Wolverine defense put up a fight, but Tony Tabet’s 1 TD pass as opposed to 3 INT’s was just too much for them to overcome. He spread the ball all over the field and even connected with new additions Marc Champagnie and Jacques Void, who was playing on the other side of the ball just last week. Raffi Bastadjian still always seems to get open as he caught 8 in a losing effort.

3. The G-Men clip the wings off the Top Guns, 52-18. Another 3 INT’s performance by a QB and this time it was Mario Porreca. Although there is hope for this young team as receiver Yafet Meshesha was a deep threat catching 3 for 85 yards and 2 TD’s. But once again the combination of good defense and offense was too much to handle. Paul Kamel had 2 interceptions and a sack on defense with 5 catches with 2 TD’s on offense. The Wes Welker of the G-Men, Angelo Garofalo, caught 5 for 53 and 3 TD’s and Daniele Gentile also stood out with 2 scores. All from Gianni Settino of course, who threw 7 TD’s on 197 yards passing. The Top Guns are very young and need some time to adapt to the indoor game, but the G-Men are truly looking very strong and early favorites to win it all.

2. The Mercenaries bomb the Air Squad and ground them 39-7; despite Gino Di Fazio throwing 3 interceptions (six through two games). The combination of Adam Bailey and Stephane Chartrand dominated the Squad with 2 TD’s each. Nicolas Lafond was at the helm for and I am sure they were secretly wishing they still had week one QB Alex Nadeau-Piuze, as Lafond completed 5 passes for no scores and 2 INT’s. If it wasn’t for Kenny Baye and a pick 6, the Air Squad would have been shut out. Di Fazio still threw for 199 yards and 6 touchdowns. Air Squad looks like they still might be a Jekyll and Hyde team. Mercs are happy to get a win under their belt.

1. Finally MOMO Nation falls to the mighty Trojans 32-18. Yannick Vanasse was actually able to buy time against excellent rusher Roberto Cosenza but I guess he forgot to tell his team they have to catch the ball to win as well. Vanasse ran 5 times for 60 yards and threw 10-28 for 131 yards, 3 TD’s and 1 INT. Only Winter 2011 All-Star Jean-Nichol Derenoncourt stood out with 5 catches and 52 yards with a score. Once again Pollice led the Trojans by throwing to Vinny Gualano who had 8 catches for 84 yards and 2 scores. Adam Champini also caught 4 for 54 and a score. The Trojan team seems to be getting used to each other and it will be interesting to see how far they can go. MOMO needs to figure out where the problem lies or buy some tack cloths.

BOOM. Like the mushroom cloud Sarah Connor keeps dreaming of in T2.

Little individual recognition now shall we.

My Golden Boy in D1 should be obvious. Shane Williams ran through the Rainmakers as if he was alone running in the desert. 8 catches, 152 yards and 5…yes 5 TD’s. Somebody please see if you can stop him. Great job.

My SHOWSTOPPA goes to Montreal’s Finest’s entire Defense for being the first team to hold someone under 30 points. They actually only gave up 18. Good work D.

My Golden Boy in D2 was a hard choice. But seeing as the Wolfpack usually takes a while to get that first win I am giving it to Pascal Murray, who had 249 yards passing with 6 TD’s and a 65.5% completion percentage, leading the Pack to their first win of the season.

My SHOWSTOPPA this week goes to the entire Victorious Secret defense, who managed 4 interceptions and 2 of those went back for touchdowns. Rusher Renaldo Jordan also had 3 sacks. Great team performance and definitely a defense to keep an eye on.

I am not sure how many of you actually take the time to go on the website and check out all the scores but if you have been reading these articles then you may have noticed that D1 has become the greatest show on turf. With Gunslingers instead of QB’s. It truly looks like the Wild West. The question is when will the other shoe drop? When will defense adapt to the play calling of these masters of offensive scheming? If you look at the QB’s in D1 you could argue it is the strongest group to grace the FlagPlus field at one time in any given season. Take a look at the defensive talent in this league and division. This isn’t a group of guys who came off the street and decided to give defensive football a try. These are experienced players who know the game. The game seems to move so fast this year. Every team seems stacked. Be interesting when or if the defensive battles begin to surface.

In D2 we see 4 teams who currently look as if the season will come down to them and everyone else’s role is trivial (G-Men, Triple Sixers, Trojans, Victorious Secret). Below the top 4 there is parity with great competition. But who will make a move to challenge the top dogs? The Wolverines have added Jacques Void and Marc Champagnie, which is a big move. The Wolfpack always struggle early on and seem to consistently upset a top team in the playoffs. The Mercenaries can make a run. It is definitely too early to tell, but I truly believe there are a few teams who can step up and challenge for the title. To all the teams below the top 4, look at them and let them fuel your fire. Let them motivate your team to be better than what an annoying guy who writes about the division says you are. Show the league that you are more. Not another face in the crowd.

It is time once again to take a look at some matchups this week.

The Demons and Carmine Pollice face off against Montreal’s Finest and Kevin Wyeth. These two QB’s have had epic battles. Wyeth got the monkey off his back last season with a win over Pollice. Pollice definitely wants to return to his winning ways over Wyeth. Although it will be interesting to see what happens now that the Finest have acquired Rochdi Benabdelkader, who spent many years on the field with Pollice. The man with the hair was once Carmine’s go-to receiver and I am sure Rochdi will be speaking to Wyeth and the Finest defense with breakdowns of how the Demons play. But will it be enough? It is one thing to know what to do but an entirely different situation to execute. Only time will tell. Round one….ding, ding.

The two teams without a win face each other this week as the Redhawks take on the Rainmakers. Both these teams could very easily have a win by now but competition is so tough in D1. Charles St-Martin is starting to get used to the indoor field. Ryan Kastner is throwing bullets and bombs all over the field but always seems to be one turnover away. This game will be great. The Redhawks provide many problems for defenses with their talented receiving corps. But I think the Rainmakers defense is just a little further along than their counterparts’ at this point. The Rainmakers had almost no issues scoring on a very adept Old Skool defense. I think it will continue against the Redhawks and the Rainmakers will squeak one out.

For coverage on the rematch of last year’s final please go check out the WEPL.

The Mercenaries take on the Gladiateurs who used to be the Kings. Mercs’ QB Gino Di Fazio will have to put a stop to his rash of interceptions in recent weeks. Not sure what is happening but he needs to fix that ASAP because we know Gladiateurs QB Francois Lebeau will not turn the ball over very much. This is a great matchup and I look forward to seeing the possible return of C.A. Sinotte and his square off against defensive stud Teddy Frenette. They have to stop him somehow and Frenette is easily the man for the job. This week, I believe also marks the return of Adi Sharma. So we should see a whole new level added to the Mercs defense. I believe the Mercs will take this one in a close battle but Lever and Lebeau can very easily prove me wrong.

Air Squad takes on the Blazers. The question for me is what Air Squad team will we see? The week 1 team that put up 48 points or the week 2 team that had 5 completions? The Blazers are coming off losses to two of the top teams in the division. QB Leon Holder has 7 INT’s in 2 games. That has to stop. Air Squad has some great talent in Kenny Baye, Alex Hovington and Jonathan Beaulieu-Richard. But the Blazers also have Sean Kennedy, Kenton Lowe and Steve Hay. In the end, a QB makes the difference and I believe the Air Squad need their week one QB back, but until then I will give this game to the Blazers.

MOMO Nation plays against the Tomahawks. The Tomahawks better have a good rusher because that MOMO QB can move. Mike Grilli seems to be finding a rhythm now with his team and the Tomahawks are improving every week with people like Frederic Brunet and Paul-Andre Lebouthillier providing the stability this team needs. MOMO’s receivers need to stop watching Vanasse scramble and catch the damn ball. Until I see this team start helping their QB, I am taking the Tomahawks.

Other games are covered on the WEPL should you wish to check it out.

Last year’s final can be seen again,

Old Skool and the Expos reunite like old friends.

Only this time there is no title at stake,

So no one will be kicking the dome or a wall that is fake.

The D2 teams all look to the top,

Where they watch 4 teams, waiting for one to flop.

But don’t sit back and watch which team gets the fame,

Get off your ass and the get in the freaking game!

That’s it for me this week. Always a pleasure to write for the six of you who read my articles. You can feel free to email me with the latest on who the Republican nominee will be, or clips from Wolf Blitzer in the situation room at [email protected] but until then, another week has been defused.