Bombsquad’s Breakdown (Div 1/2) – Week 4

Well what a week it was. We saw the most combined points ever scored in a FlagPlus Football game and we are now down to only one undefeated team in both D1 and D2. So what are we waiting for??? To the recap!

Countdown to detonation

3. The Rainmakers finally break through defeating the Expos 37-27, earning their first win of the season. Expos QB Chad Byers had a week I’m sure he would like to forget, as he went 20-32 for 199 yards, 4 TD’s and a big 3 interceptions. Sure, the Expos had some miscues, but the story of the game was the Rainmakers second half defence, which held the Expos scoreless. Combine that with a Ryan Kastner 23-28 for 245 yards and 6 TD’s with a single pick and you have a recipe for success. Charles-Antoine Sinotte was the big man on campus in this game as he had 6 catches for a modest 45 yards but a big 2 TD’s. The Expos also had a receiver with 2 TD’s on 45 yards which was Yves Beriault.

2. Montreal’s Finest extracts some revenge for last year’s playoff loss with a 40-38 victory over Old Skool. Kevin Wyeth had a big game with 6 TD passes and 1 INT. Three of those scores went to the “Hair” himself, Rochdi Benabdelkader, who also had 80 yards on 5 catches as well as the lone Finest interception on defence. Shane Williams is still having a monster season with 5 receptions for 76 yards and a TD. This week, however, QB Andy Peterkin spread the ball around tossing TD’s to 5 different receivers. Peterkin rushed for a TD as well. All in all, this match could have gone either way so the rematch shall be much anticipated.

1. The Demons clip the Redhawks’ wings, soaring to a 52-27 victory. Carmine Pollice seemed to want to make a statement after last week’s loss and so did the Demons receivers. Pollice tossed 8 TD’s, three of which went to now sure-handed receiver Stephane Chartrand. Sean Kennedy also stepped up big this week with 2 TD’s. The big story was the stifling first half Demons defence who held the Redhawks to 7 points led by Guillaume Ward’s 2 INT’s. Charles St-Martin had a rough week going 13-24 for 181 with 3 TD’s and 3 INT’s. Jean-Christophe Viens caught 2 of the Redhawks 3 TD’s with Carl Gagnon Bisaillon catching the other. This game was unfortunately out of reach at halftime.

7. The Trojans remain undefeated as they take down the Triple Sixers, who were with JF Marcotte and Pat Jerome, 38-18. Karim Chaoual had a game he wishes was just a bad dream, throwing for less than 100 yards with only 1 TD pass and 3 INT`s. A lone bright spot was Kishon Thompson, who picked off Carmine Pollice and returned it for 6 points. But that is where the positive points end. Pollice led his team through the air, with 4 TD`s and on the ground, with a rushing major as well. He also helped his own cause picking off Chaoual twice. Surprisingly, it wasn’t Gualano who led his team in scoring this week. It was snapper Jimmy Coupethwaite, who had 7 catches for 37 yards and 3 TD`s as well as an INT on the other side of the ball.

6. Victorious Secret took down the G-Men in surprising fashion, 33-20. Paul Lapierre only had 8 completions with 100 yards passing, 3 TD`s and 1 INT. But he also ran for a TD. The Hairy one again scored 3 TD`s in his D2 appearance. But Jean-Michel Alerte made the big defensive play taking an interception to the house for the score. Gianni Settino had a rare off day at the office going 14-28 for 149 and 3 scores and that one INT. Paul Kamel was the work horse scoring twice and leading in yards with 66, while Angelo Garofalo also had a decent day with 6 receptions for 51 yards and a score. Where does that leave us in D2?

5. The One Night Stands used and abused the Blazers as they won 48-12. Kevin Wyeth had a field day with 250 yards passing and 7 TD’s. The monster receiver for O.N.S. was the monster himself, Andrew Blevings, with 3 TD’s on 3 catches for 88 yards. Four other O.N.S. receivers caught touchdowns as well. The Blazers offense just could not get into a rhythm. Leon Holder completed only 9 passes for 110 yards and 2 TD’s. Sean Kennedy and Kenton Lowe did what they could, but it was nowhere near enough on this day. The Blazers need to address their defensive issues and quick. As for O.N.S., could this be a rebirth with Wyeth at the helm?

4. The Wolverines hold off the Tomahawks in a close fought battle 40-33. Tony Tabet completed a very late TD to give the Wolverines a 7 point lead minutes after the Tomahawks had tied the game with a two-point convert on a great throw and catch from Mike Grilli to Paul-Andre Lebouthillier. The Tomahawks had a rough first half but matched the Wolverines in the second half. But that one extra score makes all the difference. Especially when you have Sevag Kaloussian catching everything thrown anywhere near him with 7 receptions for 130 yards and 3 TD’s. In any other week, he would have been surely been the Golden Boy. But not this week.

3. The Air Squad shot down the Top Guns in the battle of aviators 31-20. Nick Lafond seems to be finding his way in FPF with a 5 TD performance with only 1 INT. His top weapon was Sebastien Crisi-Lauzon who caught 3 for 75 yards and 3 TD’s. This man can play defence too, where he had 2 INT’s. Mario Porreca on the other hand is still struggling a little. Tossing 2 TD’s but 3 interceptions. Good thing for receiver Nick Gaudreault who managed 93 yards and 2 TD’s on 4 catches. But Top Guns still need more time to adjust to the indoor game and the D2 calibre.

2. In the highest-scoring game in FPF history, the Wolfpack defeated the Gladiateurs 61-58. That is not a typo. Both QB’s threw for over 300 yards. Francois Lebeau with 8 TD’s, Pascal Murray with 9 TD’s. No INT’s for either side. Charles Baillargeon caught 8 passes for 141 yards and 2 TD’s, and Nicolas Guimier had 8 receptions for 63 yards and 3 TD’s for the Gladiateurs. Mikail Daivdson had 8 catches for 90 yards and 3 TD’s with Alex Cavanaugh catching another 5 passes for 93 yards and 1 TD. I won’t even mention defensive stats…because THERE ARE NONE!!! Great game by both sides. What an explosion.

1. The Mercenaries shut down MOMO Nation 25-12. The big story of this game is Yannick Vanasse ran for one TD….and then never ran again. As Mercs rusher Andrew Adams seemed to take the rushing TD personally. Vanasse then threw the ball but only had 14 completions against a stingy Mercs defence. Gino Di Fazio got the job done with 4 TD’s and 1 INT. Chris Bridgeman was the go-to man on this day catching 2 of Di Fazio`s 4 TD`s on 5 receptions and 55 yards. MOMO Is still a NONO in the win category. And the Mercs D seems stronger with the return of Adi Sharma. The division is getting tighter.

BOOM. Like the fireworks that will go off at the Super Bowl which my team will never see.

Individual achievement for week the fourth!

My Golden Boy is none other than the soft spoken Stephane Chartrand who led the Demons with 87 yards and 3 TD`s! Great job sir! Way to rally after that dropfest the week before…..I mean great job Mr. Chartrand.

My SHOWSTOPPA this week is from that same Demons team and goes to Guillaume Ward who led the division with 2 interceptions. Big performance.

My SHOWSTOPPA this week goes to Victorious Secret`s defence for defeating the G-Men one week before their Super Bowl appearance and held them to 20 points. Great job guys.

And my Golden Boy for D2 goes to both the Gladiateurs QB Francois Lebeau and Wolfpack QB Pascal Murray who combined for 688 yards and 17 TOUCHDOWNS!!!!! 17. Unbelievable. Gentlemen, I take my hat off to you both and give you the slow Wiserhood clap.

This week I want to take a moment to once again address an issue that always seems to come up every season. That issue is physicality in FlagPlus. Teams like the Redhawks, MOMO Nation and Top Guns to name a few, bring their tackle team players to come out and run for some off season workouts and keep in football shape. We love having all tackle players come out and improve the competition level of our league. But we also see how frustrated some of you get with the penalty calls for illegal contact and UR for roughing.

So here it is. This is football…and in football there is contact. We all understand and respect this. I personally would never play this game if it didn’t have any contact at all. But this isn’t tackle football. Of course there is contact. But there is no equipment in FlagPlus besides a belt. People come to play and compete, but they have work on Monday morning like most of the population. This is why you see such tight restrictions on contact because at the end of the day no one wants to get hurt.

This is a different game. Some players have never played tackle in their life and are not prepared for the physicality but in all fairness, they shouldn’t be. This may be a very competitive and high quality competition league, but in the end we all still pay to play and it is supposed to be for fun.

So I invite you players who get so angry at the calls to try and adapt to this game. It can only make you a better football player overall. Develop your skills at coverage or receiving without pushing off or taking shots. I understand you frustration, but please take a moment to realize that this game is not tackle. This is flag football. Different rules and standards. Not bad, just different, because we all mostly must go to work Monday morning.

I know the games are in two weeks but I will give you my picks anyways.

The mighty Demons take on the no longer winless Rainmakers in their usual epic battle. These two teams have seen each other so much over the years that they should sit on the same bench. Ryan Kastner played great last game and the defence really showed up in the second half. But the Demons offence is seemingly unstoppable and their defence seems to get stronger with each passing week. All in all I think it will be a great game. But in the end, there can be only one…..unless they tie. But I believe the Demons will win by a score.

Montreal’s Finest takes on the Expos who are fresh off a loss to the Rainmakers. This is a great matchup. The Expos and Finest are both very athletic teams. Kevin Wyeth is having a great season. I think the big question in this game will be whose defence can get a stop. Both teams seem to score at will. It will be a great game for anyone watching. Chad Byers will want to redeem himself after that loss and what better way to do it than to knock off the only undefeated team. But the Finest like being where they are and have no interest in leaving just yet. This is going to be a barn burner.

Victorious Secret takes on O.N.S. with new QB Kevin Wyeth, who has brought this team to another level. But can they score against a stingy V.S. defence? Also, Paul Lapierre has been getting the job done with average numbers but will that be enough to beat this team who put up 48 in their last match? This matchup poses problems for both teams. But in the end I will have to say I believe the experience and defence of Victorious Secret will give them the victory this time around….but not by much.

The Wolverines take on MOMO Nation. The battle of two very shifty QB’s in Tabet and Vanasse. MOMO will need to stop Saveg Kaloussian from scoring the way he has in recent weeks. The Wolverines will need to contain Vanasse so he cannot scramble and buy time. But the Wolverines have the defensive edge. They also have Jacques Void and Marc Champagnie which I believe gives them a distinct advantage so I’ll say the Wolverines win by two scores.

The Mercenaries take on an angry G-Men team who fumbled against V.S. The Mercs have greatly improved over the last few weeks while the G-Men have seen their score differential get tighter and tighter. The Sharma defence will need to stop Kamel and Garofalo. If Andrew Adams is rushing, then it will be a long day for Gianni Settino. In this scenario, I am going to go out on a limb and say the Mercs will upset the G-Men in a very close battle. By as little as a single point. I just believe the Mercs have a slight advantage on D, but I can very easily be wrong.

I would offer a Super Bowl prediction at this point if I cared who won. But honestly, I wish the field would open up and swallow both teams leaving us with only a halftime show and a hole in the hearts of Patriots and Giants fans everywhere. Think I go to bingo on Sunday.

Now comes our annual bye,

No wins, losses or ties.

A little break for the FPF crew,

To watch the big game except a few.

For I myself, could not care less,

Who’s the winner or loser in this contest,

Giants and Patriots provide me no thrill,

Rather stay home and watch One Tree Hill

Please email me your Super Bowl predictions so I have something to ignore and maybe some chili recipes for me to explore. Wait, the poem’s over. Okay, well you can reach me at [email protected] but until then, enjoy the Super Bowl and another week has been defused.