Bombsquad’s Breakdown (Div 1/2) – Week 7

Another week in the books as we inch ever closer to the playoffs. In D1, two teams were held under 20 points while in D2 the student defeated the teacher. So many story lines so let’s get to the action.

Countdown to Detonation

3. The Rainmakers ground the Redhawks and win 33-19. There was no ill timed interception for Ryan Kastner this week as he tosses 5 TD’s with only 4 incompletions in the entire game. Michael Chitayat had a great game with 7 grabs for 51 yards and 5 touchdowns and fill-in/new addition Nareg Yessayan was big with 2 TD’s as well. The big story for the Redhawks was the thumb injury to Charles St-Martin who sat after the half. In came Cesar Sanchez who led the team to two scoring drives. But the Redhawks driving force this season has to be the consistent play of big man Jean-Christophe Viens who scored all 3 Redhawks TD. But now they are on the outside looking in.

2. The Expos soundly beat Old Skool 31-19. Andy Peterkin looked less than ordinary to everyone’s shock with only 7-23 passing for 61 yards, 2 TD’s and 2 INT’s. Chad Byers, on the other hand had a solid game with 5 TD’s with Pierre Ianniciello leading the way with 4 catches for 83 yards and 2 scores. Anthony Vendrame had 2 catches for 2 Td’s as well. The Expos are nipping at the heels of first place and seem to be driving for that first round bye.

1. MTL’s Finest exercise the Demons 44-30. Kevin Wyeth once again had a strong game with 7 TD’s. 3 of which were to stud receiver Akked Moore who also had 8 receptions for 75 yards. Carmine Pollice had a decent game but the Finest defence had some key stops. Paul Lapierre continues his quest for receiver of the year as he caught another 2 TD’s on 5 grabs for 52 yards. On defense, Guillaume Ward was n absolute machine with 5 passes defended in the first half alone. All and all another classic battle between these two rivals.

7. The new kids on the block take out the little bit older kids on the block as the Top Guns defeat MOMO Nation 19-18. And MOMO has a dose of their own medicine as they couldn’t stop QB Nick Gaudreault on the ground, as he ran 7 times for 83 yards and 2 TD’s. He also tossed one. Yannick Vanasse threw all of his TD’s this week. Of course, reliable receiver Jean-Nichol Derenoncourt caught two of those scores. But alas this game came down to the all important convert which was not a good thing for MOMO who now are looking at a hard road ahead if they wish to make the playoffs.

6. Victorious Secret pound the Triple Sixers 46-19. The Sixers team were just not on their game. Pat Jerome caught 2 TD’s and then hurt his foot. Paul Lapierre continues his quest for QB of the year tossing 6 TD’s to 4 different receivers. But this game was over by half time as the Sixers team seemed deflated.

5. The Blazers carry the momentum from that close Wolfpack game and defeat the Gladiateurs 33-32. Leon Holder made sure to limit his turnovers with 1 interception and 5 TD passes. Derek Daoust was huge for the Blazers with 114 yards receiving on 7 catches and 2 scores. On the other side, Francois Lebeau protected the ball well for his squad but key stops and missed opportunity’s to close out the game were their downfall. Lebeau actually had a very strong game with 256 yards passing and 5 TD’s. But once again, the almighty missed convert reared its ugly head.

4. The One Night Stands actually stopped a team from scoring and beat the Tomahawks 37-19. The monster: Andrew Blevings, once again seemed unstoppable with 6 receptions for 110 yards and 3 TD’s from QB Wyeth. Mike Grilli of the Tomahawks had a rough day with 17 incompletions and only 3 TD’s and 1 INT, although bright spot Dany Ostiguy, had another good game with 60 yards receiving and a score.

3. Oh how the mighty have fallen, as the previously undefeated Trojans fall to the Mercenaries. This was a strange game as Gino Di Fazio took down his QBing mentor. The weird part was the uncharacteristic 18 incomplete passes from Pollice. That and the fact that Gino was able to beat Carmine for the second straight winter. New Merc Robbie Robinson was pivotal with 3 TD’s on 4 grabs. While the Trojans saw Vinny Gualano score 3 times on 4 grabs, albeit for a whopping 19 yards. The QB stats were almost identical but a key interception followed by a safety late in the game seemed to be the significant event in this match.

2. The Wolverines survive a close match with the rising Air Squad 33-30. Tony Tabet turned over the ball three times, which is very rare, but the team still pulled out the victory. Shane Paquette and Raffi Bastadjian both caught 2 touchdowns. Air Squad saw the return of Sebastien Crisi-Lauzon to the QB position. Unfortunately that led to a 3 INT performance against a strong Wolverine defence. Manuel Lauzon caught 2 scores. But great game for the Air Squad to keep up with one of the strongest teams in D2. Keep an eye on them to possibly upset someone in the playoffs.

1. The G-Men hold of a last second attempt by the Wolfpack for the tie and a chance to win, as they come out on top 39-33. Gianni Settino was strong again with Angelo Garofalo having another Wes Welker-esque performance catching 7 for 114 yards and 2 TD’s. And Nareg Yessayan was huge with 3 scores as well. G-Men captain Paul Kamel missed this game due an illness. The Wolfpack may have lost, but I must apologize for doubting this team on the WEPL. This is a team. They are a unit and play very well together and put themselves in the position to have a shot at winning the game on the last play. But Pascal Murray and the boys are here to stay.

BOOM goes my ego after misjudging a good team.

My SHOWSTOPPA this week has to be Guillaume Ward for the Demons who had 5 passes defended in the first half of his match against the Finest. He was all over the field.

My Golden Boy this week is the brightest star on the Redhawks. Jean-Christophe Viens had 7 catches for 87 yards and 3 TD’s.

My Golden Boy this week is the big man from O.N.S. Andrew Blevings who had 110 yards and 3 TD’s to lead his team to victory. Great game.

My SHOWSTOPPA is the G-Men’s Daniele Gentile who had 2 very key interceptions to keep the G-Men in the lead in their game against the Wolfpack.

So D 1 is shaping up into a two horse race for first place with the Expos and Montreal’s Finest leading the way. The Finest have one more win but the Expos have an all important victory over the Finest. These teams will face off in the last game of the season. Could be very exciting.

The middle part of the division is just as interesting as the Demons and Old Skool are neck in neck with the exact same record thanks to that shootout tie. Both teams face the Redhawks and Rainmakers as the season winds down. Could we see them finish in a tie with the same record as well?

And at the bottom, the Rainmakers are now in the driver’s seat. The Redhawks need a win to have a shot but they have a very rough schedule coming down the stretch.

In D2, the Mercenaries sit atop Conference A. I never would have predicted it. Their schedule even has them with a legit chance to win out. They are looking like major contenders at this point. But right behind them are Victorious Secret and the Wolverines. The Wolverines actually face the Mercs before the end of the season, so they have their shot but they could also end up doing Victorious Secret a favour thanks to that tie on their resume. The Gladiateurs can’t afford another stumble as the Blazers will be doing everything they can to make the playoffs.

The Trojans sit atop Conference B with the G-Men and Wolfpack nipping at their heels. Beyond that, it is a battle of mediocrity as everyone battles to avoid last place. I believe O.N.S. will rise out. But I can’t tell you who will finish last as everyone seems to be flailing. But the first place battle is very exciting. The Trojans face the G-Men in the last game of the season. That game could easily be for first place given each team’s remaining schedule.

This is a fun season to cover. Can’t wait to see how it unfolds. But we must always focus on the next game. And so let us take a look at the upcoming week’s matchups.

The Rainmakers take on the Expos. The Rainmakers are looking to build on last week’s big win, but now they must face the Expos who seem to get better week after week. I saw a new confidence in the Rainmakers after their victory but I just don’t think they can take out the Expos who have not lost since they faced…THE RAINMAKERS! I think revenge is on their mind. Expos win.

The Redhawks begin the three game stretch from hell as they face the Demons. The Demons will win this game I believe but I am curious. How bad is Charles St-Martin’s injury? And who will start at QB after the respectable performance of Cesar Sanchez? Tune in to Brossard this Saturday at 9.

Victorious Secret battles the Wolfpack. The Wolfpack has had a great season up until this point. I think they will finish strong, but Paul Lapierre has arguably had his best two weeks as a quarterback ever and seems to be catching fire. Both teams will score a lot and this will be a great match. But in the end I think the Secret will be revealed as Victorious.

The Mercenaries battle the Blazers. The Blazers are coming off a close loss and a win and are trying to build up steam for a playoff run. The Mercs just came off an emotional win, taking down the last undefeated team. Both have big plans but I think the Mercs just have too much talent for the Blazers to contain. I say Mercs win.

The Gladiateurs come off a disappointing loss and face the Wolverines who had a hard fought victory. The Gladiateurs have been very unpredictable this season. From the epic battle against the Wolfpack, to falling to the Blazers. But they face a Wolverines team who have put together a very strong side this season and have their eyes on the prize. I think the Gladiateurs will have some trouble against a solid Wolverines D and will have trouble stopping Tony Tabet and the offence. Wolverines win.

So we have reached,

The end of this week.

Better stay on your game,

If it’s the playoffs you seek.

In the end there can be,

Only one to win it all,

Just better hope and pray,

It is not your team to fall.

Thanks for coming by to read my thoughts, as useless as you may find them. You can reach me at [email protected] with all playoff predictions and chilli recipes. But until then, another week has been defused.