Bombsquad’s Breakdwon (Div 1 & 2) – Week 5
21-02-2013 12:00 AM
In the immortal words of Bon Jovi, who were here this past week apparently, “We’re halfway there”. There are only two teams who remain undefeated and more specifically, one in each division. At the same time we now only have two winless teams. Everything else is all over the board like a hurricane swept through. Shall we take a look at how the week unfolded? The question is rhetorical since you can’t answer and you know I am going to do it anyways so let’s move forward.
Countdown to detonation.
9. The Wild Boys take down the Terror Squad 30-26. Matt René used his three favorite weapons to great results as they scored all 5 TD’s. Nigel Thomas had 2 and the Perry brothers had the other 3. René had a great game with no turnovers and 225 yards passing. This team is picking up momentum. Meanwhile it seems Terror Squad is slipping after a promising start.
8. The Bills showed how they feel about TG’s little r thingy and beat them 47-40.
7. Purple Haze knocked off the undefeated Gladiateurs 48-45. Rick Nincheri had a HUGE game with 280 yards passing and 7 TD’s. And a large part of that output was Snobby Robbie Robinson who had 121 yards receiving on 11 grabs and 3 TD’s. But get this, Francois Lebeau throws for 304 yards and 7 TD’s in a losing effort. Hitting Charles Baillargeon for 4 TD’s. Although I will say the last TD was at the very end when the game was already out of reach. But a supreme effort. Both QB’s spread the ball all over the field, but in the end the Haze were just a little too much on this day.
6. In the first of their 2 games, the Ducks fall to the Hall of Famers 32-47. Manuel Crisi-Lauzon had a very rough game against H.O.F. 5 TD passes but 4 INT’s, which will never win you the game. His brother Sébastien caught 2 of the TD’s but the team was outmatched on this night. Justin Smolar conducted business as usual with 286 yards passing and 7 TD’s, 5 of which went to his favorite targets Crystal and Lelinowski who had 214 yards and 5 touchdowns between them. The defense really stepped up this week after some dismal performances. They will need it if they want to topple Flag Moi L’sac. At least the Ducks make sure to have fun. In between games they jumped one of their friends in the soccer net and even filmed it…..still have no idea what they were doing….guess you had to be there but THEY were having fun is what counts!
5. The Wolverines earned their first win in style against the Top Guns 42-33. Tony Tabet finally breaks his slump in fine fashion throwing 6 TD’s with only 1 INT. Raffi Bastadjian was the main target grabbing 5 for 78 and 3 TD’s. Mario Porecca had a decent game himself throwing 5 TD’s and 1 INT. Casey Cook and Nick Gaudreault both had a pair of scores for the Guns. The Wolverines would just not be denied on this night! Their defense made the stops when they had to and job the job done. Great game boys.
4. The Div 1 Rainmakers hand the Mercenaries their first loss of the season 31-27. Ryan Kastner decided that Bobby Mikelberg would be his weapon of choice hitting him for 3 scores. While Di Fazio used only 3 receivers the entire game, hitting only Bailey, Pollice and Garret Taylor. The difference in this game was definitely the completion percentage between QB’s as Di Fazio only completed 11 passes on 25 attempts. Can’t win games that way; while Kastner was 20-28. Decent fight by the Mercs for sure. A few more completions and the game could have went their way.
3. In the second game of their double-header, the Ducks lost to the powerhouse Flag Moi L’Sac 26-38. Again for the Ducks, the Crisi-Lauzon brothers connected but they were facing the division’s current top team. Alex Nadeau-Piuze hit Samuel Nadeau-Piuze the most with 4 grabs and 3 touchdowns. But once again the ball was spread all over. On defense it was Felix Prevost who was insane with 12 tackles grabbing every flag in site. This team is definitely on a roll. Is there someone out there who will knock them off the tracks and prevent the perfect season? There…I said it…week 5 and the perfect season rumours are starting!!
2. Montreal’s Finest soundly defeated the Pantheres 51-18. It took Kevin Wyeth 13 passes to gain 259 yards and 7 touchdowns. So more than every second completion was a TD. Rochdi Benabdelkader and Kishon Thompson benefitted most and were scoring machines. With the Hair catching 4 TD’s and the OTHER Hair catching two. All this, and a pick 6 from Marc Champagnie. The Pantheres did have a bright spot as receiver Mathieu Laurin stepped up to carry the load with 8 catches and 87 yards plus a TD. Dany Ostiguy still knows how to find the end zone with 3 catches for 2 scores. This was just not an easy game for the D 2 squad.
1. The Express get their first win in a HUGE way over the Wolfpack 53-24. What a beat down. Pat Chenard threw 7 TD’s and even ran for 1! He spread the ball all over the field and he didn’t even have SCC. How’s that for stepping up? Not to mention fill-in Jean-Francois Marquis making 2 picks as well. No one knows what is happening to the Wolfpack. Pascal Murray once again had multiple interceptions with 3. He did have 4 TD’s. Alexandre Cavanaugh remains a workhorse for the team. Murray is spreading the ball but they just can’t seem to get out of this slide they are on. Only time will tell if they can turn things around but it is not looking good.
Tick, tick, BOOM! (Good song by the Hives)
So now I have to hand out some individual awards.
D 1
And My Golden Boy this week is QB Pat Chenard who accounted for all 8 TD’s in his game and got his team their first win. Let’s hope it is the first of many.
My SHOWSTOPPA is also from the Express as Jean-Francois Marquis had 2 interceptions in their win and also tied for the lead in tackles with 4.
D 2
For Golden Boy, I have to go Golden Boys with the winning combo of QB Rick Nincheri who threw for 7 TD’s and Robbie Robinson (yes I dropped the Snobby) who had 11 grabs for 121 yards and 3 TD’s. The pair led their team to a much needed win over the previously undefeated Gladiateurs. Great game to both guys!
My SHOWSTOPPA this week is the flagging machine that was Felix Prevost, who snagged 12 flags in his matchup. Unreal stats!
The playoff picture in Div 1 is very boring seeing how there are only 5 teams and 1 team will miss the playoffs. Right now the Express is on the outside looking in but they are right on the heels of TG and their little r thingy. The battle for 1st is insane as the Rainmakers and Bills are both at 4-1 and the Rainmakers play against the 5-0 Finest this week, so things can start to get interesting really quick with a possible three-way tie for first after this week of action.
In Div 2, I have seen questions all over the board so let’s spell out what would happen if the season ended today. This could get very interesting by season’s end as well.
Contrary to popular belief, the Mercenaries do not have an easy run to the playoffs. The powerhouse East division will not have to cannibalize itself to make the finals. We have crossovers my friends! The top 8 teams make the playoffs regardless of what division you are in. You may have an easier regular season schedule but answer me this…would you rather have an easy schedule and make the playoffs for sure or would you rather make the playoffs in the harder division where you have battled the top teams all season to mark your spot and have that experience for your playoff run? If the season ended today, the 1-4 Wolverines and 0-5 Ducks would still be on the verge of qualifying as the fourth seed in the weaker Western conference.
So this is the information you need to plan out your strategy for the rest of the season. Anyone can still make the playoffs as the 8th seed actually only has 1 win! So opportunity is waiting…take it….IT’S YOURS!!!
Now for a little preview of this week’s action.
Montreal’s Finest faces off against the Rainmakers. These two teams have had so many epic battles over the years. Ryan Kastner and Kevin Wyeth have faced off so many times, they could probably call each other’s plays in the huddle. Both squads are stacked with talent. Names like Binette, Thompson, Moore and Ward face names like Sinotte, Kraemer, Mikelberg and Léger. These games are always so competitive. This is a game you should definitely go see.
The Express will be taking on the Mercenaries. Express fresh off a win and the Mercs fresh off a loss. Both teams will be very motivated to win this game. Express want to make the playoffs and the Mercs want to rebound off that loss. Will Chenard continue the momentum and will he have SCC back? Both teams are riddled with talent on both sides of the ball. Express will want to stop Pollice, but they also have to worry about Bailey and Taylor. While the Mercs should be aware of Regimbald and Arsenault-Hum. I think this will be a very close game but I am going to give the edge to the Express on defense so Express wins but by a small margin.
In another heavyweight battle, Purple Haze faces off against Flag Moi L’Sac. If any team has a shot at knocking off the undefeated Sac, it is Purple Haze with the Silver Fox and Louis Richard as well as some other strong tools. L’Sac seriously looks unstoppable as they dismount division 1 and 2 teams. The Nadeau-Piuze combo along with Prevost and the boys will be a very hard team to stop. I really think the Haze can pull this off but I think right now L’Sac is just on a roll and having too much fun doing it. So until you see an amount in the “L” in their record, they have to get the nod. Flag Moi L’Sac wins.
In a game that I believe will be more interesting than people might think, the Wolverines face the Ducks. Both teams are desperate for a win and both teams are much better than their record reflects. The Wolverines looked so much better last week and the Ducks kept it close against the top tiered teams. So this matchup is basically a coin toss. Heads, Wolverines, Tails, Ducks. And coin hits off the monitor and lands on……HEADS!!
Bon Jovi has told us,
That we are halfway there.
Something all teams,
Must be fully aware.
The closer we get,
To the end of the season.
For Playoffs and Titles,
Tis the only reason.
That’s for this week. Feel free to contact me with your own playoff predictions or some specialty coffee recipes at [email protected] or @DonWShepherd on Twitter. Best of luck for this week but until next time, another week has been defused.