Carmine’s Coffin Corner: Pre-Season – FlagPlus Football League

Welcome to the first ever installment of Carmine’s Coffin Corner where we go through a jumbles recap of the 35+ Division as well as some random thoughts that cross my mind about FPF, football, and whatever else floats on by.

I guess a bit of background might help at this point. For those who do not know me I am one of the original players back from Season 1. Heck we don’t even have those stats anywhere on the league site…that is how far back I go. That little tidbit, plus the fact that I am covering the 35+ side of things, should give you a hint that I am older than most players…

The 35+ Division is now in its 3rd season and continues to evolve. Year 1 saw all the teams grouped into one bracket of 6 teams. Year 2 saw the division expand to 2 brackets of 5 teams each with 1 bracket being formed of “set” teams and the other bracket broken down into “drafted” teams. This year sees further expansion as the “draft” division will return and the “set” team side of things will expand into a Tier 1 and Tier 2 bracket. This somewhat odd format will feature some interlocking schedules, so it should be interesting to see how things play out.

The Interlocking Schedule is broken out as follows:

Teams Tier 1 Division : Cap 500

6 In-Division Games
2 Games against Tier 2 Division

Teams Tier 2 Division : Cap 420

4 In-Division Games
2 Games against Tier 1 Division
2 Games against Draft Division

Draft Division : Cap 420

6 In-Division Games
JMJ & Polvige = 2 Games against Tier 2 Division
FPF & Paramount = 1 Game against Tier 2 Division, 1 game against Tier 1 Division

*When Tier 2 and Draft teams plays against Tier 1, they can have player ratings up to 500 for those games only.

Let’s take a quick look at the team’s involved this season, starting with the Draft Division (in alphabetical order).

For the draft division, players register as individuals, 4 captains were selected and held a snake draft to select their teams. While there is a wealth of KTFL players, several other individuals have signed up over the years and anyone 35+ looking for a team next winter is welcome to join the 35+ family in the draft division.

The defending champs, Dagwood’s, are not returning. I guess that they have decided to go out on a high note! Actually, the 4 Draft Teams use Sponsored jerseys from the KTFL and it appears that Dave Allen has decided that they are not allowed to repeat!

Flagplus Football

Captain & QB = Lonnie Johnson

One of the new “sponsors” from the KTFL is FPF itself! QB and dual threat Lonnie Johnson brings a wealth of experience to the game and should ensure that they are competitive in every game. Odd stat is that Lonnie is actually the 3rd rated QB on this squad with his brother Cory and two-way threat, Domenic Tosi, being ranked ahead of him. Stats can be funny things.

JMJ

Captain = Rob Allen

QB = Stephen Harripersaud

Their opening week opponent will be JMJ, another new team name to the league. Perhaps decided to give exposure to some of the newer sponsors…or they have newer jerseys! JMJ are led by Mr. “I can do everything” Rob Allen, and the very under-rated Kevin Kousaie. Multiple newcomers on this roster make them somewhat hard to judge. QB Stephen Harripersaud will need to get onto the same page as his new team-mates in a hurry if they want to be competitive. Derrick Lavoie is the sleeper on offence that you cannot overlook.

Paramount

Captain & QB = Eugene Mclaren

Paramount will have the 2018 QB of the year, Eugene McLaren leading the way for them. He is a true two-way threat able to use his legs to both gain yards and buy himself time. Some great experience on both sides of the ball with Joel Watson, Dave Allen, Tom Young, and Chris Rosen (2018 Defensive Player of the Year) being the main core.

Polvige

Captain & QB = Jon Moodie

Rounding out the Draft Division is Polvige who have the ageless wonder, Jon Moodie, at the helm. Scoring points will NOT be an issue for this squad with Mario Choueiri, Brian Martin, Karim Yasmine, and two-way threat Vince Mancini onboard. My questions about this squad revolve around the defensive side of things. It would not surprise me to see them lead the division in Points for and Points Against (in a bad way).

Off to the “Set” team brackets and let’s start with Tier 1 (in alphabetical order)

Monster Gym

Captain = Adam Burnakowski

QB = Andy Peterkin

Monster Gym were the original champions in 2017. They return the core of their squad and are led by the ultimate dual threat QB in Andy Peterkin. Don’t let the grey in the beard fool you he can still fly when he wants to and still has a gun for an arm. Glen Cooper, Kevin Wilson, JF LeClair, and Craig “OWIE” O’Brien make up the core of this squad. KW proving that the ratings system can be somewhat mis-leading as he is a complete bargain at his price. A good squad but they will be in tough this season.

O.A.S.

Captain = Tony Lalla

QB = Cory Pecker

O.A.S. are basically The Leons in disguise. The core of this squad is back for a 3rd season together and came within an interesting decision of winning the championship last year, losing a nail biter. n the finals. Cory Pecker returns to lead the squad as do his leading receivers, Kevin Wyeth (?) and Ryan Tereskewitz. They have added Kishon Thompson & Rob White to shore up their defence and have dragged two-way monster Shane Williams out of retirement. Hard to not name them as one of the favorites out of the gate.

Oldpack

Captain = Alexandre Cavanaugh

QB = Pascale Murray

The OldPack, led by Pascal Murray, are back for a second season. This is a team that presents match up nightmares across the board and are definitely the LARGEST team in the 35+ Division with Remy Pare, Alain Rousseau, Patrice Bernard, and JM Alerte all being on the positive side of 6 feet. From experience I can say that you will need to take your shots from outside the red zone on this team because they can clog up the throwing lanes at the goal line. A very experienced squad who will be interesting to watch.

Spitfire

Captain & QB = Carmine Police

The last team in the bracket are the Spitfire, mostly built from last year’s champions, the 35ers. The Division’s top two receivers, Andrew Carruthers (Playoff MVP) and Jimmy Coupethwaite return to lead the way. Yours truly will be the full time pivot this season. The rest of the offence will “newbies” to the division. The defence is led by Adi Sharma and features Jeff Brown and Andrew Adams from 2018. Again, there will be new faces rounding out things. Chemistry will determine how far this squad goes.

Tier 2 (in alphabetical order)

Grumpy Old X-Men

Captain & QB = Gautama Swaminadhan

The Grumpy Old X-Men are led by Gautama Swaminadhan who should provide some excitement in leading his own squad rather than adapting to the draft. Leading the way for the squad will be Wade Williams, another one of the original league members. Suhael Brohi, Vivek Swaminadhan, and Nicholas Banks form the core of the squad, many of whom have been playing together as the X-Men in the regular FPF divisions.

Pacemakers

Captain & QB = Jason Rossie

The Pacemakers are this season’s version of the Old Goats. Leading the way are the Rossie brothers, Jason & Jordan, which should prove entertaining. Not sure if they yell at each other more when they play with or against each other!! Scott Binns performed admirably for the squad last season and the addition of Chris Brockwell is a definite plus. Yet another dual threat QB situation so this should be interesting to watch.

Relics

Captain = Ryan Etinson

QB = Jeff Rosenblatt

Last, but not least, are the Relics. This squad was part of the original group in 2017 but an injury to original QB, Jeff Rosenblatt, opened the door for Corey Pecker and the rest is history. A solid group of friends who have played multiple seasons together in the regular FPF Divisions they will be a fun group to watch. Jeff is one of the nicest people that you will meet in FPF and with Shawn Payne, Ryan Etinson, and Jason Rosenbaum they will have the talent to compete.

And with that, this long-winded ramble has come to an end. Best of luck to all teams…remember that the cold beer in the pub is why we do this!