The Spring Season can be a crazy one. Whether you wish to call it the “Silly Season” or the “Strange Season” is up to you. I tend to look at it as the “Forrest Gump” of FlagPlus Football as you simply never know what you are going to get!

Rosters that change from week to week, players missing because of vacations, players absent due to other commitments, it simply seems as if we have a revolving door of players for the stats keepers to try and keep track of. Throw in a new/old complexe with scheduling issues and we had a crazy first week indeed.

I apologize for the tardiness of the release of this article…a crazy week of travel had me determined to not look at my work laptop on a holiday weekend. Unfortunately, this has remained in my drafts since Friday evening. Please note that I will leave my original preview of the Braves/Outsiders game below although the results were not as I had originally expected.

 

Division A/B Week #1 review

• 2 ½ Alkaholiks lose to Lightweight 26-21

What I wrote: We shall see very quickly if my comments regarding Lightweight hold true or not with this opening week match up. I see 2 ½ running away with this one.

What actually happened: Ah the joy of preseason preview articles where you judge a team by what is online and then they show up with something completely different. In my defence, Jad Aridi and Justin Lerner were not on the pre-season roster for Lightweight. I am not sure that it would have changed my thought process dramatically, but I would not have added the “running away” comment. Jad did what Jad does as he finished as Simon Dagenais’ top target going 7-92 1 TD. Simon had a solid game as he finished with 20-27 numbers against a solid 2 ½ Alkaholiks defence. For the 2 1/2 offence, they ran into problems twice in the Red Zone, which was the difference in the game. Joey Taylor had a less than stellar debut finishing 18-30. For a short yardage offence to be effective you need to complete a few more balls than that. Just a suggestion…Paul Lapierre has yet to meet a red zone that he has not liked.

 

• Jasmin N Sons tie the Alpha-T ’s 34-34

What I wrote: Both teams have talent, so this should be a fun game. JNS have more experience and they also have Anthony Vendrame, who can be a 1 man wrecking crew. JNS with a close win.

What actually happened: Here we go again with the revolving door rosters. My thought process was that Vendrame would be all over the score sheet. Unfortunately, he was not there. However, when your replacement is Pat Jerome that is not a bad thing. Frederic Viens had a very efficient game going 23-29 (79%) which has been his trademark. However, he finished with less than 7 yards an attempt. You are going to have to push the ball farther than that on most evenings. Pat Jerome was his favorite target with 8 receptions but was held to only 59 yards. M-A Viens also chipped in 8 receptions with 3 of them resulting in TDs. Jesse Dupuis had a less productive evening that his counterpart as he finished 16-27 with 4 TDs. Mike Pierrecin picked up where he left off this past Winter as he led all receivers in this game with 81 yards. Anthony Lapointe had a very busy night with 6 receptions, 1 TD, 5 tackles, and he also went 2-2 with a TD tossing the ball!

 

• #NR fall to the Braves 40-27

What I wrote: I like the additions that #NR have made for this season. I like the lack of changes from the Braves even more. Braves with the W.

What actually happened: The roster silliness continued. Cory Pecker was absent for #NR and was replaced by Ryan Kastner. Not a bad switch but Ryan runs a tremendous amount of timing patterns and having him fill in for a game does not always play to his strengths. He put up some great numbers as he finished 24-30 for 260 yards with no INTS. The problem is that they only generated 4 TDs with that yardage. Turnovers on downs are not reflected on the stat sheet but they play just as big a part as any INT. The Braves were missing Georges Gariepy but added Tackle Machine M-A Lapointe to replace him on defence. Jonathan Maheu did what he normally does as he finished 22-27 for 249 yards and 6 TDs. JD Chevalier and Mike Pierrecin each chipped in 2 TDs and Jesse Dupuis (Alpha-Ts) also found the end zone. With the # of Braves playing on the Alpha-Ts roster it is cool to see the reverse also come to happen.

 

• YCSWU defeat the Outsiders 38-34

What I wrote: Starting the season picking against Kevin Wyeth. While I do think that he is going to play this season with a bit of an edge to make up for this past Winter’s D1 results, it is a team game and I think that YCSWU is simply the better team.

What actually happened: Kevin Wyeth came out and played with a chip on his shoulder. Roster issues for both teams saw some of the star power fading from this one. The Outsiders were missing Serge Pilon and YCSWU were without Anthony Vendrame and Chris Milard. The Outsiders had a blazing start and were up 27-12 at the break, highlighted by an awesome INT from Wyeth on defence! Don’t let the grey hair full you, he can move A LOT faster than you would think as he covered a GO route down the sidelines. YCSWU scored to open the second half and then played better ball as Alex Holowach settled down. Marco Bertoldi and Justin McLean did most of the damage finishing with 6 receptions each and a combined 5 TDs.

 

• Dirty Dogs vs. Dad Bod

What I wrote: Speed vs. Speed. Both teams are fast. Like VERY fast. Dad Bods have been there, done that more often than the DD. Dad Bod for the win

What actually happened: Game postponed due to scheduling issues with Bois du Boulogne

 

• Dream Killers vs. BYOB

What I wrote: This should be another close game. If BYOB can get some pressure on Jeff, then they win this game. Mat Rene CANNOT have an off night. Carefully going to go with BYOB.

What actually happened: Game postponed due to scheduling issues with Bois du Boulogne

 

A look ahead to Week # 2

• Braves vs. Outsiders

The Braves looked like the Braves in their opener. Jonathan Maheu was confident and accurate, as usual, and the Braves did not miss Georges Gariepy as much as they might have as they added M-A Lapointe and Jesse Dupuis on defence. For the Outsiders, last week was a tale of two halves. Everything clicked in the first half and things were not as effective after the break. Missing Serge Pilon obviously did not help. If the Braves get Georges back, and keep their new defensive additions, they are going to make life difficult for the Outsiders. I think that Kevin will be able to put up points and move the ball, but his scoring will have to come from outside the red zone due to the size of the Braves defence. Braves by 6.

 

• #NR vs. YCSWU

Ah the battle of the acronyms! Roster issues affected both teams last week. What does this week hold in store? If Cory Pecker is back, then I think that this will be a fairly competitive game. His ability to buy time will definitely help his receiving corps. I still don’t think that it will be enough as Alex Holowach has assembled a really good squad this season. YCSWU for the win.

 

• BYOB vs. 2 ½ Alkaholiks

Nothing learned about BYOB this season as they were victims of the scheduling issue last Wednesday. Matt Rene has an interesting squad to throw to, so they should be able to put up points. As for the 2 ½…they need to be able to finish drives with scores if they want to improve on last week’s performance. I know that Paul Lapierre will not let things repeat themselves. Carefully going with the drinkers this week.

 

• Lightweight vs. Jasmin N Sons

Who shows up for Lightweight this week? Is Anthony Vendrame back? Roster issues/concerns play such a large part of the early weeks in the schedule. If Simon Dagenais can be as efficient with the ball as he was last week then Lightweight will cause a tremendous amount of trouble for teams. I still think that they are lacking the offensive talent to compete, but we shall see. If Vendrame is there this week then I think that JNS will win by 2 scores.

 

• Dream Killers vs. Dirty Dawgs

Both teams open their season with this game as they also fell victim to the scheduling issue. Dirty Dawgs will have their perennial short bench and will lean on two-way monster, Dave Chityat. If you do not get pressure on Jeff Rosenblatt, then he can be dangerously effective as a QB. I think that Jeff will buy himself some time in this game, but the Dirty Dawgs take it on converts.

 

• Dad Bod vs. Alpha-Ts

Dad Bod were the 4^th team to not play last week and have been waiting to get their season started. They kick it off against an Alpha-Ts team who looked good in Week 1 but who did not get the W. I really think that the Dad Bods have too much talent, across the board, for the T’s to match up with. If they can control their emotional side, then they will win their season opener.