Carmine’s Coffin Corner | Week 7 review and jumbled thoughts

Crazy weekend and crazier work commitments have me scrambling to hit deadlines this week. Imagine spending a Sunday with your teenage daughter’s soccer team, coached by your wife, watching game film in your living room. Sound like fun? 13 pizzas, 50 chicken wings, 6 orders of crazy bread, no idea how many soft drinks later and it was a bit of a gong show! Hopefully some of the older guys can relate. For you younger lads…heads up on what awaits you down the road!

What did we learn from Week 7?

– The Kevin Wyeth show continues. A silly second half surge has moved him up into discussions for ROTY. Not sure that anyone will catch Yoni, but Kev had another big game 7-118-3 TDs
– Lonnie Johnson has not forgotten how to play receiver as he teamed up with his brother for 9-114-4 TD performance against Polvige.
– Stephen Harripersaud continues to amaze with his precision “dink & dunk” style fitting footballs into these tiny windows on a crazy regular basis. Hold on. He actually had a few incompletions this week!! What is up with that? Still finished with 5 TDs vs 0 INTs.

What did we NOT learn from Week 5?

– Who are the Pacemakers? I am really getting confused by their performance. Some weeks they look like they should be in D6 and then in others they look really good. This past week was one of those “really good” weeks.
– Wolfpack is still unable to get everyone to the game on the same night. Still think that they will be a tough out, but their roster issues continue to plague them

Random Thoughts

– FML continues to impress in D1. Two consecutive victories over the other top teams demonstrate their clutch play. Of course, the victories were only by 1 point so there is parity.
– The offences in 35+ continue to stay hot as we saw 374 points scored this week. This is the 4th straight week over 340 points.
– 2 teams in 35+ with the opportunity to finish the regular season with a perfect mark. A.S. have the Pacemakers and Monster Jim in their way while JMJ can accomplish the feat with a victory over Polvige this Thursday. My money is on both of them pulling it off.
– Facebook continues to be inundated with teams looking for spares. This is what happens when you run with a small roster. Injuries happen, and events come up. A larger roster pays off.
– Scoring 1 point in an FPF game is almost impossible. Having said that…it happened last week. When your only trip to the end zone is thanks to the defence intercepting a convert and bringing it back you need to have an offensive intervention.

Week in Review

JMJ beat the GOXM 40-27

Considering the way their season has unfolded, this was actually a good game for the GOXM. JMJ have been in control throughout their season and have now put themselves in a position to finish the Regular Season with a perfect 8-0 mark. Stephen Harripersaud continues to run his very effective and efficient offence to frustration. Kevin Kousaie with a strong game on offence finishing with 6 catches to lead the way. Taking a small detour from his never-ending walk/job to Mordor, Karl Denie stopped by to chip in with 2 TDs and a Sack on defence. Guatama finished with a decent completion percentage going 13-19 but with only 126 yards and 2 INTs you are not going to win many games. The GOXM need to use their last two game to get their offence going in the right direction before playoff time

FPF over Polvige 52-26

FPF get off the “shneid” in a BIG way with this upset. Having posted zero victories thus far, and a revolving door at QB, this was a bit of a shock. With only 6 catches in his previous 2 games as a receiver, Lonnie Johnson exploded for 9-114-4 TDs. Not sure if people forgot how good of a receiver he was/is but he used to tear it up as a SB in his youth. David O’Hara continues his strong season as he chipped in with 2 more TDs. Still not sure how Domenic Tosi has not become a bigger part of this offence, but he took matters into his own hands by contributing a “Pick 6” on defence. Polvige was unable to recreate the magic from Angelo “Aggie” Kalaidopoulos’ previous two starts at QB. Highlight for the evening was Aggie’s end to end TD run.

O.A.S. beat the Oldpack 52-34

Heads up. Kevin Wyeth can catch the ball. His 2nd straight big game has moved him into 3rd place in the yardage category. Teams may wish to take note. Cory Pecker also continues his strong season with another 8 TD outing. Chipping in offensively were Jason Price and Tony Lalla who both scored twice. Pascal Murray put up big numbers for the Oldpack as he finished with 273 yards passing. Unfortunately, too many of those yards finished outside of the end zone. JM Alerte led the way with 2 TDs for the Oldpack who were again missing a key player or two.

Pacemakers hammer the Relics 53-20

What would have been my lock for easy pick of the week went sideways in a heartbeat in this one. Hats off to the Pacemakers for their effort in this one. 5 INTs? 2 Pick 6s? While the score finished 53-20 it actually felt like an even more lopsided game when watching. Jason Rossie with his best game of the year as he finished with 4 passing TDs, a rushing TD, AND a Pick 6 on D. Chris Brockwell also had a very strong game with a TD on offence, 2 INTs and 2 PDs on defence capped off with the other Pick 6. A very pedestrian day at the office for Jeff Rosenblatt but I am sure that he is already shrugged it off. Things happen and, hopefully for him, he has gotten all of the silliness out of his system in one evening. Yoni Lehrer continues his march to the ROTY Award with 7-128-3 TDs in the loss.

The Spitfire beat Monster Jim 40-30

The late game saw the Spitfire break the deadlock and win the season series against MJ (24-24 tie in game 1). The win for the ‘Fire also locks their playoff spot to the 2 vs. 3 game. Both teams missing players for this one. The Spitfire juggled their roster while MJ brought out old friends. Leading the way for the ‘Fire were Andrew Carruthers and JP Moreau who both found the end zone twice. Interesting stat, JP Moreau becomes the 9th player with a receiving TD this season. Truly a team effort on offence. Jeff Brown continues to rack up tackles, leading the defensive charge with 5 more on the night. Not quite sure what it is about the Spitfire/35ers, but it seems to bring out the best in Craig “Owie” O’Brien who had yet another strong game. He finished 6-108-2 TDs, had 2 PDs on defence, and went 1-1 from the HB spot as well.

So where do things stand now as the playoffs approach?

Draft Division

– JMJ has clinched first place
– Polvige is in the 2 vs. 3 game
– A Paramount win in either of their last 2 OR an FPF loss and Paramount are in the 2 vs. 3 game

Tier 1

– O.A.S. have clinched first
– Spitfire are in the 2 vs. 3 game
– A Monster Jim win or Oldpack loss and MJ face the Spitfire

Tier 2

– Nothing really decided.

A quick reminder of what the playoff schedule looks like

Playoffs Week 1 – Mar 21
45	Thurs Mar 21	Draft/Team4	Draft/Team1	19h00	Kirkland Dome
46	Thurs Mar 21	Draft/Team3	Draft/Team2	20h00	Kirkland Dome
47	Thurs Mar 21	Tier 2/Team3	Tier 2/Team2	21h00	Kirkland Dome
48	Thurs Mar 21	Tier 1/Team4	Tier 1/Team1	22h00	Kirkland Dome
49	Thurs Mar 21	Tier 1/Team3	Tier 1/Team2	23h00	Kirkland Dome
	Thurs Mar 21	Byes – No Game		Tier 2/Team1
Playoffs Week 2 – Mar 28
	Thurs Mar 28			19h00	Kirkland Dome
50	Thurs Mar 28	Draft	Draft	20h00	Kirkland Dome
51	Thurs Mar 28	Tier2	Tier2	21h00	Kirkland Dome
52	Thurs Mar 28	Tier1	Tier1	22h00	Kirkland Dome
	Thurs Mar 28			23h00	Kirkland Dome
	Thurs Mar 28	Byes – No Game

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s take a look at the week ahead.

Paramount (2-4) vs. FPF (1-5-1)

The season began so well for Paramount. They came out strong in their first 2 games (both victories) and then went toe-to-toe with the Spitfire. Then Dave Allen hurt his hand, the team lost the game late, and have not won since that point. Weird to be able to look back at any one moment in the season and call it a “defining” one but this one seems to be that one. I have written about the mental effect that your center can have on a QB. Eugene has simply not seemed as calm in the pocket since that moment. For FPF las week had to have been a sigh of relief. Starting the season as poorly as they have, with the talent that they have, has been a bit of a head scratcher. Lonnie had a massive game from the receiver position. Does he stay there? Or is it his turn back at the pivot position? I think that FPF will build on their strong play from last week and get their second victory of the season

Pacemakers (2-4) vs. O.A.S. (6-0)

Hopefully the Pacemakers enjoyed their beers after last week’s game because I have a feeling they will not taste so sweet this week. O.A.S. has looked good in every game they have played so far. Cory Pecker seems to be in complete control of what he wants to do and no defence has figured out how to stop Jason Prince & Kevin Wyeth in the same game. The Pacemakers had their best team performance of the season last week and will need to match that intensity on defence this week if they are going to have a chance at stopping the undefeated season from O.A.S. I really do not see that happening so give me O.A.S. for the win.

JMJ (7-0) vs. Polvige (3-3-1)

Speaking of perfect seasons, that is what is on the line in this one. JMJ can cap off their regular season in style by defeating Polvige. Expect a big game from Rob “I can do everything” Allen. He has had a very quiet year, for him, but I expect them to use this as a playoff preview and use him as the centerpiece. Stephen Harripersaud has had a very good, if quiet, season. Currently 4th in passing yardage and 2 in TDs he has flown under the radar all season. Polvige still has question marks at the QB spot. Is Jon Moodie ready to return? Will Aggie get the start or is Rochdi coming back out? Give me JMJ to cap their season properly.

Oldpack (2-4) vs. Monster Jim (3-2-1)

Both teams continue to have roster issues in recent weeks. MJ has definitely looked better than the Oldpack this season and Andy Peterkin has been effective if not flashy. Their roster challenges have definitely not helped their consistency. A ridiculous 12 players have caught TDs this season! I thought that the Spitfire had to adapt on offence, but this is ridiculous! The Oldpack have gone through similar challenges but Pascal Murray keeps finding ways to move the ball. With a win MJ will guarantee themselves a spot in the 2 vs. 3 game. Oldpack need to win out and get some help. I think that MJ closely takes this one as I do not have faith in the Oldpack roster being complete.

Relics (3-3) vs. The GOXM (0-6)

The Relics will have spent the entire week waiting to get back on the field after laying that goose egg last week. Thursday cannot possibly come soon enough for them. Yoni Lehrer has simply been the MAN all season for Jeff Rosenblatt. No one else on the team is in double digits for receptions yet. While it has worked so far, he has 19 TDs in 6 games!, I am not sure that they will be able to keep up the 1 trick pony act. The GOXM are looking to turn the corner on their frustrating season thus far. A strong performance last week will have them also anxious to take the field. The playoff jockeying is still underway in Tier 2, so the game is relevant. The GOXM will need to stop Yoni if they want any chance of winning this one. Give me the Relics.

Enjoy the games this week. The Spitfire have the BYE so I am off.