Division 3 Mid-Season Review

Welcome to Week 6 of the FlagPlus Football Winter Season. It’s the official halfway point for most teams here in FPF. The time of the season when teams look in the mirror, look at what went right, and figure out how to fix what has gone wrong.

 

In last week’s article, I talked about waiting a week to write the Mid-Season review, because more than half the teams in Division 3, hadn’t yet played their fifth game. While there are still a select few that haven’t, the majority have, so without further adieu, here is my Mid-Season Review.

 

Conference A

 

East

 

Les Maloudes (4-1)

One of three remaining Conference A teams with only one loss, Les Maloudes have been a force on both sides of the ball this season.

Their offense, which has scored more than 30 points in all but one game this year, has been lethal, as they have shown they can beat teams with both the short game, and the long ball.

Quarterback Anthony Beauchamp-Frezza, has been among the best in the division, as he is tied for fourth in touchdown with 25, and the chemistry he has with his receivers, especially Guillaume St-Amand, and Sebastien Thibault, has been solid.

The defensive side of the ball however, is where I feel this team really shines.

Led by Defensive Back Marc-André Paradis, and their Rusher in the aforementioned Sebastien Thibault, the Les Maloudes defense, has already registered 10 interceptions and 10 sacks.

If that weren’t impressive enough, consider the fact that they have held two of their last three opponents (LGM and Martine et le flag) to 6 points each, and have only let one team so far this year (Les Studs) score more them 19 points on them.

Key Matchups Remaining: Junkyard Dogs (Week 7), Cougars (Week 9), The BrotherHood (Week 10).

 

 

Les Studs (3-2)

They have the best Quarterback, and leading passer in Div. 3 in Samuel Caron, and the number one offense, which has put up a division-best 201 points.

The big question surrounding this team, and what might be the one key factor that holds the, back from winning it all, is their defense.

For as impressive as they have been on offense, they have been as equally unimpressive on the other side of the ball, as they have given up 196 points.

The formula for success for Les Studs, seems predicated on simply outscoring their opponents. While that is how you win in football, it doesn’t always work, especially if you’re constantly involved in shootouts, as they have been repeatedly this season.

Tied for second in the Conference East with The BrotherHood, tomorrow night’s battle between both squads is huge.

Will the Les Studs defense be able to generate enough stops?

Key Matchups Remaining: The BrotherHood (Week 6), TOPSZN (Week 7), The Crew (Week 8).

 

 

The BrotherHood (3-2)

With two losses by a combined 3 points (conversions always matter), and currently riding a 2-game winning streak, The BrotherHood, appear to be getting things in gear.

Truth be told, very few if any other teams, can match this squad in speed, big-play ability, and knowledge of the game. When they have their entire team, they are nearly impossible to beat.

One player who was there for them this past Wednesday, was Quarterback Lonnie Johnson. The 2-time All-Star, who got his release from Top Sauce two weeks ago, threw 5 touchdowns in The BrotherHood’s (34-20) victory over KGP. That gives the veteran gunslinger, 9 TDs passes in two games with his new squad.

More importantly, the presence of Johnson, allows Theo Ojeaha, to move from QB, where he was more than decent, back to Wide Receiver, a position, in which the 9-time All-Star, was elected into the 2016 Hall-Of-Fame.

Key Remaining Matchups: Les Studs (Week 6), Trinity (Week 7), Les Maloudes (Week 10).

 

 

Cougars (2-3)

This team got off to a fast start, with back-to-back victories over Lightweight, and The BrotherHood (that tie-breaker could be huge) to start off the regular season.

Things have taken a turn for the worse the last two weeks, as the Cougars, got blown out (39-16) by Top Sauce in Week 6, and then lost a heartbreaker (52-47) to Les Studs, in Week 4.

While AJ Gomes, has been their Mr. Do-It-All on defense, with 4 interceptions, the team has struggle to get stops, as evident by the jaw-dropping 91 points they have given up over the course of their losing streak.

This team does have a talented offense, with Wedens Alexandre, Dante Sparagna, Jason Owoki, and the aforementioned Gomes at receiver, and Quarterback Erminio Iadeluca. Just like Les Studs, if the Cougars can’t get their act together on the other side of the ball, they won’t be going anywhere.

After also getting shredded by Rocco Christiano, and the Sweat & Beers offense last night in Brossard (Gomesxwas absent), all eyes will be on the Cougars defense, during their Week 8 contest against Trinity.

Key Matchups Remaining: Trinity (Week 8), Les Maloudes (Week 9), The Commission (Week 11).

 

 

Lightweight (2-2)

The receiving duo of Justin Blanchard, and Cory Kennedy, have provided Quarterback Simon Dagenais, with a pair of long and fast WRs, who can not only stretch the field, but also get into the end zone, as evident by their 11 combined touchdowns.

The only problem with Lightweight’s offense is that nobody else has really stepped up.

The same thing can be said about the other side of the ball, as Blanchard, and Kennedy, have combined for 4 interceptions and 2 TDs, while their teammates have contributed just 1 INT.

Part of the problem, has been the fluctuating roster, as guys like Kevin Lubin, Anthony Vendrame, and Brent Callender, among others, have subbed this year. While having replacement players is always a good thing, it doesn’t really do anything to help things like chemistry, timing, and continuity.

With players like Hendrick Ambroise, and Francois Hogue, there is clearly talent on the roster, in addition to Blanchard, and Kennedy. The team will need them, along with everybody else to step up, as they have arguably the toughest second half schedule in all of D3, with games against Les Maloudes, KGP, Junkyard Dogs, The BrotherHood, Top Sauce, and Trinity.

Key Matchups Remaining: KGP (Week 7), The BrotherHood (Week 9), Trinity (Week 10).

 

 

Top Sauce (2-3)

If you ignore their Week 3 blowout win over the Cougars, Top Sauce, has without a shadow of doubt, been the most disappointing team in Div. 3.

With one of the most talented rosters in the division, their struggle to start the season, is a prime example that it takes more than just talent to win in this league.

The one saving grace for Top Sauce, is that their remaining schedule has them playing only one team – KGP – with a winning record.

While the playoffs are still well within reach, Top Sauce, needs to get their act together. Yes, they are coming off of a blowout win over TOPSZN, in which their QB Vince Nardone, had more incompletions (4), than three of the players TOPSZN used at QB in the game (Eddy Lee, Justene Edwards, and Benjamin McMahon had TD passes (3), we will wait and see what TS does against stiffer competition.

Key Remaining Matchups: Martine et le flag (Week 7), Sweat & Beers (Week 9), Lightweight (Week 10).

 

 

LGM (1-4)

They finally got off the scheid so to speak, as they won their first game of the year last night, )34-19) over the Freshmen. Congrats!

In order for LGM to let the good times continue to roll, they need to step it up offensively, like they did last night, on a more consistent basis.
Armed with a solid Quarterback in Alex Lever, and some decent weapons in Charles Baillargeon, and Shawn Fontaine, among others, LGM, should be able to put up more points, than the 99 they have recorded so far.

Luckily for the third-year team, they face a number of defenses, who have been more than generous over the next few weeks, so they should be able to stay competitive.

Key Remaining Matchups: Les Studs (Week 9), Cougars (Week 10).

 

 

West

 

 

Trinity (3-1)

The only bump on their radar, was a (42-0) blowout loss to TOPSZN, in which Trinity, was without their starting Quarterback Jean-Félix Marquis.
With their QB in the lineup, the team averages over 37 points per game.

While the team only has 4 takeaways, with players like Alexandre Jubinville, Alexandre Samson, Marc-André Lapointe, and Rusher Benjamin Dansereau-Leclerc, Trinity, has the speed to matchup defensively with just about anybody in Div. 3.

Naturally, this team will be judged by what they do in the post-season. They have the talent to win it all, but a lot can happen between now, and the Finals

Key Remaining Matchups: The BrotherHood (Week 7), Cougars (Week 8), South Harmon Institute of Technology (Week 9).

 

 

KGP (3-2)

There’s no question this team has talent, and some championship pedigree as well, but what needs to be answered, is can KGP, get it done against good teams?

They have wins over TOPSZN, Martine et le flag, and Freshmen, but they lost to Trinity in Week 3, and are coming off of a (34-20) loss to The BrotherHood, last week.

For KGP, the road to respect, and more importantly the playoffs, starts tonight with a meeting against the BearSkins.

Will KGP, be up for the challenge?

Key Remaining Matchups: BearSkins (Week 6), Lightweight (Week 7), Top Sauce (Week 8), and Junkyard Dogs (Week 9).

 

 

Junkyard Dogs (3-1)

This team came up big, in a HUGE (39-37) win over Les Studs Monday night, despite missing their leader, and defensive play-caller in Rob White.
After missing their previous 3 games due to injury, Wide Receiver Jonathan Williams, returned and played a key role in the win, as he caught two touchdowns.

The Williams‘ play, has been symptomatic of the entire offense all season, as the team appears to have a next man up/leave you guessing type of offense. Just like legendary wrestler the late Roddy Roddy Piper, just when you think you have all the answers, Jason Rossie and his offense, change all the questions.

Their only blemish on the year, was an ugly (37-14) loss to Trinity in Week 1. After answering the bell against Les Studs, the JYD, has another one this Monday versus South Harmon Institute of Technology.

Week 10, sees them take on Blue Chips, in a rematch from the Summer Season, that JYD embarrass their opponents (35-8).

Key Remaining Matchups: South Harmon Institute of Technology(Week 6), Les Maloudes (Week 7), KGP (Week 9), and Blue Chips (Week 11).

 

 

Martine et le flag (2-3)

It’s a little early to judge, but Martine et le flag, have the look of a team that can only beat lesser teams. Case in point, they blew out the Freshmen, (24-0), and laid a (35-14) beatdown on TOPSZN.

While they only managed to lose by 9 points to the Junkyard Dogs, they lost by 26, to both KGP, and Les Maloudes.

Defensively, the lack of a legit Rusher has hurt them, as they have three players in Meng-Ly Born, Cédrick Cabana, and William Marchand, who have combined for 3 sacks.

On offense, they have a more than solid Quarterback in Samuel Bédard, but they need their receivers to step up, and make big plays.

Martine et le flag, has a pretty easy schedule the rest of the way, as they play Olympia Performance, LGM, and Scored your GF. I am more interested though, in seeing how they do against Trinity, and Top Sauce.

Key Remaining Matchups: Top Sauce (Week 7), Trinity (Week 9), Scored your GF (Week 11).

 

 

TOPSZN (1-3)

In Week 3, while preparing for my game against Sweat & Beers, I ran into my main man Justene Edwards. He told me I needed to throw some respect on the TOPSZN name.

I told him, that they hadn’t beaten anybody worthy enough for me to give his team the respect he was looking for. Yeah, they laid a beating on Trinity, but like I said earlier, they did have their starting Quarterback.

Three weeks later, it is still the same story, as they haven’t beat anybody else. In fact, TOPSZN, would go on to get hammered (35-14) by Martine et le flag, after our conversation.

Despite their unimpressive, and surprising start to the season, TOPSZN, has a few of winnable games on their schedule.

 

TOPSZN, has tough matchups too, in the BearSkins, Les Studs, The BrotherHood, Junkyard Dogs, and a seemingly improving The Magicians squad.

 

Will Edwards and his squad, prove that they deserve some respect?

Key Remaining Matchups: Les Studs (Week 7), BearSkins (Week 10), The Magicians (Week 11).

 

 

Freshmen (0-5)

When you have scored the least amount of points in the division (44), and you’ve given up the third most (178), that’s never a recipe for success. Nonetheless, that’s exactly where Freshmen find themselves.

Clearly, a team who bit off more than they can chew, by putting their team in Division 3, the most glaring problem for Freshmen, is the lack of a real Quarterback. The team has tried 5 already this season.

In the games that I seen of them so far, their offense is all about running around, trying to dodge the Rusher, and then chucking it up. A team like Blue Chips, when they choose to do it, can get away with this style of play, because they have an All-Star, and championship-winning QB, in Jordan Mitchell, and some receivers, in Marcus Mitchell, Sanders Armand, and Edwouard Valmé, who are game-breakers, that can take over a game.

 

When you don’t have those of players, this is usually the result.

On a positive note, this team does have a lot of speed. They also have some potentially winnable games on their schedule, in Scored your GF in Week 10, and Olympia Performance to close out the regular season.

Let’s see what happens.

Key Remaining Matchups: TOPSZN (Week 9), Scored your GF (Week 10), Olympia Performance (Week 11).

 

Conference B

 

 

East

 

 

The Alpha-T’s (5-0)

They have won big, they’ve won small, the only question that matters with The Alpha-T’s, is will they ever lose?

They have three tough matchups the rest of the way. For a team who last tasted defeat in Week 11 of the 2018 Winter Season, the odds are pretty high, that the goose egg will remain in the loss column.

Key Remaining Matchups: South Harmon Institute of Technology (Week 7), The Crew (Week 9), Dirty Dawgs (Week 10).

 

 

Dirty Dawgs (4-1)

Winners of three straight, the Dirty Dawgs,’ only loss on the season, came by 5 points to Les Maloudes (33-28).

The Dirty Dawgs have weapons on both sides of the ball, and they have proven throughout the year so far, that they are just as good as any in Division 3.

Monday night, they have a must-watch game against The Crew. That is followed by games against The Commission, and The Alpha-T’s, in Week 9 and 10 respectively.

How will things shake out?

 

Key Remaining Matchups: The Cree (Week 6), The Commission (Week 9), The Alpha-T’s (Week 10).

 

 

The Crew (4-1)

Are The Crew, a legit contender? The answer can be more complicated than you think.

Mystery and surprise are usually a good thing in football, and The Crew, showed exactly why, as the first-year squad smashed The Commission (38-12) in Week 1.

At the midway point, with wins over the Big Ballers and Lightweight on their resume, the secret is out on The Crew. They are a fast and athletic team, that has chemistry, timing, and execution down pact.

The blemish on their record, is an 8-point (39-31) loss to the Jaguars, in Week 2. All credit to the Jags for the victory but I think the loss perhaps, had more to do with the fact that The Crew, might’ve taken their opponents lightly, after their easy Week 1 win.

This past Monday, they handed Blue Chips, their first loss of the season (40-26), as they trailed (18-6) at the half, only to rail, and drop 34 points on their opponents in the second stanza. Impressive.

With games against the Dirty Dawgs, BearSkins, Les Studs, and The Alpha-T’s in consecutive weeks, The Crew, have a chance to place themselves squarely not just in the contender conversation, but possibly among the favorites to win it all.

Let’s see what happens.

Key Remaining Matchups: Dirty Dawgs (Week 6), BearSkins (Week 7), Les Studs (Week 8), The Alpha-T’s (Week 9).

 

The Commission (3-2)

After starting Domenico Benevento at Quarterback in Week 1, the team switched to Chris Olson. Last winter, the 2-time All-Star, came in relief of an ineffective Alessandro Barazzoni, and led the team to an (8-2) record, and an offense that averaged 33 points a game.

Unfortunately, for the veteran squad and their QB, their offense hasn’t been able to find the same magic, as they have only scored more than 19 points, once this season.

While the team lost the big play ability of AJ Gomes from last winter, they still have weapons at Wide Receiver, with the additions of Joel Malkin, and Keeshin Mayers.

On the other side of the ball, while they have some new additions in Meïssa N’Garane, and the aforementioned Malkin, long-time stalwarts like Kenny Boutilier, Zackary Alberts-Gill, Julian McLaren-Thompson, and Mike Young, continue to keep the heart of the team running.

Despite dropping 31 points last night, the main question TC must answer, is will they be able to find their rhythm offensively, to not only get into the postseason, but to win some games when they get there?

Key Remaining Matchups: South Harmon Institute of Technology (Week 8), Dirty Dawgs (Week 9), Jaguars (Week 10), Cougars (Week 11).

 

 

Jaguars (3-2)

I must admit, this team is hard to read. They barely hang on to beat winless LGM in Week 1. Then, they knock off a really good The Crew team, the week after.

Over the next two weeks, they lose by 8 to the Dirty Dawgs, get smoked by The Alpha-T’s (37-18), in a game that looked like it was men against boys, and then they predictably hired Olympia Performance (45-24) last night.

Having covered these guys last year, I definitely know they have talent. I am just wondering is this team a contender, or pretender.

Remaining games against The Commission, Blue Chips, and a suddenly surging Scored your GF, will let us know for sure.

Key Remaining Matchups: Blue Chips (Week 7), Scored your GF (Week 8), The Commission (Week 10), Sweat & Beers (Week 11).

 

 

Sweat & Beers (2-3)

Having played them in Week 3, and scrimmaged against Sweat & Beers before the season started, I can honestly say, that they are better than their record suggests.

The problem with the team, is that they don’t play a complete game. Either they play rock solid defense, and their offense starts to stall, or their defense can’t gets enough stops, and their lights it up.

With Rocco Christiano at QB, the team was able to get a solid win over the Cougars last night in Brossard (37-36), that wasn’t as close as the final score would indicate.

Finding a balance, as well as finding a player, who can consistently step up and make a play at a crucial time will be key for Sweat & Beers, if they want to turn their season around.

Key Remaining Matchups: The Magicians (Week 7), Top Sauce (Week 9), Jaguars (Week 10).

 

 

Big Ballers (0-5)

Having worked at McGill, calling Redmen football games with Moe Khan for the last five years, I got a lot of opportunities to see David Polynice play. He was a really good shutdown Cornerback, and in most games, he was arguably the best CB on the field, no matter who McGill played.

For Big Ballers, he actually plays Safety, and he does a pretty good job.

Unfortunately for Polynice, he isn’t a Quarterback, at least not right now, and unfortunately for Big Ballers as well, that is the position he plays for them.

While he can scramble for days, and even hit a couple of short passes, his inability to consistently hit the deep ball, or even intermediate passes, really hurts the team’s offense, as they have only scored more than two touchdowns in a game once, and have been held to one score twice already.

This team has weapons at Wide Receiver, in Gabriel Samné, and Gabriel Poisson. If they had a more consistent QB, the offense would be able to put more points on the board.

Key Remaining Matchups: Scored your GF (Week 7), Blue Chips (Week 8), Jaguars (Week 9).

 

 

West

 

 

Blue Chips (4-1)

They breezed by The Magicians in Week 1, hung on by 3 points to get past the South Harmon Institute of Technology, and laid the hammer down on the BearSkins (38-19) in Week 3.

Not everything ended up Rose’s for Blue Chips however, as they recently suffered their first loss, falling (40-26), last Monday in Saint-Laurent.
While the loss wasn’t completely surprising, as they took on team that shares a lot of similarities with them, it was the defensive, meltdown, that saw them give up 34 points, that left a lot people scratching their heads.

What the loss just a bad game, or was it a sign of something bigger, especially on defense?

The answer to the latter question will be answered over the next two weeks, as they take on Trinity tonight, and the Jaguars in Week 7.

Key Remaining Matchups: Trinity (Week 6), Jaguars (Week 7), Junkyard Dogs (Week 11).

 

 

BearSkins (3-2)

 

This team has a lot of championship experience, but the one thing they don’t have is speed. On offense, besides Marco Bertoldi, and Sasha Papich, no one can really take the top off of an offense consistently.

When they have to take on teams like they did in Blue Chips, the lack of speed, might come back to haunt them.

Another question that must be asked, is who have they beat? While they did push The Alpha-T’s to their limit, losing (20-13) last Monday at Stade Hebert, the answer is Olympia Performance, and Scored your GF…Exactly.

Key Remaining Matchups: KGP (Week 6), The Crew (Week 7), Sweat & Beers (Week 7), South Harmon Institute of Technology (Week 9).

 

 

Scored your GF (2-2)

With wins over Olympia Performance, and The Magicians, and then suffering a (37-6) beatdown at the hands of BearSkins, at first glance, through the first three weeks of the season, Scored your GF, looked like a team that shouldn’t be taken seriously.

In their Week 6 (46-39) loss to the Dirty Dawgs, Scored your GF, or Moss City 2.0 as I like to call them, proved to the entire division that they can hang with the big boys of D3.

Their remaining schedule is favourable, as it sees their Week 9 tilt with Blue Chips, as their only one against a team with a winning record.
Let’s see how they do.

Key Remaining Matchups: Big Ballers (Week 7), Blue Chips (Week 9), South Harmon Institute of Technology (Week 10), Martine et le flag (Week 11).

 

 

South Harmon Institute of Technology (2-2)

I respect t these guys, and I don’t want to call a veteran team like this overrated, but the fact of the matter is, their two wins have come against the (0-5) Olympia Performance, and the similar (0-5) Big Ballers, who they only managed to beat (21-13), last Monday night. Not exactly inspiring.

The flip side of course, is that they only lost by 3 to Blue Chips, (35-32), but then they got smoked by The Magicians, (38-14), in Week 3.
On talent alone, this team should be a lot better than what their record indicates, and because of their past success as the Coyotes, and Mountain Lions, part of me wants to give them a pass, while the other part is telling me to not ignore the facts.

What I will do, is take a wait and see/cowardly sitting on the fence approach. South Harmon Institute of Technology, has one of, if not the toughest second half schedule, as they take on the Junkyard Dogs tomorrow night, followed by The Alpha-T’s, BearSkins, The Commission, Trinity, and Scored your GF. Let’s wait 2-3 weeks, and see how they look.

Key Remaining Matchups: Junkyard Dogs (Week 6), The Alpha-T’s (Week 7), BearSkins (Week 8) , The Commission (Week 9), Trinity (Week 10).

 

 

The Magicians (1-4)

After looking like a Division 6 team on both sides of the ball through the first two weeks of the season, The Magicians, added some much-needed talent in the shape of Jordan McLaren, and Jason Prince. The duo has paid dividends offensively, as they have combined for 8 touchdowns in 3 games.

Defense, is where this team is lacking, as outside of McLaren, and Prince, the team doesn’t have any one who can be considered a game-changer.

More importantly, while the spark has been great, the team still only has one win. The simple formula for beating them, is to throw at their other defenders, and cautiously pick tour spots if you chose to go at the aforementioned duo.

Simply put, if The Magicians, want to turn their season around, other players on offense (not just Tony Khoury), and on defense, to make an impact consistently.

Key Remaining Matchups: Sweat & Beers (Week 7), The Alpha-T’s (Week 8), KGP (Week 10).

 

Olympia Performance (0-5)

Clearly, their defense needs help, as they have surrendered a Division 3 worse 205 points.

The 62 points delivered by their offense, isn’t much better, as it is the third worst in D3.

Simply put, we see this every year in FPF, a rookie, or mostly new team, figures they can hang in one of the top three divisions during the registration period, and they ignore the warnings signs, only to find out that they were dead wrong once it’s too late.

Just like the Freshmen, Olympia Performance is obviously a team that should be playing in either Division 6A, or 6B.

Speaking of Freshmen, both teams do battle in Week 10, giving either side their best, and most likely only shot at winning.

 

Key Remaining Matchups: Martine et le flag (Week 9), Freshmen (Week 10).

 

Elite 8 Power Rankings

The Alpha-T’s

Les Maloudes

Dirty Dawgs

Trinity

Junkyard Dogs

The Crew

Blue Chips

Les Studs

 

Picks

 

I actually wrote the majority of the article Saturday morning, but I wasn’t able to finish it until today because of work. The only thing I changed, was some of the stuff I wrote about for various teams, about games this weekend, and their records, due to the games that were played last night. I am going to keep my original picks

 

Cougars vs Sweat & Beers – Sweat & Beers (Upset Special #1)

LGM vs Freshmen – LGM

Top Sauce vs TOPSZN – Top Sauce

Olympia Performance vs Jaguars – Jaguars

The Commission vs The Magicians- N/A

The Alpha-T’s vs Big Ballers – The Alpha-T’s

BearSkins vs KGP – BearSkins (Upset Special #2)

Blue Chips vs Trinity – Trinity (Upset Special #4 and My pick for Game Of The Week #1)

Lightweight vs Les Maloudes – Les Maloudes

South Harmon Institute of Technology vs Junkyard Dogs – Junkyard Dogs (My pick for Game Of The Week #2)

The BrotherHood vs Les Studs – The BrotherHood

The Crew vs Dirty Dawgs (My pick for Game Of The Week #3)

Last Week: (4-3)

Season: (35-18)

 

That’s it for this week. My apologies on getting the article out so late, sometimes work gets in the way. Good luck to everybody in their games, and I promise to have next week’s article out on time.

 

If you loved the article, hated it, or simply felt like I left something out, feel free to contact me at [email protected] or on Twitter @BADNEWSB51