Division C: Upset City and Upcoming Jeff Rosenblatt Interview

Underdogs exist in life, and in sports. There are a multitude of reasons why someone gets that label. In FPF, the same thing applies. Lack of experience, playmakers, overall talent, execution, timing, or even stats, there are always favourites on one side, and the rest on the other.

The beauty of sports is that you throw all of that out the window, and you go out and play the game to see who or what team is better that day or night. It happens in FPF as well, and this past week was a prime example.

Never Overtime showed it’s never a problem when they have their full roster available as they did Sunday night, when they scored back-to-back upset victories over the Big Fat Bats and Trinity

There were three things that stood out in both games. The impact play of the dynamic duo of Rhami Aboud and Mack Dessources, the steadiness of Quarterback Ryan Kharouf, and the depth of this team.

Starting with first two players mentioned, both Dessources and Aboud delivered several key plays, as they made plays on both sides of the field that helped carry the team to the pair of wins. For the fifth-year player in Aboud, he delivered six touchdowns on 14 receptions for 206 yards, to go along with two pass deflections.

For the eleventh-year vet in Dessources, although he only found the endzone three times in comparison, he led his team in tackles in both games with nine and two pass deflections, while providing air-tight coverage on the other team’s top Receivers.

Much-maligned for his penchant for forcing throws and tossing interceptions in recent seasons, Kharouf, played his best football of the season, as he tossed 13 touchdowns and only two INTS on the evening.  Just as important, he threw the ball not just with authority, but with timing, and anticipation. At his best, Kharouf’s game resembles that of Jacksonville Jaguars Quarterback Trevor Lawrence, in that both throwers have cannons for arms and can throw tight spirals, but they are also capable of creating plays with their legs. When they avoid interceptions and questionable passes, they can each be tough to beat. For the FPF QB, that was the case Sunday night.

Looking past the impact of the three best players, the team also showed how much depth they have as players like Max Philogene, Karim Madji, Sacha Saint-Amand, Laurent Charles, and Jeremy Martinet all stepped up and made big plays. Martinet really stood out as he repeatedly burnt the Trinity defense on deep routes several times throughout the contest, on the way to hauling in two touchdowns.

Looking at the big picture, both victories should give this team some confidence, as they went from being on the outside of the playoffs, to now being in the middle of the race. The wins also put Never Overtime in a tie with Bleue Dry for third place in Group D, as both teams have six points, and one point behind second place The Penetrators. Never Overtime who has a game in-hand on both teams, lost the regular season meeting (30-29) in Week 3 to the former, but face the latter in Week 9.

If Never Overtime somehow goes undefeated the rest of the way, they could catch Big Fat Bats who currently sit in first with 11 points, provided BFB goes winless, or only earns one point over their three remaining games.

The Nighthawks were another struggling team who found some success Sunday night in Laval, as they finally notched their first win of the season with a (39-24) victory over Team Ruthless.

Nighthawks Quarterback Fabrice Robillard had one of his best games of the year as he completed 14 of 21 passes for 160 yards with three touchdowns, one on the ground, and a QB Rating of 129.0. He got a little help, as backup QB tossed two touchdowns of his own on 4 of 6 passing for 45 yards.

Both Quarterbacks who also caught passes as receivers, did a good job of spreading the ball around, as Reginald Prophete, Yvan Salomon, Vladimir Pirrus, and Stefano De Seta recorded touchdowns. Fifth-year Receiver Jean Gardy had a solid performance with six catches for 65 yards.

Although the Nighthawks defense gave up three 25-yard plus touchdown passes, they were able to use their speed and aggression to smother Team Ruthless’ short passing game.

The Nighthawks played with a confidence that I hadn’t seen from the team all year. Let’s see if they can carry that with them, and make a late push for a playoff spot, as they close out the regular season with games against Mengoose, Rico Ryders, Pacemakers, and Killer Rays.

Idaho Udapimps are still undefeated, but they came within a hair of losing their zero in the loss column, as they earned a hard-fought point in a (34-34) tie with the West Island Boys.

While they usually employ a team-approach in their games, Idaho Udapimps mainly earned their one-point due to the efforts of Jerome Hovington, who had a game-high four touchdowns, and Rusher Gabriel Lemonde, who had a season-high three sacks.

The West Island Boys snatched their point on the heels of a five-touchdown performance by dual-threat QB Nicholas Di Maulo, and emerging impact player Sam Anastasopoulos, who led his team with two TD receptions.

This game went down to the wire as, the West Island Boys took a late lead on a 33-yard touchdown catch by Nick Richard with four plays remaining. Looking to keep their perfect season alive, Idaho Udapimps responded on the last play of the contest as Marvin Steinberg scored a 14-yard TD.

The eight-time All-Star would play the hero once again, as he recorded the 2-point conversion (his second of the game) to send the match to overtime.

Both teams failed on their 1-point attempts in the extra frame, but it didn’t take away from what might have been the best game of the year so far.

Both teams get a much-needed bye week, before returning to the field next Sunday. Idaho Udapimps takes on the Big Fat Bats at Loyola, while the West Island Boys go head-to-head with Win Diesel.

The performance by WIB was a stark contrast to the week before where they made multiple mistakes and left several points on the field in a loss to Mengoose. The point earned was huge, as it gave them a 1-point lead over the Rico Ryders for first place in Group B. Let’s see if they can build off the performance after their bye.

Jagerbomb had a zero in the loss column, but that all went away with a (33-20) loss Wednesday night in Laval against Les Petites Carottes.

The Les Petites Carottes defense came to play, as they held the Jagerbomb offense to a season-low in points, and intercepted Quarterback Simon Duchesne twice.

On offense, Les Petites Carottes were led by an impressive outing by QB Jason Rayes, who tossed five touchdowns, three of which went to former Champlain Cavaliers Michael Fafard, Charles Côte, and Zachary Cloutier.

The unit also played keep away, as they had second half drives of nine and six plays which forced the Jagerbomb offense to stay on the sidelines.

The win gave Les Petites Carrottes two for Week 7, as they also got a forfeit victory over the Rico Ryders last Sunday, and gave them a two-point lead over Jagerbomb for first place in Group C.

Picks

Win Diesel vs Big Fat Bats – Big Fat Bats

Fins Up vs Team Ruthless – Fins Up

Team Ethnik vs Backfield Penetration – Backfield Penetration

Mengoose vs Nighthawks – Mengoose

Mengoose vs Bleue Dry – Bleue Dry

Les Renards Vifs vs Air Laval – Air Laval (My pick for Game of the Week)

Trapstars vs Pacemakers – Trapstars (Upset Special)

Killer Rays vs Backfield Penetration – Backfield Penetration

Last Week: (6-6-1)

Regular Season: (50-23-2)

Upset Special: (6-8)

That is it for this week. Good luck to everyone in their games tomorrow and this week. Enjoy the long weekend, and happy Canada Day!

Don’t forget, there are two more days until the release of my interview with new FPF Owner Jeff Rosenblatt, on my podcast The 514 Show. It will be available on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and wherever else you get podcasts on Monday July 1st. Make sure to download, share, and check it out. I will upload the link on the FPF Facebook page as well.

If you liked the article, hated it, or simply felt like I left something out, please feel free to contact me at [email protected], or on the FPF Facebook page.