Division D – Week 1

Welcome back everybody.

I’m excited to get to cover Division D for another season, a division in which I know a lot of you and will be competing against all of you for a championship. Should make for an interesting season.

To keep things short and sweet and to avoid me rambling on in most of my articles, I’ll try to keep the format pretty straightforward and similar week in and week out. You’ll get to hear my thoughts of the week, a few recaps, power rankings and then finally my favorite segment, “You ball, you get the call” which will see me interview our Division’s best.

Without further ado, let’s get started.

 

Thoughts of the week

• Anybody else preparing to be depressed once Game of Thrones finishes tonight?
• At least we can all look forward to my articles instead – kidding, I don’t have dragons in my articles.
• I can’t decide which I’m enjoying more, the NBA playoffs or the NHL playoffs.
• Is anybody actually cheering for the Bruins or the Warriors?
• I’ve had the busiest weekend in recent memory, currently finishing this article as my girlfriend yells at me to help clean the house.
• Harry Potter marathons are what Sundays should really be about.
• Luis Begin is a beast on the field but may be even more impressive releasing his articles as quickly as he does. It strikes me that he does everything at full speed.
• Here’s to hoping that Jon Snow sits on the Iron Throne once the dust settles tonight.
• Let’s keep Papineau spoiler free tonight, please.
• I’m anticipating both Division D-1 and D-2 to be incredibly close. There are 6-7 solid teams that should beat other up to claim the Division D Iron Throne, if you will.
• Anybody else a little bit sad that we are going to see less of Simon Dagenais? I think that may just be me.
• Best line I’ve heard this week when talking about a team name – “I used a random name generator until we found one that we liked”
• The final thought that I leave you with – Why hasn’t summer started yet?

 

Weekly Recaps 

D-1 

Bird Gang 18 vs. Unknown Talent 27

Classic game of mentor vs. mentee where the mentees seemed to have been a step ahead all night. It took only 6 plays for Unknown Talent to take the lead and they never looked back.

The game began completely in favor of Unknown Talent who seems to be far less unknown this season, arguably one of the favorites in the division. Bird Gang quickly punted when they couldn’t gain a single first down and Alessandro Barazzoni made them pay with a 37 yard touchdown pass to Nicholas Groppini.

The bad start continued for Bird Gang as AJ Gomes had trouble moving the ball, until a bad snap sent them back to their own 6 yard line. That helped set up a sack by Raffaele Morelli to get Unknown Talent the safety. Going backwards with the ball is never a good thing, and AJ Gomes looked frustrated as he tried to extend the play in his own endzone but ultimately ran out of real estate and got cornered in the back.

The Bird Gang defense actually began to step up and caused a quick 3 and out by Barazzoni, leading to a long bomb of their own when AJ connected with Domenico Manno for 35 yards and a score. The  tides slowly began to turn as we saw Bird Gang come up with another stop on 4th down which gave them only 22 yards to go for the score and they capped the short drive off with a 6 yard touchdown to Anthony Lazzara right before the half.

Bird Gang showed their experience by marching down the field and scoring right after the half to take the lead, but ultimately they just couldn’t muster anything else for the rest of the game and couldn’t contain the explosive offense of Unknown Talent. Groppini scored once more and the exclamation point came on a 1 yard touchdown to Nicholas Gomes-Risso.

Overall, both teams showed a lot of athleticism and looked strong at different points in the game, however Barazzoni’s experience at quarterback and the speed of Unknown Talent’s receivers were ultimately the difference.

 

Hot Sauce Sports 18 vs. A-Town 30

I don’t often look forward to games when I’m scheduled to score-keep but this one was different. A-Town managed to improve on their roster from last season by adding Dynell Pierre but would he play? Peeze was able to put together probably the strongest roster we have ever seen in Division D but would he be able to take advantage of his weapons? Surely we were in for a good game.

Besides Gualano, Power and Blanchard, Hot Sauce Sports actually has an amazing group of players that otherwise maybe relatively unknown and looked better than I anticipated if that was possible. Brad Evans is an excellent snapper, George Aifantis and Gianni Frassetti are also excellent athletes that will make a lot of plays for this team this season as they have in this game as well. I get the sense that A-Town caught them off guard because the strength of Hot Sauce will be their defense.

As we all probably know, the success of the team will rest on Peeze’s shoulders. He had drives in this game where everything worked to perfection, including his opening drive, but then others where his throws we’re a little bit off which led to interceptions and tipped balls. He’ll need to create more of a comfort zone with plays that do not include drags across the field to keep the defense guessing.

Hot Sauce Sports had a few chances to run away with this game, thanks in part to a few interceptions by big name players, but they simply couldn’t capitalize. They left the door open for A-Town to crawl back into the game, led by Jimmy Marneris and Emile Plante and they took advantage. Plante can be a hit or miss quarterback, enjoying shots down field and taking big chunks of yards at the same time. He scored on their second possession by only completing two passes, both for more than 15 yards.

The final score of this game was a result of Hot Sauce Sports having trouble closing drives in the red zone, whereas A-Town often made them pay. The result was far more encouraging for me in A-Town’s favor as it showed us that they can handle a top tier team in the division. I’m not as concerned with Hot Sauce as I feel like Peeze will get it together and their defense should carry them with a little bit more experience.

 

D-2

 

EZW 45 vs. Los Avocados 25

I was hesitant to write about this game because most of us in the Division know what EZW is all about and I didn’t want to sound like a broken record. None the less, I got to see it live and marvelled at the excellence of Jeremy White, who we will hear from later, and the dominance of Charles-Olivier Lavigne.

EZW admittedly will probably not have the best defense in the Division, but they’re game plan will always be to simply score more points than you. And they are very good at scoring points. Both teams traded a few scores early in the game and Joshua Vazquez was able to keep up with White with touchdowns to Mathieu Guindon and Igor Hubin. EZW then took the lead to end the half in typical New England Patriots fashion, following that up with a quick score to start the second half and pull away in the game.

On their ensuing drive, Vasquez had trouble connecting to a receiver as 7 of his next 9 throws fell incomplete, ultimately turning the ball over on 4th down. If you’re playing EZW, especially coming from behind, you need to hold on to the ball and sustain longer drives.

On the other side, Jeremy White utilized all of his receivers and Los Avocados just couldn’t come up with a stop defensively. 4 different players on EZ had a touchdown and Lavigne’s 7 catches led all receivers in the game. It will be interesting to see whether there is another team in D-2 that can come up with a recipe to stop EZW this season. White is definitely hungry for his first championship.

 

Fighting Amish 26 vs. Buffalo Wild Wings 25

In the closest game of the week that I followed, we saw a shorthanded Fighting Amish team narrowly defeat the Buffalo Wild Wings. Going into the game, I really thought that why the Amish had a few better athletes, I wasn’t convinced that they could put a full game together and the experience of the Buffalo Wild Wings would come out on top. Sure enough, they were able to add a few last minute pieces from Division C which helped them get the victory.

Christophe Marchand, a brand new player to FPF, played very well at quarterback for the Fighting Amish and played the game very intelligently. By that, I mean that he used his best receiver early and often, Gabriel Poisson, who had a huge impact on this game. Somebody else that we will hear from later on. He scored a 29 yard touchdown to shock the Buffalo Wild Wings early and then made a few key tackles on the Wild Wings’ first drive as well. It’s always pretty tough to be on the receiving end of a touchdown to start the game when you witnessed the other team scramble for guys at the last second. It can really get you thinking “Is this really happening?” The Fighting Amish were able to get the ball back quickly after a huge sack by Christophe Marchand. Turns out, they couldn’t capitalize.

Both defenses had a huge impact on the game and Tristan Rinaldis never really looked comfortable. He made a ton of huge plays but couldn’t seem to find an open receiver on key downs, and had trouble converting extra points which ultimately was the difference. He’ll need to work on his short yardage plays and perhaps use his feet a little bit more to extend plays, especially in the red zone, if he wants to contribute to a positive record for Buffalo Wild Wings.

The group of ex-Bruins will hope to have a strong season, however they’ll need to find a way to be more consistent during a season that’s often hard to find consistency to have hopes of contending in the playoffs.

 

Power Rankings

D-1

1. LOB (1-0) – A roster like theirs and a shutout win by 38 points should get you the top spot most of the time.
2. Outlaws (1-0) – A well known team, ton of experience and a week 1 win over Super Saiyans is an impressive start.
3. Half-A-Stars (1-0) – My own squad, so I’ll let our play do the talking.
4. A-Town (1-0) – Talented team and a strong armed quarterback, adding Dynell Pierre should also help a ton.
5. Unknown Talent (1-0) – They’ll need to come up with a new team name soon because they are quickly being added to everybody’s radar.
6. Les Princes de la Rive-Sud (1-0) – Fiset-Cyr is playing lights out and they have a wealth of experience to keep them towards the top of the Standings.
7. The Sheriff (1-0) – Huge test this week against the Outlaws, my colleague Luis will have to be better throwing the ball to keep them in contention.
8. Legend of 7 (1-0) – Newly formed team with a lot of talent, I’ll have to see more from Antoine Lemire to be convinced.

 

D-2

1. EZW (1-0) – Hard not to place them at the top, I wonder why they’re in D-2 to begin with.
2. The U (1-0) – Same can be said for these guys. Evan Frank continues to improve and they should be on a collision course with EZW all season.
3. Ballz Deep (1-0) – My favorite part of FPF is the lack of restriction on names. A solid team with a great name will always get attention.
4. The Infantry (1-0) – I was impressed with their Week 1 victory and it’s tough to bet against the Semerjian brothers.
5. The Finessers (1-0) – Interesting to see Nirosh at quarterback, I wonder if that will stick or if we will see Ryan Kharouf. Either way, a tough team to predict.
6. Les Voyous (1-0) – A solid team with a ton of experience who managed to find their way into the playoffs last season. I expect they’ll continue to improve.
7. Fighting Amish (1-0) – I had trouble placing this team, but at the end of the day they have the talent to beat any other team in the division.
8. Les OGs (1-0) – Alex Campeau looked strong and my buddy Nic-Emmanuel Pierre can dominate when necessary. This team may surprise people.

 

“You ball, you get the call”

We’re back for another season and we’ll continue to hear from those who make this league great, the players. While it can be tough to track down everybody, especially during the summer season, I’ll do my best to bring you the best possible interviews. Sometimes, though, like in the case of Mathieu Girard-Provost, a little like Marshawn Lynch, it can be a little bit trickier to get comments but he seemed more than happy to complement his QB.

I want to wish everybody a great season and I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible. Just remember, if you don’t win, you can’t get the call. Well, facebook message, but it’s 2019 so, same thing pretty much.

 

D-1 

LOB – Darnell Kevis Riley – 1 catch, 4 yards, 1 TD, 4 tackles, 3 INTs

1. You only had one catch for a touchdown, but I would argue you and Cory were the most dominant guys on the field this week. What do you add to this team of veteran players?

Well like you said, it is a team of veterans, so they have more of an impact on my style of play than I do theirs. It’s only been one game with them, and they’ve already taught me quite a bit. It’s tough to add to that type of dynamic, but I think the most notable thing I add to the team is my speed. No offence to the other veterans out there, but most of them aren’t able to be as quick off the line as I am. So with a qb like Cory and great defenceman like what we have, a little bit of speed can go along way.

2. After a full year playing FPF, what’s been your experience so far?

Would it be too corny to say i love it. lol But honestly, I really do enjoy this league. It’s pretty well organised, everyone seems to be well taken care of and everyone pretty much knows what they’re doing, so it’s relaxing knowing that all you have to do is show up and show out, instead of worrying if the fields are ready, refs are there or any other things like that.

3. Can you tell the 6 people reading this something about yourself that people may not know?

Hmm, let’s see…out of the 6 people reading this, I’m most likely one of them lol. Other than that, not much to say really, just your average island boy looking forward to playing some football.

 

LOB – Cory Johnson – 15/17, 160 yards, 6 TDs

1. You guys have one of the best rosters on paper in the Division and it lived up to the hype this week. What was working so well for you personally and as a team?

I think we have a really good team. One of the best on paper doesn’t win championships. After one game it is hard to tell. Apparently the other team were missing a few key players. Team D was vital, we had 3 or 4 big picks and gave the other QB issues with our pressure. On O we just kept it simple and tried to get into a little groove. As for me, they left open gaps in the middle that I was able to find the receiver and let them do what they have to do.

2. Will it be tough to spread the ball around? How do you plan on keeping everybody satisfied and engaged?

I never find it too hard to spread the ball around, If you have ever checked my other teams, I get the ball around pretty well, keeps defences guessing. That is the plan for now.

3. Who would you say is the most underrated player on the squad and why?

We all bring something unique to the team. We have a balance of experience and some speedy youths that cause issues for many. Underrated player, I can’t answer that yet, still trying to figure out everyone. Ask me that question at the end of the season.

 

Les Centaures – Hugo Allamanno – 4 catches, 42 yards, 2 TDs, 3 tackles, 1 INT, 1 Def. TD

1. Strong start to the season for you personally and the team, what should we expect from you this spring?

This spring you should see a lot of fun from the team and I. I started FPF with half of this team and used to play football with the other half back in France. We just want to enjoy the fact that we are all playing together again.

2. What’s it like to play with Jordan and Jason since you’ve been around them for a few years now?

Playing with Jason and Jordan has always been a lot of fun. We all know that they are competitive brothers, they have a lot of talent and gave me the opportunity to continue what I like to do few years ago ( run and catch footballs ).

3. From what I know, you bring a lot to this team on both sides of the ball and your performance this week proves that. Will this be your first FPF season playing a full 10 games?

Unfortunately no, I will play probably 8 games out of 10. I have some vacation in June that I will for sure appreciate 🙂

 

Les Princes – Julien Fiset-Cyr – 19/27, 234 yards, 6 TDs, 6 rushes, 49 yards, 1 tackle, 1 INT

Les Princes – Mathieu Girard-Provost – 9 catches, 130 yards, 6 TDs, 1 tackle

1. I joked around about the team name with another scorekeeper at your game, thinking you guys must enjoy playing in Brossard. Who came up with the name and why the change from Les Montagnards?

Julien: Ahaha bien content que tu trouves drôle notre nom d’équipe. En fait, ce nom a été choisi suite à un brainstorm. Nous voulions du changement suite à une saison plus difficile et en même temps, nous voulions un nom drôle et pas trop sérieux. Tu auras effectivement deviné que nous avons tous grandi sur la Rive Sud de Montréal alors que Les Montagnards était le nom de notre équipe de flag au secondaire.

 

2. Julien, what’s the best part about playing with Mathieu and Mathieu, how about the best part about having Julien as your QB?

Julien: De mon côté, je dirais que Math est un gars qui sait se positionner sur le terrain. Il execute ses tracés à la perfection, et il réussi les attrapés contestés. Pour cette parti, c’était flagrant que Math s’est démarqué à plusieurs reprises, mais je te dirais que je suis chanceux d’avoir plusieurs autres cibles très fiables!

Mathieu: julien et moi nous trouvons sur le terrain quand les options commence a manquer. On dirait qu’il sait toujours ou je suis et lorsque je suis libre. Je dois avouer que ces passes sont de toute beauté, ce qui me facilite la tache.

 

3. Besides the two of you, what are some of the reasons you guys we’re able to come away with the victory against another solid opponent?

Julien: Je crois que malgré plusieurs très bons jeux offensifs et défensifs de nos adversaires, nous avons réussi à conserver notre focus. Considérant que la game s’est terminée avec un écart de moins de un touché, je crois que cette concentration de l’ensemble de l’équipe a fait la différence.

 

D-2

The U – Evan Frank – 18/22, 242 yards, 7 TDs, 1 INT

1. How disappointing was the loss in the finals and does that contribute at all to this season?

It was a tough loss. Full credit to our opponent who completely outplayed us in the second half and stuck with a great game plan. For myself, the loss doesn’t contribute to this season. Reaching the finals in back to back seasons isn’t easy. Luckily we won the Spring season before because that final could have gone either way. I always try and stay positive and hope to get back there again with this team.

2. Is it difficult to be the favorite week in and out and does that add any kind of pressure?

There’s no extra pressure. Whether we’re flying under the radar like a few seasons back or have now emerged as one of the favorites, I already play with certain expectations and pressure on myself. I’m sure the guys on the team feel the same way about themselves. This common mentality is one of the many reasons this team gels well.

3. It must be a lot of fun having guys like Papich, Pedvis and a tons more talent to throw to, let alone Joe helping you out too I’m sure. What’s your journey been like as a QB and have you been gaining confidence each season?

The offensive success of this team lies within the talent and trust I’ve developed with all my receivers. With the guys you mentioned along with Russ & Mike Schwartz, Alex Finkelstein, and Aaron Rosenberger, they all know coming to each game they’re getting the ball. I pride myself on ball distribution and making the season fun for everyone. My journey as QB has been a blast. I love challenging myself and being creative. To constantly come up with new plays and new ways to exploit defenses is one of my ways in doing so. This will be my fourth season as QB and I’ve definitely been gaining confidence each season with more experience. I may not be the most gifted QB. I grew up liking The Falcons and Michael Vick. My QB style is often called awkward or I’m compared with Brad Johnson which makes me laugh. The goal for myself is to keep getting better each week and keep having fun which is easy to do with this team. I constantly get guys asking me to join the team where we don’t have room because everyone keeps coming back. This tells me I’m doing something right.

 

 

The Infantry – Rory Semerjian – 4 catches, 83 yards, 3 TDs, 5 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD

1. Second season now with the Infantry but Sean moved to QB, is that a permanent switch and what can we expect from you guys this season?

Moving Sean to QB is without a doubt a permanent switch. His athletic ability on it’s own is to much of a intriguing aspect. If he can put his mechanics together, I can see him playing in a way higher division later on down the road.

2. How much does the chemistry between you and Sean help this team and would you say that you two are the primary leaders on the team?

Our chemistry is so good that sometimes I don’t need a route haha. We’re best friends off the field as well, we don’t argue on the field, it allows our chemistry to be so great. I would say without a doubt we are the leaders of this team. But everyone else is a leader of their own. Communication between the team for just the first game was amazing!

3. What personal goals have you set for this season?

Personally I have nothing to prove in this division. I just want to win a championship, that’s what my team wants as well. That’s all we ever think about, all the time, win.

 

EZW – Jeremy White – 17/23, 205 yards, 7 TDs, 3 rushes, 67 yards, 2 tackles

1. Tons of individual awards but no championships yet, will this season be different?

Every season, the goal is to win the championship and it hasn’t been the case for the past three seasons. I feel like we came so close each time but I think my lack of experience as a QB cost us the game more times than it should have. With every game that I play, I learn so much, especially the playoff games. With that experience from all the games we had, I feel like we have been there and we know that we are capable of winning the championship. Anything less than that would be an underachievement.

2. You appear here more than most, so I’m running out of questions. Let’s go straight to the point, who’s your favorite receiver to throw to and why?

I love to throw the ball to every single one of my receivers for a lot of reasons. But if I had to pick, I would pick Charles-Olivier Lavigne. Charles-Olivier is simply a beast and when he has the ball in his hands, you never know what is going to happen. He can literally turn any catch into a TD, it is incredible to witness it every week.

3. Looking forward through the schedule, who do you expect to be your toughest opponents?

I feel like our game against The U is going to be our toughest but I’m confident we can win. Evan Frank is a great QB so I expect a high scoring game. The game against underducks will also be a good one since it’s a rematch of the final three seasons ago. I’m excited to see how both teams have grown and again I’m confident that we’ll come out on top.

 

Fighting Amish – Gabriel Poisson – 7 catches, 107 yards, 3 TDs, 4 tackles, 1 PD

1. Love the team name, where did that come from?

The team name came from a random name generator. I Refreshed the page the page till something good showed up.

2. After a disappointing end to the season in the winter, what happened to the Bruins this spring?

The Bruins captain and organizer Nelson wasn’t coming back in the spring. Our roster is mainly Bruins players with a few other guys with who we’ve already played organized sports with.

3. Was there ever any concern if you had to only play with 5 guys this week? You have the ability to take over games, but the Wild Wings are a very decent opponent.

Initially we thought we’d have a full roster for game 1 but there were a few last minute cancellations. Fortunately, Mike and Mario helped us out a lot by subbing in after playing a game right before. Indeed the wild wings were good. The game wasn’t decided until the last play. Our team has great chemistry and were all capable of making plays. As long as we focus on scoring on offense and containing the best players on opposing teams we should be able to compete with anyone