Division D Week 6 Recap

I hope all of you enjoyed your long weekend. Personally, I missed football and won’t get to play for another two weeks as I embark on a road trip with the family.

It was fun to bring you all the mid-season outlooks on all of the teams and see things starting to unfold in the second half of the season.

Before leaving you guys for two weeks, here’s whats been on my mind lately:

• The Weather network says it’s going to rain for two weeks straight in Miami – that has to be wrong, right?
• I’ll say it here first and again later, but Thomas Coutu is a very good rusher.
• It’s been over a week but I’m still thinking about our tie against All Hooks.
• Does anybody ever get any work done in the last week leading up to vacation?
• It’s a scary time to be alive when we have bases set up in the US that look eerily similar to Concentration Camps.
• On a more positive note, my favorite hockey player signed with the LA Kings. It will be fun to watch Kovalchuk and Kopitar play together.
• Has anybody ever won QB of the year on a team with a losing record? It’s possible for Jon Moodie to win it and his team may not even make the playoffs.
• In D1, I’m pretty sure if you don’t throw a pick all season and lead the league in TD passes then you are automatically going to win the award.
• It’s too bad that Steve Sanner will be playing QB in my absense, he had a real shot at Wide Receiver of the year. He could still win Two-Way, though.
• Who thinks Jordan Mcinnis will break the single season TD record? It’ll be difficult, but with the way he’s been playing, I am definitely not counting anything out.
• I have officially become obsessed with Catan.
• I’m about to drive 56 hours over 11 days with the girlfriend and two kids, this is officially my cry for help.

 

Good luck to everybody in the next two weeks!

 

D1

 

B.D. Bandits 37 vs. All Hooks 37 

If I was ever going to recap my own game, I think this would be the perfect time to do it. The last two undefeated teams in the Division going head to head, hard to believe this didn’t get a #GameOfTheWeek nod. Lance, I know you’re busy so I’ll let this one slide.

I had a friendly bet with Thomas Coutu that he wouldn’t be able to sack me. He’s had sacks against much more athletic QBs than me, however I knew that I would have to get the ball out quick and I am fairly nifty in the pocket, so I truly thought I could out-duel him. I think he tried to catch me off guard aSure enough, he got me, late in the second half and for that he gets my vote for the best rusher in the division.

Moving on to the actual game, it was everybody’s usual definition of a shootout. Nicolas Schaefer has an excellent arm and kept our defence extended for most of the game. There were two instances where he took shots over the middle of the field and Steve Sanner was able to undercut the route, highpoint the ball and make huge key interceptions. Before this next part, I should mention that we only had 1 ref or the first half because one went to the wrong field. I’m obviously a bit biased, but the last play of the half may have gone differently if there were two. Essentially, Schaefer launched a deep ball to the back of the endzone and there was a lot of pushing. Steve felt like he got pushed in the back and it looked like her did, which gave Thomas Coutu the chance to come down with the ball un-contested. This brought them within 1 touchdown and the ball to start the second half. Definitely one of the biggest plays of the game.

In the second half, more of the same. We moved the ball extremely well on offense except for one misstep between Zack Brzezinski and I. I was able to hit Steve over the middle, work Mark Belvedere underneath and alternate receivers on the outside to keep All Hooks guessing. I was frustrated at the time that I had trouble making extra points. One I overthrew and the timing was off on a couple of plays between Brzezinski and I. Schaefer, on the other hand, obviously tried to keep the ball out of the middle of the field. He would alternate between working Jeremy White underneath and Thomas Coutu with a deep hook on the outside as we respected his ability to beat us deep.

After scoring to take the lead by 6 with only 1 play left, we knew we had the Division favorite where we wanted them. Turns out, two teams were meant to leave the game undefeated and Schaefer launched the ball as deep as he could on the last play of the game, Jeremy White was able to beat Steve to the corner and come down with the ball to tie the game. Heartbreaking ending for us as we knew we played an excellent game overall. Exciting for All Hooks as they were able to score deep twice on both of the last plays of each half.

We will meet again.

 

Half-A-Stars 31 vs. Moss City 30

 

Moss City showed up to this one a little bit late and that may have caused them the game. I’ve said it before and I haven’t been the only one, but it’s so important to show up on time and get in a little bit of a warmup so that you give yourself a chance early. Moss City started with their backup QB and on Farrier’s first play into the game he attempted a deep throw that was picked off by Andrew Langburt. Can you imagine if Moss City’s first drive started differently?

After that, the Stars move the field with ease and score and then Moss City answers. After another TD by the Stars and a successful convert, they now find themselves up by 7. Extra points being as important as they are and considering this game came down to just a single point, Moss City will be kicking themselves I’m sure for missing a few along the way. They were able to score, but missed the extra point to come within a point of Half-A-Stars and 5 plays to go in the first half. Andrew Langburt made an incredible play against Francois Rocheleau and turned a near sack into a 35 yard run to get to the 5 yard line. Langburt was able to punch it in but missed going for 2 to give the Half-A-Stars their 7 point lead back.

Probably the only reason Langburt was held off the “You Ball, You get the Call” segment this week was primarily due to a decision like his next one. On the opening drive of the 2nd half, he misplaced a ball and gave it right to Bruno Provencher for the interception. Moss City capitalizes and brings the game back to a single point. The game was definitely back and forth as Sam Obrand catches a 40 yard TD by Langburt for another 7 point lead. By this point, you know the drill. Moss City does their thing yet again and Farrier finds Provencher for another touchdown. After a dropped ball and a second interception for Langburt, Moss City finally takes the lead in the game. The problem? It’s only 5 points.

Half-A-Stars gets the ball back but is unable to convert on 3rd or 4th down and Moss City gets their chance to seal the deal. Of all times to falter on a drive, this probably wasn’t the best time – but credit goes to the Half-A-Stars defence for stepping up. Zach Aaron then helps Half-A-Stars take the lead back on a corner route to go back up by a single point with 2 plays left and Moss City isn’t able to pull of the miracle play.

 

D2

 

Baby Kangaroos 38 vs. Adonis A’s 20

This was a great game from start to finish. You got the sense that atheltically, both sides were pretty evenly matched. The difference? Experience. Baby Kangaroos drove the ball methodically for the entire game and Eric Maiorino had his choice of targets and locations thoughout most of the game which led to the favorable outcome. While Adonis A’s put up a good fight, this shows them that they have a few things to learn before entering the playoffs and only 4 more weeks to fine tune their game.

In the first half, Adonis A’s show themselves in the foot a little bit. With a chance to tie the game, they received two consecutive OC calls which led to them giving up the ball on 4th down after a failed attempt at the endzone. With a chance to take a two score lead, the “Joeys” hit Joey Taylor on a nice wheel route and then finished it off with an out to Zach Zwirn. The combination of both Zwirn and Taylor is deadly and they are used nicely as both primary targets and decoys for eachother. Taylor definitely loved that wheel route all game.

After Adonis A’s got the ball back and a chance to score, Adonis A’s QB Alexandre Delisle hit Joseph Haddad on a quick hook route to get to the 3 yard line with 3 plays left. The Baby Kangaroos rusher, Dan Lepore, who in my opinion doesn’t get enough credit, was in Delisle’s face all game. On the next play, he sacked Delisle. On the ensuing play, he was in Delisle’s face again and forced an incomplete pass. Finally, on the last play of the half, Adonis A’s were shut down on a great play by Massimo Cannucci.

The second half saw more of the same. The Baby Kangaroos never took their foot off the pedal and scored on their first drive of the second half with a post to Michael Homenok. While the Adonis A’s scored again with a long bomb to Matthieu Turcotte to bring the game to within two scores, they just didn’t have enough on the defensive side of the ball to get back into this game.

 

Voodoo 33 vs. Mutation 20

Regardless of the score, this was a great game for Mutation. They haven’t had a great season, but they were able to almost stick with a playoff team and the only difference was a few extra made plays by Voodoo and perhaps a more decisive quarterback. This leads me to Frank Kaye. When he’s able to go for 19 out of 26 and over 200 yards, you can expect him to win.

Neither team made any crucial mistakes in this game besides for maybe a few missed 4th downs by Mutation and the difference came down to Mutation’s inability to stop Patrick St-Armand or Kevil Marcil. Nothing wrong with that, though, as many teams have had their struggles against that duo. Kaye eventually had 5 TDs to Vincent Marquis’ 3 and St-Armand and Marcil combined for 14 of Kaye’s 19 completions so you can tell how important they are to this team. He tried to tell us otherwise in the interview, but I think that wouldn’t be much of a debate.

Nicolas Belleau and Michael Lecompte had good days defensively for their respective teams and I don’t think it helped Mutation’s cause only having 6 players. Voodoo is now sitting in 3rd place and in complete control over how they want to finish the season. I think it’ll be advantageous for them more than most teams to finish in the top 4 and get an easier first round matchup. Mutation, on the other hand, are not out of it by any means. Seeds 7 and 8 both only have 2 wins to Mutation’s 1 and if they can string a couple of good games together, they may give themselves a chance. You saying there’s a chance!? With upcoming games against the Browns de Boucherville, Hot Boys Hotline and Blazed and Confused, they may even sneak right into the dance.

 

Power Rankings

Not too much has changed really. Over the next few weeks, we will see a lot of the top teams matchup against each other and it will make for some interesting football.

 

Division D1

 

1. All Hooks (5-0-1) – They have yet to lose and have scored the most points by far in the Division, no reason to overthink this one.
2. B.D. Bandits (5-0-1) – You have to beat the king to be the king and sadly, we did not.
3. Ice Up (5-1) – Don’t look now, but Jordan Mcinnis has 16 TDs. We sat down with him again this week.
4. Homosapiens (5-1) – Tough to pick between them and number 5, but Francois Delauriers has just been playing so well that I give them the edge.
5. Super Saiyans (5-1) – Quietly sticking around at the top. They may be the best team that isn’t getting any spotlight.
6. Half-A-Stars (4-2) – They’re here because they beat number 7, pretty simple. Although let’s see who shows up in these next few games.
7. The Brotherhood (4-2) – These guys continue to get better and Jamal looks to be getting more confident on offense and that’s not good for anybody else.
8. Comeback SZN (4-2) – Consistency is the thing here. They can beat any other team on any given week, but can they string more than 1 or 2 games together?

 

Division D2

 

1. Baby Kangaroos (6-0) – Only undefeated team left? Check. Does it look like they will be beat before the end of the season? Nope.
2. CheatCode (5-1) – I’ll give them a pass for the loss, but it definitely does not keep them at the top of this list anymore.
3. Adonis A’s (5-1) – Their only loss comes to the Kangaroos, still plenty to be proud of so far.
4. Green Lantern Corps (5-1) – Even when they win, Hai Minh Luong isn’t satisfied unless they play well. Sign of a true leader and competitor.
5. Team Ethnik (4-2) – They have moved around quite a bit in my rankings so far, but they look to be on a roll.
6. Voodoo (4-2) – Frank Kaye and the group looks to be having a lot of fun this season. We get to hear from him later as well.
7. Touched By An Angeletti (3-2-1) – There might be a team or two with a better record but I think they have the better team and a more difficult schedule.
8. Wrecking Crew (3-2-1) – When all is said and done, nobody wants to play these guys in the playoffs.

 

“You ball, You get the call”

Although it was a tie, gotta give a shoutout to my rock this season, Steve Sanner. He had 8 catches for 143 yards, 3 touchdowns and 4 tackles and 2 interceptions on defense. Also wanted to give Eddy Lee a shoutout who managed to score 3 different ways this week. He had a passing touchdown, receiving touchdown and a pick-6 on defense. Impressive.

Finally, I seem to be extra tough on Andrew Langburt and I don’t know why. He had an awesome game this week in an incredible close game against Moss City so he deserves some props. I left him off the list mostly because of the two interceptions, but he balled none the less.

 

Division D1

 

Homosapiens – Kenton Lowe – 6 catches, 51 yards, 3 TDs, 1 tackle, 2 INTs

What’s made this season so great so far as a team?

We’re all selfless players. No egos, everyone just plays their part and delivers when needed. I may have a big game one week, the next it could be somebody else. We’re not guys who watch or count stats so that makes things much easier.

What’s it like having a QB like Francois who sees the field so well? Do you think his no interception streak will come to an end?

Francois is great. It’s actually my first season playing with him as QB, usually he’s snapping. So initially I wasn’t sure what to expect. He sees the field well and spreads the ball around so it’s tough for defenses to really gameplan for him. And he’s pretty fast and probably doesn’t run nearly as much as he could. So maybe that’s something he’ll start doing more often to create even more headaches for teams lol. It’s tough to say about the streak but it seems almost impossible to go an entire season of flag football without throwing a pick. He’s already at 30+ Touchdowns and no interceptions which is already impressive, maybe even a league record…? It’d be great if lt didn’t end at all but honestly, if and when the streak does end I do hope it’s sooner rather than later, in a situation that doesn’t determine the outcome of the game. Just to be rid of that added pressure.

Since homosapiens is your only team this spring, do you put more pressure on yourself to succeed?

I don’t put any pressure on myself at all. I come out to have fun and enjoy playing with my team. Regardless of how many teams I play on my competitiveness is always there and the goal is always to win.

 

The Sheriff – Luis Begin – 14/23 117 yards, 3 TDs, 5 rushes, 89 yards, 1 rushing TD, 2 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD

Can you explain why you guys have struggled a little bit to start the season?

Je crois que la concentration ou l’instinct du tueur manquait à notre début de saison. Nous étions dans le match, dont 2 défaites crève coeur en début de calendrier. J’ai moi même lancé 2 interceptions coûteuse qui nous ont coûté des matchs. Des joueurs absents ont aussi coûté cher à notre alignement .

What went into the decision to add Jean-Felix? What does he bring to your team?

Il nous manquait un “playmaker” à notre alignement pour jouer tout les matchs d’ici la fin de la saison et Jean-Felix est venu remplacer avec nous, la chimie à tout de suite été la entre lui et moi. Il est un receveur qui fait des tracés à la lettre et qui a de très bonne mains mais surtout son esprit d’équipe est la chose qui m’a le plus plu. Il aura un impact des 2 côtés du terrain sans aucun doute

Who’s a better QB, Peyton Manning or Tom Brady and why?

Tu sais Corey que tu commences le débat infini entre Brady et Manning. Brady est excellent, top 3 all time mais Peyton est le meilleur pour plusieurs raisons.

– Brady est qb de “systeme” qui excelle avec le plus grand coach à avoir jamais coacher la game en Belichick.

– Dégonfler des ballons n’est pas très “éthique”…

– En terme de stats individuel Peyton est de loin supérieur autant qu’en moyenne par match qu’en carrière.

– Peyton a amené les Colts au SB avec une défensive plus qu’ordinaire.

– 55 TDs pass en une saison WOW

-5 MVP sa en dis long

– 2 Super avec 2 équipe différente

– Battre tout les records offensif après 4 chirurgie au cou

– Peyton est le qb le plus intelligent, même sans aucun bras il depecait les défensives adverses.

– Il a fais la plus belle course pour un TD par un qb ever contre les Cowboys

-C’est Peyton Fucking Manning, je pourrais t’en parler pendant des heures. C’est deux légendes du football différent à leur façon qui mérite le respect de tous.

 

Diablos – Alexis Gaumont – 3 catches, 56 yards, 2 TDs, 9 tackles, 1 INT, 1 Def. TD

With a QB leading the league in most categories, what explains the .500 start?

The main reason for the .500 start is certainly all the absence of too many good players of the team. Because when we are all there, we have realy good games.

Is it hard to get receptions when you have to play with Georges?

Yes and no, because the defander know that he can be a game changer and it’s create opportunity for other receveur to get open and François know how too give the ball to every one on the team

Why does Francois always have his tongue out?

That’s funny because I know Frank for ten years now. He coach me when i was in hight scool and back in the days he always did that when he was coaching me, so I guess that has somethings to do with football, I don’t know

 

Ice Up – Jordan Mcinnis – 7 catches, 97 yards, 3 TDs, 2 Interceptions

Another huge game this week, are you trying to chase the TD record?

Not going to lie it would be nice to achieve and I do think about it but if My team wins and I dont get it so be it. But yeah I am trying to beat it.

If you were a coach and had to put somebody in the division to cover you, who would it be and would they have success?

Im not really familiar with alot of guys in this division as I dont really follow other players but I did watch Jamal Gittens play the other night he is a freak athelete. Id say he would be my hardest in my opinion and as far as having success, Maybe, Maybe not but if hes out there covering me then our other weapons can still get the job done.

Who do you think will be your toughest game to close out the season?

I think our toughest game will be comebackszn. its always tough to play a mobile QB but one that fast is going to be no joke. looking forward to it though!

 

The Brotherhood – Jamal Gittens – 17/22 196 yards, 6 TDs, 4 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD

You we’re pretty frustrated with your own performance the first time we talked, would you say that’s improved since?

I would say that it has, I put more trust in my playcalling and arm as of recent. The guys have been playing great recently and it’s really showing as well.

Any comments about Nim Jenikovsky saying he can shut down Ryan in a rematch?

Nah, I just want Ryan to focus up and think about the team and not on individual matchups. All things aside, Ryan had 3 TDs that game and Nim had 11 yards, i dont really see a matchup here, even in the future.

If you had to play another team in the Division that isn’t on your schedule, who would it be and why?

The team I’d like to play again is all is All hooks , they’re fast their rusher is good and I had a horrible game. I’d really like to give it a go again to see if I’ve really made some improvements.

 

Division D2

 

Baby Kangaroos – Eric Maiorino – 20/27, 200 yards, 6 TDs, 4 rushes, 35 yards

As your first season as the “Baby Kangaroos”, what went into putting this team together?

Well myself, Joey, Zach and Dan were together a couple of seasons as the Globo Gym Purple Cobras. After taking the winter season off this year, we wanted to get back at it all together! Zach and Joey each had a couple of guys they knew who’d be interested in joining so we decided to put it together and so far we’ve all meshed pretty well!

Is it hard to have to pick between Joey and Zach to throw to? I imagine Joey is a bit more vocal about getting the ball, how do you manage that?

Anyone who’s ever known Joey or has played with Joey will tell you he’s a character. But at the end of the day all he wants is to do win. When he does speak in the huddle, he’s using his experience as a DivB QB to help me which is well appreciated. In terms of choosing between Joey and Zach I know they do have a little competition between themselves for receptions, yards and TDs, but it’s all fun and games as long as we’re winning and I know they understand that! We all do!

You guys have made things look easy so far. Do you have any teams you’re excited to play against who you think may give you some competition?

Well right now we’re taking it one game at a time. I don’t really think we have anyone on our schedule circled per se but we just look forward to each game and having fun! We understand that in this league anyone can beat anyone at any time so we always bring our best week in and week out no matter who the opponent. Right now our focus is securing our spot in the playoffs and we’ll take it from there.

 

Voodoo – Frank Kaye – 19/26, 223 yards, 5 TDs

Besides Marcil and St-Armand, who’s a guy on the team who doesn’t get enough credit?

As Kevin MARCIL and Pat St.Amand get a lot of attention it’s truly the supporting roles that help to spring both MARCIL and St.Amand. Etienne Vaillancourt is super strong on the inside and draws a lot of attention away from Pat while Hugues surprenant although overlooked always is ready for that one or two huge catches to extend our plays in offence. And then our anchor in the middle Martin Bergeron who is probably one of the best centres in the league clears the always is ready when called upon. And then our defensive guys like Luc Beaupre with 3 picks in one game is overlooked and our defensive captain Mike Lecompte that is the the middle of everything. So basically without our team not one or two guys would get the attention

What’s been the recipe for success this season?

Our recipe for this season is pretty simple we go out and have fun. We are a bunch of guys that love to play together, we don’t stress (other than myself) and play to play and not to win. If we lose we lose and if we win we win but that’s not the priority. Our team is more like a family than teammates and we believe in respect for the game and others. We understand that there is not “I” in team and without everyone working together Voodoo won’t work.

You guys are starting a difficult stretch, have you started to game plan? Any teams that stand out?

We understand that the rest of the season is going to be more difficult than the first half. There are a lot of strong and good teams making the push however we enjoy being the underdogs and being under the radar. Although I am sure everyone will appreciate we wouldn’t want to give out any secrets as I said before we just go out and play. We know what we do well and where we get ourselves in trouble. We will continue what we have done in the first half of the season with one play at a time, patience (which is difficult for me) and enjoy playing together. GM kolethras said many seasons ago and we try to live by it every game “there is nothing special about us and we have to work for every inch” and we need to do the “little things” to be successful

 

Team Ethnik – Jean-Christophe Ferland – 5 catches, 101 yards, 3 TDs, 6 tackles, 2 INTs, 1 PD

Definitely your best game all season, as a team and probably personally. What worked so well?

la grosse difference cette semaine était notre defence. Plus les semaines avancent et mieux nous communiquons.

You’re easily one of the choices for receiver of the year, is that one of your goals?,Who do you see as your competition?

Oui c’est certainement un de mes buts. Présentement je crois que mon plus gros competiteur est joey taylor.

If you had to compare yourself with an NFL receiver, who would you be and why?

je dirais julian edleman car il court de tres bon tracés et a des excellentes mains.

 

Tough Lungs – Daron Migdesyan – 6 catches, 54 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 1 PD, 1 Def. Td

How does it feel to bring CheatCode back down to earth?

They’re a great team, however, were not really scared of any team, so we just went out there and executed and got the big W. They are definitely a great team, but so are we, you can even make the argument we’re better, thats just stating facts. It was a hell of a game, just fortunate enough to come out on top.

Do you think other teams aren’t taking you guys seriously enough?

Nope, and they shouldn’t, we haven’t been consistent enough and we’re well aware of that. If people don’t want to realize the talent we have on the team, its their loss, we have players on this team with a championship under there belt, and last time i checked the league isn’t handing those out easily. So if people don’t realize we have playmakers on the team, Im perfectly fine with that, we’ll keep taking it game by game, and keep surprising them. Also, until you clinch playoffs, how can you take any team seriously?

What’s the best part about playing with Mathew and Justin Lerner?

Best Part of playing Justin and Mathew is that I also play with Other teammates that we’ve been freinds with for a long time. Our teammates Johnny and Nick madimenos have been playing with us for 3 years so were very close and our chemistry is incredible. However, the best part of being teammates with the brothers is how they are behind the scenes, just very helpful to one another. Post Game, and during the week, they’re always making sure they’re on the same page on the field. It just helps knowing that Mathew is getting his flag knowledge from Justin who I trust.