Division D – Week 7 Recap – FlagPlus Football League

Thoughts of the week:

Don’t look now, but Finessers find themselves in first place in Conference A.
I was determined to get this out before the Canada Day break.
I just want to live in a Montreal that will have consistent enough weather to keep the roof of my jeep off.
Will Benoit Lawlor and Jeremy White win QB of the year? See below for my thoughts.
Two games in Brossard for me this week, hope my boss doesn’t mind me not getting much work done.
I tried to cut my grass 3 days in a row but was interrupted by rain all 3 days.
There seems to be a big drop off from the top teams in each Division.
Anybody else wish the NFL would just start up again?
Summer is great, but when NBA free agency is the most exciting sport going on right now it says a lot.
Injuries suck. Heal up and get better soon JP.

Recaps

D-1

Team Ethnik 39 vs. A-Town 32

As a bystander watching this game get started, it was quite the roller coaster of emotions. First it was clear that A-Town, while they had their core, they would not be able to field a team. Then out of nowhere, Meissa N’Garane and Justin Cerantola made themselves available to join the team and I felt like those were solid additions to help them compete. Finally, a bad snap to start the game resulted in a quick punt and I wasn’t so sure all of a sudden. You guys can’t do that to me.

Team Ethnik, clearly not as fazed as myself, took advantage quickly on a 27 yard touchdown pass from Lawlor to Alexei Bissonnette. You may remember me calling him and his brother out for being grossly underrated, and they’re starting to prove me right. Alexei had a huge game offensively and William led his team in tackles. When Plante got the ball back, it was clear that the chemistry was a little bit off. He had trouble connecting with his receivers and was sacked twice because he wasn’t comfortable getting rid of the ball early. After they could not convert on 4th down this time, Lawlow again took advantage, finding David De Andrade on a quick out for a 2 yard touchdown.

Plante then settled down, taking what the defense gave him and using his best player to finish off the drive. Jimmy Marneris was able to split the defense up the middle and score from 21 yards out. You actually got the sense that A-Town was going to mount a comeback, but at the end of the day, Lawlor was just too strong and had too many weapons, even without Charles Verreault.

Even at the end of the game when A-Town tied it up, Lawlor made it look easy and retaliated in two plays. One to Alexei Bissonnette for 25 yards and the second to Henry Dam for 15 yards and the touchdown. It would leave just 3 plays for A-Town to try and tie the game up for a second time but they fell short.

Hot Sauce Sports 27 vs. Unknown Talent 31

You know how sometimes you see a team win by 10 or more and people say that the game was much closer than the score? Well the opposite can be said about this game. While the score ended pretty close, Unknown Talent was in complete control the entire game, even after giving up a safety to start the game. Peeze got spotted a 2 point lead and put together a pretty good first drive until he threw an interception right in the middle of the endzone to Mathieu Simard, one of Unknown Talent’s underrated players.

Backup quarterback Santino Sparagna took advantage of the mistake and got the ball right back to Simard for a 6 yard touchdown on the other end of the field. Things went from bad to worse for Peeze and Hot Sauce as they went 4 and out on the ensuing drive, giving Unknown Talent the ball on their own side of the field. Two plays later, Raffaele Morelli capitalized on a beautiful pass from Sparagna to give Unknown Talent a 10 point lead.

While Peeze was able to make up for the poor start the rest of the game, the poor start cost his team. He took advantage of short crossers, hooks at the sideline and Justin Blanchard on posts and corners to gain yards most of the game and it worked well. I’d like to see guys like Vinny Gualano and Will Power put more of a stamp on games like these and I think it could have gone the other way.

Defensively, Hot Sauce just didn’t have an answer for what I think to be the twin connection between Santino and Dante – if they’re not twins, damn do they look alike. Santino spread the ball around and used his legs just enough to hold on to the victory also, using guys like Morelli and Groppini and the aforementioned Simard. Regardless of their lack of experience, this team will be a tough out of the playoffs.

Super Saiyans 27 vs. Bird Gang 31

In a game that finished with an identical score to the one above, I’m going to go ahead and call this one my upset of the week. While both teams we’re missing players, I’m calling it an upset because I just didn’t think that Bird Gang had the kind of depth they do, especially without AJ Gomes. If you’re out there Anthony and Dan, happy you guys proved me wrong. Anthony Lazzara took over at QB and it’s clear that the quarterback gene runs in the family.

Anthony started the game completing two straight passes to Dan and it seemed to get them both into a rhythm, seeing the drive end on a 5 yard touchdown pass to Bekim Borova. Things didn’t start as smoothly for Jordan Allard and the Saiyans. He made a nice pass to Tom Gatehouse on an out that gained 15 yards and then the drive stalled, turning the ball over on downs eventually. Anthony and Dan took advantage, connecting on a 10 yard touchdown pass and catch to make the game 13-0.

It wasn’t pretty on the next drive, but Jordan Allard was finally able to march down the field 4 to 5 yards at a time before passing to Shawn Fontaine for a 5 yard touchdown. Turns out, though, that Anthony Lazzara just couldn’t seem to be stopped in this game and finished his next drive with a nice pass to their rusher, Dernst DuBuisson-Desmornes, for the score. The teams traded a few scores but ultimately the Super Saiyans couldn’t overcome their bad start and dropped another game this season.

D-2

Les Voyous 38 – EZW 27

I wasn’t all that surprised to see Jasmin Prince start the game at quarterback for Les Voyous because Sebastien Dallaire missed his Dream Breakers game right before. At the start of the game I was a little bit worried though because he threw 3 straight incomplete passes before Les Voyous punted the ball. Both teams we’re missing key players on St-Jean weekend, which seemed to be a trend all throughout the Stade de Montreal that Sunday.

Jeremy White, on the other hand, wasted no time in getting things going for EZW and it showed just how much he enjoyed having Charles-Olivier Lavigne back. After a quick penalty, it took two plays to get the 45 yards and both were to Lavigne, getting 40 on the first play. Impressive as that was, it may have awakened a sleeping giant in Jasmin Prince.

Prince took only 3 plays to score, using both Pierre-Alexandre Taché and Ramez Popal-Hamidi but they couldn’t convert. 1 point lead for EZW. On the ensuing drive, two sacks by Vincent Laganiere stalled the EZW drive and even with an impressive run on 4th down, White just barely missed the first down marker. This turned out to be the turning point in the game as Prince used another 40 yard bomb to Vincent Laganiere to take the lead. This time with a successful convert.

The teams exchanged scores twice more but by this point, Prince and Les Voyous simply had control of the game and never let up. They score a final touchdown to go up by 11 with 4 plays left and the rest doesn’t really matter.

Los Avocados 38 vs. Texass Shorthorns 37

Saving the best game for last, this one came down to the wire between two winless teams. It’s great for the parity of the league and the pride of both teams that they we’re both able to keep it close. A few lessons seem to have been learned last week by both teams.

John Bews is a bad, bad man. Extra points matter. Joshua Vazquez really is the nucleus of Los Avocados. Colin Sequiera has a bright future.

Both teams went back and forth early and the Los Avocados took advantage of the extra possession in the first half caused by Sequeira’s interception. Besides the one turnover, Sequeira had himself a solid game connecting with 8 different receivers but obviously favoring John Bews who finished the game with 5 touchdowns on 6 catches. Their downfall really was only converting 1 extra point on 6 attempts so they’ll need to figure that out moving forward. Maybe try going for two?

The Los Avocados seemed happy to have Joshua Vazquez back to form, averaging 13 yards per completion and a touchdown on every 2.5 passes which I’m pretty sure constitutes a perfect rating. It’s too bad this game didn’t happen at the beginning of the season for both teams as it may have given them a boost of confidence that they may have needed. The guys in green have an outside chance at making the playoffs but they will need a lot of help. Shorthorns on the other hand are almost officially eliminated.

Power Rankings:

D-1

Half-A-Stars (6-0-1) – I don’t think I need to add anything new.
Outlaws (6-0-1) – More of a 1B team, especially because of the tie. All signs point to an orange and black final?
Les Princes de la Rive Sud (6-1) – This picture will be crystal clear after this week, but they belong in the top tier either way.
Unknown Talent (5-2) – They get the edge over the Sheriff for me because of the more consistent quarterback play.
The Sheriff (5-2) – I ain’t talking about your legs, Luis, we all know you can run. They’ll be challenging the top teams week in and week out, though.
Team Ethnik (4-3) – Lawlor has me thinking that this team shouldn’t be messed with.
Bird Gang (4-3) – Is it just me, or are all of the good teams in Conference A? Yes, I said it.
Super Saiyans (3-4) – I may be biased, but call me a believer.

D-2

The Infantry (7-0) – Can they be stopped?
Les Voyous (6-1) – Even without their QB1 they still found a way to beat a pretty good team. These guys are the real deal.
Finessers (5-2) – With the talent on this team, they should be at the top of the charts every season.
EZW (4-3) – In my opinion, they are the best 4-3 team right now.
Ballz Deep (4-3) – The win over Baby Sharks makes me confident about this placement.
Buffalo Wild Wings (4-3) – When Tristan Rinaldis is playing good football, this team is tough to beat.
Underducks (4-3) – A bit of a crapshoot but their size is just too difficult to ignore for a lower division team.
Renegades (4-3) – Did anybody else predict this record after their rough start? I definitely didn’t. Kudos to Lefebvre and the group.

Playoff Preview:

Division D-1

Conference A

As it stands, Half-A-Stars and Les Princes de la Rive-Sud are in control of the byes. If Les Princes lose this week, that becomes wide open for Unknown Talent to scoop in.
5 teams are currently fighting for the final 3 playoff spots – Bird Gang, Team Ethnik, Hurricane SZN, A-Town, Hot Sauce Sports.
I like Bird Gang, team Ethnik and A-Town to make the dance.
Voodoo is more or less officially eliminated. They would need to win out and get A LOT of help to make it.

Conference B

A lot of parity in this Conference, but for now that just means that Outlaws and The Sheriff seem to have locked up the Bye week.
There are 7 legitimate teams fighting for Wild Card weekend. Everybody has a chance and Show Me Your TDs may have found their stride, with LOB, Legend of 7 and Longhorns trending in the wrong direction. I think those 3 teams will be on the outside looking in when the dust settles.

Division D-2

Conference A

Both Conferences seem to now be a 7 horse race for 6 spots. In Conference A, the team on the outside looking in is Los Avocados.
Finessers are in good shape for a bye, but the second one is anybody’s guess. If I had to pick, give me EZW to finish in 2nd.
After a strong start, the Fighting Amish see themselves fighting for their playoff lives. Can The U figure things out and make a last second push?

Conference B

I don’t think anybody will catch either Les Voyous or The Infantry for the week off.
Texass Shorthorns are all but eliminated but GLC still has a fighting chance for the playoffs and Les OG’s and Dream Chasers are not un-catchable.
I actually think that Les OG’s will be on the outside looking in come August.

Awards Race:

I’d like to make it abundantly clear that these are just my opinion. I barely get a vote on these and I may or may not include/exclude players just to stir the pot. Who knows.

Quarterback of the Year

D-1

Benoit Lawlor – Team Ethnik – He seems to be running away with this award, having 7 more TDs than the next guy.

Mike Addona – Show Me Your TDs – Can he win this award on a team with a losing record?

Emile Plante – A-Town – Maybe the only one who can catch Lawlor in TD passes but it’s probably unlikely.

D-2

Jeremy White – EZW – He’s leading in yard and TDs and I don’t see anybody else catching him.

Sean Semerjian – The Infantry – He’s had this team on his back all season and having his brother helps a lot.

Ryan Kharouf – Finessers – Talent and weapons are there, he’s the wild card here.

Wide Receiver of the Year

D-1

Adam Rosen – Longhorns – He’s leading the league in receiving yards with 2 fewer games played. Insane.

Mathieu Girard-Provost – Les Princes de la Rive Sud – His name and team alone took up my character count. Your TD leader to date.

Danny D’Amour – Random White Dudes – Probably the best combo of catches, yards and TDs.

D-2

John Bews – Texass Shorthorns – 20 TDs in 7 games. All that’s needed to be said. What’s the record anyways?

Rory Semerjian – The Infantry – This race would have two horses in it if it weren’t for Bews.

Nirosh Suresh – Finessers – He may suffer from a lower TD output than the other two.

Two-Way Player of the Year

D-1

Alexis Bessette – The Sheriff – He’s doing it all on one of the Division’s best teams.

Brandon Parent – Hurricane SZN – If there was a true MVP award, he’d be it. No player means more to their team.

D-2

Sean Semerjian – The Infantry – He’s been doing it all.

Gabriel Poisson – Fighting Amish – The best player on his team, he fills up the stat sheet every night.