Division D1 Preseason Hype

 Just like most of you, I can’t wait to start another season.

Fresh faces on new teams, everybody starting with the same record and equal opportunities all around, there’s nothing quite like it.

With a lot of teams to cover, my intros this season will probably be short.

Good luck to everybody this season!

 

Conference A

East

 

The BrotherHood

It looks like Jamal Gittens will be bringing his talents to Division D-1. I would assume that he’s playing QB, however the scary part is that he actually fits in the cap as a receiver here too. Gittens and Omar Jackson have put together a squad that will rely heavily on performances by the two of them and it will be filled out with players who normally play in Division D, as well as a few who look to be new to FPF including Aamir Gyles and Benjamin Ohayon. The BrotherHood name runs deep in FPF history, so you can count on them to bring it every single week.

Players to watch: Jamal Gittens, Omar Jackson

 

MTL Freshmans

This is a team that going into the spring, I don’t know a lot about. I also have a feeling that they do not know much about themselves either, though, and while they have a few playmakers, it may take them time to get rolling out of the gate. Emile Plante looks to be their man behind the snapper, but has not faired too well when he played for the Black Knights. It will be a long frustrating season if this talented team has no way to get their hands on the ball but I could see them surprising us. My pick for wild card of the division.

Players to watch: Jimmy Marneris, Darryl Dorcely

 

Moss City

Fresh off a 5B Championship in the Winter, we have seen this team have a lot of success in the past two years. It’s great to see them test their skills against teams that often play in higher divisions. Bruno Provencher leads the way for them yet again but they will need to find other reliable weapons. It also looks like they will have their spring QB from last season, Andrew Farrier, back and ready to go. While he only played 6 games during the regular season, he has a perfect 10-0 record in FPF by going 4-0 in the playoffs and winning Division E. It will be interesting to see their first season at a whole new tier. Kudos to them for continuing to challenge themselves.

Players to watch: Bruno Provencher, Benjamin De Tilly, Andrew Farrier

 

All Hooks

If you count the FPF tournament, All Hooks enter their 5th season in FPF and always seem to hang to compete for a playoff spot. They have yet to win a Championship, but they play every game hard and I wouldn’t ever count them out. I imagine that Nicolas Schaefer will play QB and Charles-Olivier Lavigne will be a solid part of the triple threat that this team has in Thomas Coutu, Jeremy White and the aforementioned Lavigne. I wonder if there is any bad blood between Schaefer and Moss City? See how easy it is to start drama! The division is proving to be a difficult one and I expect All Hooks to be at the middle or top of the pack.

Players to watch: Thomas Coutu, Jeremy White, Charles-Olivier Lavigne

 

Half-A-Stars

If you ask me, Andrew Langburt is your prototypical “student of the game” and now in his second season as QB for the Half-A-Stars, I expect him to improve – which will be difficult to do considering they made the playoffs the first time around. He’ll continue to build his offense led by AJ Rashkovan and Bryan Fuchs. Their defense have been together for a while now and should do well, it will be all about limiting their mistakes on both sides of the ball. That’s where the student part should come into play.

Players to watch: Andrew Langburt, AJ Rashkovan, Bryan Fuchs

 

Renegades

Another team that I do not know too much about, however I question whether they will be able to keep up with the other strong teams in this Division. I have to keep things interesting, right? So, if I had to guess, they have my pick to be towards the basement of this division, unless guys like Isiah Allard and Alexandre Provencher-Rivest can carry this group. If Jeffrey Lefebvre plays QB, he will have the lowest QB rating of all starting QBs in this group of 6, so read into that what you will. Kevin Gauthier will be an underrated presence for this team, more so on defense. David Dagenais also has a ton of FPF experience but only a 37% winning percentage. Hopefully not a sign of things to come.

Players to watch: Isiah Allard, Alexandre Provencher-Rivest

 

West

 

Fun Boys

Here’s a team with a lot of experience that led by Scott Mironowicz and Fred Saleh. Scott has been around with the Fun Boys and FPF in general since 2009 and teams will yet again have to deal with dual threat ability and extremely high football IQ. He and Saleh will be one of the premier tandems in the league but I question the depth around them. Derrick Eason will be a great secondary option, however it is always difficult to excel with a one-dimensional offense. They should be able to cause enough headaches for their opponents on a weekly basis, but I predict they should finish close to the .500 mark.

Players to watch: Scott Mironowicz, Fred Saleh, Derrick Eason

 

Takeover

Takeover were a team I enjoyed covering very much in the winter and they almost never disappointed. They had a disappointing loss against Moss City in the semi-finals in the winter and will be looking for an even better finish this spring. Don’t get me wrong, this team is well versed, play well together and have guys that can step up, however are all Power and Einheiber. Is that a good thing? Bad thing? It’s worked for them in the past, but it will be fun to watch them against steeper competition. That said, it’s hard to pick against them, they just seem to have a knack for winning.

Players to watch: William Power, Ian Einheiber

 

B.D. Bandits

I don’t think I’ll ever be fully comfortable writing about my own teams, especially seeing as it’s still only the pre-season. Most of the names on the squad speak for themselves – Steve Sanner is a perennial FPF All-Star and will lead our defense and I should probably quit FPF if I am not able to have some success with the group of guys I have. Mark and I will be swapping positions because he is apparently too good of a QB for the Division and I, well, am not. It should be a lot of fun throwing the ball to the crew that I have. We have a few new faces as well but I’ll do my very best to save any of my trash talk for the field. I’ll probably break this rule after Week 1.

Players to watch: Steve Sanner, Mark Belvedere, Zack Brzezinski

 

The Sheriff

My friend and colleague has put together a team of playmakers and will be behind center for the Sheriff and they should be competitive. It will all fall on Marc-Andre’s shoulders as he is building his FPF resume as a quarterback and has only gotten better. Will he thrive in Division D after years of playing in 6 and E? Time will tell. Hopefully the fact that I play these guys early means that I get to see them before getting hot, because it could happen at any point in the season. Dany Ostiguy, Kevin Lubin and Luis Begin will prove to be an excellent trio for the division.

Players to watch: The three I just mentioned.

 

Smokin Axolotls

After a full season covering these guys, I have finally looked up the definition of an Axolotl. For those who don’t know, an axolotl is known as a “Mexican Salamander”. It is an amphibious salamander, closely related to the tiger salamander. I’m not sure how exactly it relates to flag football, but two things. I love it. Secondly, I’ll enjoy relating it to almost everything they do this season. You can be sure to expect lines like “they slipped past their opponent this week” or “they excel on land and water but not quite on the football field”. The possibilities are endless.

Players to watch: Jason Rossie, Jordan Rossie

 

Super Saiyans

It’s official. The most disappointing part of the entire schedule this season for me will be the fact that I am on vacation when the Bandits play the Saiyans. Last season, Jon McQueen wrote to me, upset that he had to miss this game because of girlfriend duties. We’ve all been there and I am sure it was the right choice, but he’ll feel my pain for sure while I am sitting on the beach in Miami wishing I was sweating inside Brossard. If Jordan Allard can get into a rhythm and stay consistent, this team should have no excuses. They are stacked. I’m a little sad to not see G.M. Kolethras in the mix – everybody else will have a presence to fill, especially on D.

Players to watch: Rich Humes, Jordan Allard, Jonathan McQueen, Derrick Fontana

 

Conference B

East

 

Supply and Command

On paper, it’s simply not fair. Bachaalani, Borden, Edghill and Justin Blanchard? On the same team? In Division D? I’m not sure how this passed the ratings test… oh wait, I see it now. Our lovely Peeze will be the one tossing them the ball, and I use the word toss loosely. Either way, it will be hard for him to fail with just the sheer depth that this team has. They will be a nightmare for opposing QBs with the amount of athleticism they have and their record will be a reflection of Peeze’s success or failure. My strategy? Force him to throw deep.

Players to watch: Too many

 

Diablos

This is the first season where I get to play against both of my fellow writers in Marc-Andre Deslauriers and Francois Martin. We often cover the same division and if my memory serves me correctly, the only time I have faced off against Martin was in the FPF cup in the fall. He’s a very capable QB and has a great 1-2 punch in Gabriel Wiseman and Alexis Gaumont. This is a team that usually plays in Division E, I believe, so it’s great to see another team make the jump.

Players to watch: Alexis Gaumont, Gabriel Wiseman

 

Homosapiens

The previously mentioned Kolethras has found a home with the Homosapiens and should lead this group defensively. Offensively, Francois Deslauriers will get the nod at QB with both Lonnie and Cory Johnson having a rating that is too high which is amazing for the rest of the division. This team is very experienced in FPF and should be a contender when all the dust settles.

Players to watch: Kenton Lowe, Francois Deslauriers, Lonnie Johnson

 

Gotham Knights

A perfect recipe of FPF veterans, new players and players I simply don’t know, it will be difficult for me to give a preview but hey here goes nothing. The team looks to be led by Alexandre Gaudet, Mikey Candussi and Chris Rivest who easily has the most FPF experience on the team. Looks like he will be their lead man, although it could easily go to Candussi. Should we start a pre-season QB controversy? While they look to be a team that can compete, the division won’t make anything easy on them. If any of you guys see me around, please come say hi, would love to get to know a team I don’t know well.

Players to watch: Chris Rivest and Alexandre Gaudet

 

Blazin’ Bayou

Love the name. Bonus points that it rhymes with half of their team’s players last names. After some marketing and recruiting in the off-season, it looks like the Daoust trio will be putting a team together in Division D and with their talent and experience, they should at least compete. I worry that their roster only has 6 players and that they have filled the squad with unproven guys, but who knows, it may just work.

Players to watch: Anybody with the last name Daoust

 

For the Show

I have questions. Is Corey Gittens related to Jamal? Who are all these new guys to FPF? Has Eddy Lee created a stacked roster ready to take the Division by storm? Eddy Lee and Chris Milard alone create a nice dynamic duo, so if any of these new guys pan out, this team should be dangerous. I also wonder who will play QB for this team but my pre-season guess is Edem Nyamadi. Who knows, though, as they have 4 players who are new to FPF that were assigned a QB rating. Rob, if you’re reading this, I had to wait two full seasons to get a QB rating, what gives?

Players to watch: Eddy Lee, Chris Milard

 

West

 

Comeback SZN

Two things I know. Andel Thomas-Gordon can call a defense and never doubt a SZN team. They seem to be attracted to mobile quarterbacks. Their defense looks really strong with Thomas-Gordon, Hasani Worrell, and Travis Moses and Moses will be dangerous with the rock in his hands. They’ll be exciting to watch, capable of making big plays and ball hawks on defense. While I think their defense will be the side of the ball that carries them, they should make enough plays on offense to win them at least 5 games. I’m willing to bet they’ll be a contender after 10 games.

Players to watch: Andel Thomas-Gordon, Hasani Worrell, Travis Moses

 

Ice Up

I sincerely hope this team is as cocky as their name. If not, I’ll be the first to vote they change it. As a member of the media and knowing that I do my “You ball you get the call” segment, it’s always a lot of fun to interview somebody who has just as much confidence as Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Next step is for one of their guys to step up and have a big game or two. Maybe even get a few of them on the segment. It can come from any of Jordan Mcinnis, Mike Ambrosino or Mickey Marini would be my guess. As a team, they have a relatively tough schedule but I have faith in Jack Zergiotis at QB who has had success with Goofy Goobers and Obamacare in the past.

Players to watch: Jordan Mcinnis, Mike Ambrosino, Jack Zergiotis

 

Show Me Your TDs

Easily one of the better flag football team names, it makes me wonder if we’re a tad too liberal. Coming from a guy on the B.D. Bandits. Long story short, our squad once had to let a security guard know who we played for and well he couldn’t keep a straight face. Things got awkward. Sorry, back on topic. Anthony and Danio Addona, combined with Alex David form a strong nucleus and it’s adding to the trend that most teams have a “Big Three”. Kind of like the good old days when KD played in OKC, Lebron, Wade and Bosh on the Heat and Curry, Klay and Draymond for the Warriors. Life seemed simpler back then. My apologies to Show Me Your TDs, I just couldn’t stay on task – only thinking about TDs now.

Players to watch: Anthony Addona, Alex David, Danio Addona

 

Texas Baremanz

I’ve mentioned Big Three right? Well, this team stays the course. Kieran Ranger and Tequan John are dangerous but Jaylan Grandison is the best of the group. I wonder if he will be playing QB or if he found somebody blessed enough to have these three weapons. Either way, Grandison can be dangerous and I don’t doubt his abilities to put a team together. Texas Baremanz are slowly becoming a household name and it should be an interesting season for this group.

Players to watch: Jaylan Grandison, Kieran Ranger, Tequan John.

 

Beer View Mirrors

Another team with a great name, they have their own three headed monster as well. James Donald, Chris Williams and Akeem Hoyte-Charles are all beasts on defense, my concern for this group is the offense. It looks like Hoyte-Charles will be playing QB and that takes away a potential playmaker. Hopefully for these guys the mantra that defense wins championship resonates in Division D and they will have a shot. It might be extremely tough, though, if they are on the field for the majority of games.

Players to watch: James Donald, Chris Williams, Akeem Hoyte-Charles

 

Green Hornets

This seems to be the Dope Boys re-imagined with Felix Menard and Ridwan Abdur and Maxime Marsan who has a long history with the Jagerbombs. If they are anything like the Dope Boys we all know and love, they can be extremely dangerous one week and then barely field a team the next. Hopefully there is a lot more of the former this season than the latter. It will come down to who plays QB, if they can establish any kind of rhythm and if their skilled players gel well together. Like a lot of other teams, we’ll find out quickly.

Players to watch: Felix Menard, Maxime