Division E Week 5: Two heavyweights go down; Only one un-defeated remains

Welcome to Week 5 of the FlagPlus Football Division E Spring Season. We are officially at the mid-point of the season. For all 30 teams, this is the exact spot where they meet the proverbial fork in the road, and they must decide, whether they have what it takes to be the last team standing on August 6th, or if they are better off building for the winter campaign.

 

Undefeated No More!

 

Two of Division E’s heavyweights tasted defeat for the first time this season, as Dirty Mike n the Boys fell to the Farmers 31-25, and the Hot Boys Hotline, lost a heartbreaker to Pardon My Swag, 13-12.

 

For Dirty Mike n the Boys, their start to the game played a big role in the loss, as they came out flat and made multiple mistakes, none bigger than the two first half interceptions thrown by Quarterback Jordan Allard.

 

The Farmers took advantage of their opponent’s mistakes as they were able to find the end zone on both occasions.

 

After the underdogs added another score, Allard, and the team finally woke up at the end of the first half, as they were finally able to get a stop, and they used that momentum to score their first touchdown.

 

After a furious comeback that saw DMNTB put up 19 points, and tie the game at 25 apiece, it all came down to the final play of the game. On the final play of the game, Farmers’ Wide Receiver Corey Greenaway, caught a pass and was thought to be hauled down near the 5-yard line. The FPF veteran, and one-time All-Star, got up with his flag still on, and kept on running, and was eventually tackled out if bounds, which drew a penalty on the play.

 

With the extra play, the Farmers, were able to punch it in the end zone, on a pass to Greenaway, and win the game 31-25.

 

With the losses by Dirty Mike n the Boys, and the Hot Boys Hotline, the only undefeated team remaining in Division E, are the Greendale Human Beings. They barely survived a matchup with the Homosapiens, winning 27-26. Will GHB, be able to continue keeping that goose egg in the loss column?

 

In a potential Game of the Week matchup, the Hot Boys Hotline, took on Pardon My Swag, Sunday night at Stade de Montreal. That dream was quickly dashed, as both teams came into the game without their starting Quarterbacks, as Avery Lalla (PMS), and Tom Gatehouse (HBHL) were unavailable.

 

Both defenses however, did show up, and they showed out, as each offense scored a season-low in points.

 

The Pardon My Swag defense, especially came through, as they had to bail out QB Jesse Racine, who threw an uncharacteristic 4 interceptions, 3 of which were caught by Two-Way Player of the Year, and Defensive Player of the Year candidate Edouard Valme.

 

As is often the case in tight defensive games, the outcome came down to extra points. Pardon My Swag, went 1 for 2, while the Hot Boys Hotline, went 0 for 2, hence the 13-12 victory for PMS.

 

Le choix du Président, almost pulled off the massive upset, Tuesday night, in their game versus the West Delisle Squad.

 

Gabriel Béland-Lapointe, had his team up 14-0 early, after opening drive touchdowns to Gabriel Allard, and Philippe Tremblay.

 

The solid play on offense, inspired the team’s defense, as they were flying around the ball, and making plays.

 

The West Delisle Squad, finally woke up before the end of the first half, as Michael Khazaka, hauled in a pass for 22 yards, that brought the ball to the Le choix du Président 1-yard line. The second-year player would score on the next play to get his team on the board.

 

Khazaka, carried the momentum over to the next defensive drive, as he picked off Béland-Lapointe, to essentially close out the first half.

 

Le choix du Président, answered back quickly in the second stanza, as after a miraculous circus catch by Jeremy Lavallée, that bounced off of a defender, Gabriel Allard, scored his 2nd TD of the game, two plays into the half.

After another TD by Khazaka, and a score by Joseph Haddad, to give the West Delisle Squad a 21-20 lead, the game came down to the final possession by Le choix du Président. After moving the ball past midfield, on passes to Allard, and Nicolas Lefebvre, the team faced a crucial 4th and long.

 

Unfortunately, for Le choix du Président, they weren’t able to convert, as Béland-Lapointe, was picked off by Alexandre Delisle, to end the game.

 

It was a disappointing ending for an underdog team, that looked like they were primed to shock Div. E with a massive upset. Hopefully Le choix du Président, can build off of their performance going forward.

 

The Expendables, and Smokin Axolotls, had statement victories this past week, as they knocked off the Little Giants and Super Troopers respectively, in blowout fashion.

 

The Expendables, made short work of the Little Giants, as the combination of QB David Roaldi, and WR Damien Jean-Jacques, dominated to the tune of 86 yards and 3 touchdowns. Roaldi, was the definition of efficiency, as he only completed 9 passes, but an impressive 6 of them went for TDs.

 

On the other side of the ball, the team was just solid, as they got great plays on ball by Defensive Back Donald Mathurin, who got an interception, and Remy Montalto, who recorded an INT, and a game-high 5 passes deflections. Also helping out was Rusher Leslie Déjoie, who looked as fast as his new car, applying constant pressure on all 3 of the Little Giants’ Quarterbacks.

 

Last year’s championship runner’s up, smashed the Super Troopers 39-14. As you can probably imagine, this game was never really close, as the Smokin As defense gave no room for the Troopers’ offense to operate.

 

Quarterback Gabriel Wiseman, who made a successful season debut last week, might have wished he was back on vacation, as the SA defense got after him all game, curtesy of Rusher Chris Brockwell’s 2 sacks.

 

The defense was also able to get into QB’s head, as they confused Wiseman all game long with multiple, alignments and coverages. On several occasions throughout the contest, he looked jittery and unsure of where to throw the ball. When he did have time to pass, he missed more than a few wide open receivers.

 

At the end of the first half was over, the Smokin Axolotls defense had registered 2 sacks, a turnover on downs, a pick 6, and helped their team jump out to a 25-0 Lead.

 

The second was just as bad for the Super Troopers, as they simply had no answers on either side of the ball.

 

The much hyped matchup (mostly by yours truly) between Zach Zwirn and Rory Semerjian, was a landslide as well, as the Semerjian dominated no matter who was covering him. The second-year player scored TDs of 12, 18, and 19 yards, with the last one with Zwirn in coverage.

 

Offensively, the game could’ve been called the Semerjian show, as Sean Semerjian, who was making his FPF debut, scored a TD, and added two extra points on separate conversions as well.

 

Zwirn, did add two TDs to get his team on the board late in the second half, but as I mentioned earlier, the game was well decided by then.

 

 

Random Thoughts

 

 

I had a chance to watch a few games this week. One of the things that I noticed, was that the Raccoons are an extremely fast and athletic team. In their game against the Montreal Raiders, the Raccoons’ Defensive Backs were flying to the ball, led by Maxime Lachance, Michael Racine, and Alexandre Lemoyne. Even their Quarterback Sébastien Gagnon, has a set of wheels, as he ran seven times for 100 yards. Once he becomes more comfortable at the position, and learns not to take off if his first read isn’t there, the team will cause some problems.

 

Just For The Reps’ Kevin St-Pierre, has to be the funniest guy in all of FPF. He always has a smile on his face and a story to tell. As fate would have it, I play him in team in Week 6, and then again in Week 7 in Division C’s. Let the good times roll.

 

If Los Avocados want to be taken seriously, they need to at least be competitive in their game against the Greendale Human Beings.

 

It seems like the schedule Gods must hate the Friday Night Tykes. One week after they had to take on a TBA that was coming off of a blowout loss to the Greendale Human Beings, tomorrow night they have to face a passed off Dirty Mike n the Boys squad at Kirkland.

 

The return of second year rushing sensation Cory Werner to the DGC lineup is huge. The speedster can not only get after the Quarterback, but he is starting develop as a receiver as well. The speed that he brings on both sides of the field, makes him a difference maker. If the team is able to rebound from their 1-4 start and make a run for the playoffs, he will be a huge reason why.

 

West Delisle Quarterback Alexandre Delisle, is quietly sneaking into the upper echelon of QBs in the division. Watching him versus Le choix du Président, him appeared poised delivering the ball, despite being under constant pressure from a hungry defense. His arm looked strong, and he knew when to put touch on the ball.

 

As mentioned earlier, Delisle was able to help lead his team back after a shaky start against Le choix du Président. Let’s see what he does tonight against the Hot Boys Hotline.

 

 

 

Picks

 

The Expendables vs YAMAJO – The Expendables

 

Pension Plan vs One Speed: Power – One Speed: Power

 

Hot Boys Hotline vs West Delisle Squad – West Delisle Squad (Upset Special #1)

 

Striking Samurais vs Just For The Reps – N/A

 

Pardon My Swag vs Smokin Axolotls – Smokin Axolotls

 

Here For The Beer vs Raccoons – Raccoons

 

Fourth & Twenty vs Montreal Raiders – Montreal Raiders

 

Homosapiens vs Farmers (My pick for Game of the Week and Upset Special #2l

 

Le Choix du Président vs Super Troopers – Super Troopers

 

DGC vs FACE Jazz – DGC (Upset Special # 3)

 

Friday Night Tykes vs Dirty Mike n the Boys – Dirty Mike n the Boys

 

Prime Time vs Moss City – Prime Time

 

Little Giants vs Sons of Mitches – Little Giants

 

TBA vs SPARTANS – TBA

 

Los Avocados vs Greendale Human Beings – Greendale Human Beings

 

 

Last Week: 8-6

 

Season: 44-25-1

 

 

Brent versus Marc-André

 

 

Marc-André’s Picks

 

 

The Expendables vs YAMAJO – The Expendables

 

Here For The Beer vs Raccoons – Here For The Beer

 

FACE Jazz vs DGC – FACE Jazz

 

Greendale Human Beings vs Los Avocados – Greendale Human Beings

 

SPARTANS vs TBA – SPARTANS

 

 

My Picks

 

 

FACE Jazz vs DGC – DGC

 

Farmers vs Homosapiens – Farmers

 

Raccoons vs Here For The Beer – Raccoons

 

One Speed: Power vs Pension Plan

 

TBA vs SPARTANS – TBA

 

Last Week: 4-1

 

Season: 12-8

 

 

That’s it for this week guys, enjoy the games, because there are a lot of good ones. Welcome to the second half of the season, the playoffs are just around the corner. Good luck to everybody this week.

 

Happy Father’s Day to my pops, and all the other dads out there. Enjoy your day, grab a cold one, or do whatever you do that makes you happy, you deserve it!

 

I’ll see you guys next week.

 

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