Down goes Frazier!!!! and the Div. A/B Power Rankings Debut

Welcome to 7 of the FlagPlus Football Summer Season.

The first half of the regular season is in the review mirror, and we have now started the second stanza. Each game takes on that much more significance, as some teams try to punch their ticket to the post-season, others jockey for position, and each squad tries to make a run to the playoffs riding a wave of momentum. With four weeks left until the fun begins, a lot can happen between then and now.

One thing that happened this past week, was a win by the All-Stars over the Braves. There are three things that took place in this contest that stood out to me.

First and foremost, the dreams of an undefeated season for the Braves went up in smoke with the (35-30) defeat. It is hard to go put up a zero in the loss column for an entire season. The talent in this league gets better and better each year, so it makes achieving the perfect season that much harder. In all honesty, one of the first things I thought of saying when I saw that the Braves had lost, was “Down goes Frazier, down goes Frazier!” If you’re too young to know what I am talking about, please do yourself a favour and look it up.

The second thing that I noticed, was the performance of Kevin Wyeth. In last week’s Mid-Season Report, I said that despite all of his accolades, championships, leadership, and having the title of being the best Quarterback in the history of FlagPlus Football, I said that right now, Jonathan Maheu of the Braves was currently the top QB in the league. In all my years of writing for FPF, the two biggest things I have learned are – people talk and read the articles in this league. I have no clue if the latter applied to Kevin Wyeth last week, but I do know that some of his current and former teammates read the article, so I am sure that word got back to him. Just to be clear, I am not saying my words inspired him at all.

Speaking of performances, the one put on by Patrick Jérome, was simply phenomenal, as the 18-time All-Star had a jaw-dropping eight catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns. I think the most surprising thing out of his night was that he put up those numbers against a defense with the likes of Mike Pierrecin, Jean-Daniel Chevalier, Jason Courchesne, Jonathan Maheu, and Georges Gariépy.

The most important thing I took out of this game was it was a statement win by the All-Stars. For as much love as the Braves, Khantraband, and Chernobyl – 21 have gotten from others including myself throughout the season, the All-Stars, are still the most experienced team, have more Hall of Famers than anybody else, and are the most championship-tested squad in all of FPF. Winning a tight back and forth contest against a team as good as the Braves, normally would say a lot. For the All-Stars, it simply says been there done that.  

The win should put everyone on notice, that they are still one of the teams, if not the team to beat in Division A.

For those looking to use the excuse the Braves played two games in a row last Sunday, let me pump the brakes right there. Yes, the Braves did play versus Chernobyl – 21 at 7PM last Sunday night, and then had to turn around and play the All-Stars two hours later, but who in FPF hasn’t had to play two games in one night? More importantly, as I said in last week’s article, the Braves asked Chernobyl – 21 to have their game which was originally scheduled to take place in Week 10, moved to last Sunday.

For the Braves, it will be interesting to see how they respond, as they take on Chernobyl – 21, on the tail end of back-to-back games against them.

The contest between both squads also saw the FPF return of 2016 Hall of Famer Jacques Void, who subbed for the All-Stars. The two-way threat made an impact with a touchdown on offense to go along with a pair of tackles on defense. His biggest contribution was opening space for his fellow Receivers, as the Braves defense had to know where Void was at all times.

It has come to the point where almost every week we get a player making a return to FPF. Sean Kennedy, Jonathan Grizzley, Nicola Centomo, Quaid Johnson, Khalil Kerr, and the list goes on. Obviously, some of the names we have seen are making their first appearance since Covid-19 stopped us in our tracks back in March 2020, but others are returning after a number of years away.  

I feel like going forward, I should write a welcome back section in the article. Maybe that’s not a bad idea.

Speaking of new sections, I have decided to write a weekly Power Rankings. I figured it made sense to do it once I had a chance to see all twelve teams play. So, here it goes…

Power Rankings

Division A

Braves (7-1) – As covered earlier, they suffered their first loss of the season (35-30) to the All-Stars. They get right back on the horse tomorrow night in Lachine, when they take on Chernobyl – 21. I will be there in person to watch what I think will be an exciting game.

All-Stars (4-3) – They gave the Braves their first loss of the season. Who else did you think was going to be in this spot? Much more important than their spot in the Power Rankings, is seeing whether or not the All-Stars can build off of that momentum when they take on the next team on this list – Khantraband – Monday night in Brossard, in what should be a shootout?

Khantraband (4-2) – They already took Round 1 from the All-Stars with a (46-40) victory all the back in Week 1. If Khantraband is able to complete the regular season sweep, they would not only rise in the rankings, but more importantly in the Div. A standings as a win would vault them into second place by virtue of points, and the head-to-head tiebreaker as well. Getting another four touchdown performance out of Serge Pilon Jr, would definitely help the process. Let’s see what happens Monday night.

Chernobyl – 21 (3-5) – They had a chance to solidify second place in Div A as well as the Power Rankings, but after losing twice Sunday night to the Braves and Khantraband, Chernobyl – 21, finds themselves last in both places. Before the back-to-back defeats, this team had won three in a row. To get back to that winning formula and more importantly get out of the basement, this crew will have to tighten up their defense which gave up a combined 86 points in both loses.

Division B

Urgence Médic (6-2) They come into tomorrow’s games winners of four straight, the latest being a (45-13) beatoing of a Sean Avraam-less Here For The Beers squad. Luckily for both teams, they have a chance to do it all over again as they meet this coming Friday night in Laval.

KGP (3-4) – The kings of the sub .500 teams, KGP comes into this weekend winners of two in a row. They can make it three for three, with a victory over the Junkyard Dogs tomorrow night in Lachine, in what should be a good game. Can they get the win?

Here For The Beers (2-5) – As I said earlier, they got smoked by Urgence Médic, but Here For The Beers, was without their Hall of Fame Quarterback Sean Avraam. Let’s see what happens in the rematch next week if Avraam is back in the lineup.

Get Off Our D (2-4) They have lost two in a row and face a huge matchup tomorrow night against an equally struggling BYOB squad. For Get Off Our D to get back on track, they will need to get back on their offense, as they haven’t cracked the 30-point plateau since their third game of the season.

Junkyard Dogs (2-5) – They got a huge confidence booster, and just as important a big win with a (46-27) blowout victory over Get Off Our D, their first W since Week 3. Can they carry the momentum and get their first winning streak of the year tomorrow night when they take on KGP?

BYOB (2-4) – The disappointing play continues for a squad that has a lot of talent but can’t seem to put it all together when it matters most. Currently on the outside looking in at a post-season spot, BYOB, will need to do a number of things to stop their three-game losing streak. Namely, score more than 30 points (they have only done it once this season), cut down on the turnovers as QB Mathieu René has thrown nine during the losing streak, and have their defense try and score points too. They along with KGP are the only teams to not have a defensive touchdown this year.  

Picks

*My apologies, I was not able to finish the article before the Here For The Beers versus Urgence Médic game last night. The latter team won in a blowout (45-13) in Laval.

Junkyard Dogs vs KGP – Junkyard Dogs (Upset Special)

Get Off Our D vs BYOB – Get Off Our D

Braves vs Chernobyl – 21 – Braves

All-Stars vs Khantraband – All-Stars

Last Week: (3-3)

Upset Special: (5-2)

Season: (21-8)

Good luck to everybody in their games tomorrow.

If you loved the article, hated it, or simply felt like there is something I left out, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]