Food For Thought (Div 3) – Week 1

Just like the Backstreet Boys of 1997, FPF is back! The quest for the succession of the Darkhorses as Division 3 champions has started and already some teams are falling behind. Fret not grasshoppers, for the season is a very long and winding road. Until we reach our goal in 14 weeks, I’ll try to keep you entertained and informed on what goes on behind the scenes in your division (obviously, the best  one!).

For starters, I think a quick presentation of Conference A’s 16 teams is in order. For Conference B, you’ll have to read next week’s article! (In parenthesis are my final standings predictions).

 

D-Boys (3)

After winning it all in 2010 with the help of Gino Di Fazio and Marc Champagnie, the D-Boys turned to the veteran Daniele Gentile for a repeat. Unfortunately for them, the stingy Cobras decided to play above their heads in the first round of the playoffs ending the Lanni brothers’ chances of a repeat. This year, the QB position seems to belong to Marco Masciotra…for now. While the D-Boys will most likely finish in the top 4 of their Conference due to their tremendous defensive play, Masciotra’s lack of experience at QB, especially in D3, might come back to haunt them later on. Let’s hope his 3 INTs in week 1 were not a sign of things to come…

 

Briscoe High Hawks (1)

Wielding what many consider to be the most potent offense in all of D3, the Hawks will once again be a serious contender. The additions of Nigel Thomas, Evan Cook and Nathan Taylor (!) should be considered an upgrade from last year’s Adam Bailey, Oliver Phillip and Gordon Stanway. Maybe a little less offensive minded, the new trio of Hawks will definitely shore up a defense that was considered very leaky in 2011. If Scott Kelly stays healthy, the Hawks are my pick to win it all!

 

KGP Champs (12)

This once flourishing franchise has now become a standard of unpredictability. With many new faces this season, it is very difficult to envision the Champs in a playoff scenario. Maybe Phil Cutler will finally shed the gorilla off his back and quarterback his team to a playoff push. Perhaps Phil Clark will, after a hiatus of 2 years, prove to be an elite receiver in D3. There might even be a chance that the Brophy and Leider brothers all have breakout seasons. However, I encourage you to wait before you lay down all your savings on a bet favouring all the above…

 

Yari’s Autonomics (10)

Personally, I don’t believe in this team… I know, I know, they are lead by the infamous “Chief” Shefteshy, a legend if there is any in FPF. Nevertheless, this legend hasn’t played flag in over a year and is recovering from a back surgery… While some may remember Mike Cirella from a solid season a while ago with Collusion 67, Anthony Claro and Justin Menassa remain unknown to the general public. Can these athletes channel their baseball IQ into football prowess? At least Daron Basmadjian believes they can. Will they Cinderella their way into the playoffs? Anything is possible.

 

Sandlot Saints (6)

Mike Bird seems to have (finally) assembled a pretty decent collection of athletes hailing from the confines of McGill University. While Gianni Settino lent his talents to the Saints for one game, their official QB is none other than the diminutive but speedy Dallon “Ballon” Kuprowski. A new comer to FPF, he has the skills to excel at both passing and rushing. Can the birdies keep a steady roster throughout the season? It remains to be seen. If they can keep absences and injuries to a minimum, look out for Mathieu Guérette to have a solid offensive season.

 

Picksquad (16)

Vincent Lauzon and company had a very difficult season as NTMC in 2011. With Alex Da Silva officially in the QB role, they might actually turn their fates around. Even though they lost to the KGP Champs in week 1, they never looked out of place which, in their case, can be considered a small victory. Still, battling through the jungle that is D3 won’t be easy. I can only wish them good luck in their quest to disprove my prediction…

 

Gold Standard (4)

A finalist in D2 that ends up in D3?!? Gentlemen, it seems anything is possible! All jokes aside, the gold standard will be in tough even though they have plenty of D2 experience. Without Kyle Smith, Scott Mironowicz, Mark Deslauriers and the best two-way player in the game (in my humble opinion) Shane Williams, it was only fitting that the Standard dye themselves a lighter shade of silver. Much like the aforementioned D-Boys, the golden boys will be relying heavily on the play of a sophomore QB. Can Jay Ulley lead the way, or will he need Mike McNair’s help along the way? The answer to this question will most likely decide their post-season fate.

 

Knockaround Guys (11)

Gorilla Juiceheads take 2. It seems Scott Mironowicz is trying to relive his glory days as a lower division QB with Hype and PTC Stomp. We all now his 2011 stint in D4 with the Juiceheads was a fiasco. With that in mind, the speedy Scotty decided to increase the percentage of Stingers on the roster by recruiting Kyle Smith and Vince Nardone. Will this be enough? I highly doubt it. Reinforcements will be needed if the Knockaround Guys want to play past week 10.

 

SWAT (2)

Nathan Thompson and the empire are back and they are hungrier than ever (they should really make a movie out of this)! With the likes of Shawn Haney and Rashawn Perry, SWAT should do fine on both sides of the ball. However, if they wanna assert themselves as THE team to beat, they will need to show some depth both on offense and defense. If David Horwood, Michael Malinario and Hugh Isaacs pick up the slack, they have a solid chance of going all the way.

 

Dirty Dawgers (13)

By far the most random team in the Conference, the Dawgers are very tough to gage due to their relative anonymity. Yes, Shayne Stinson, Mike Smith and Jeff Murphy are well known to the league’s aficionados. However, I have my doubts concerning Smith’s QB abilities. Will he slug it out through the season or will a miraculous saviour appear somewhere down the road is still unclear. What I do know is that with their current roster, they have only a small chance of reaching the post-season.

 

Big TDs (7)

Once again, they will be playing with a very light roster. With Jamil Springer back next week, the Big TDs should give a run for their money to the solid Rude Bwoys. Even with a small roster and many members playing both ways, a team led by Springer and boasting solid receivers like Danny Guarna, Mitch Chiba, Ryan Browne and the Cesari brothers is bound to be a handful for any opponent. Now if they could only do something about that spotty defense….

 

Fire Breathing Rubber Duckies (15)

One can never be too careful when facing a student of the game like Jeff Brown. Knowledge and planning will be his best assets this season. As for the performances of his team on the field, he’ll be relying heavily on Adam Keating and Matthew Rankin to make an impact offensively. Can QB Mike Bagnato revert back to his Winter 2011 form? FBRD will need him to start clicking with his receivers very soon because another shutout like the last one and their season might be going down the drain faster than a stray earring…

 

Park-X Streets (5)

There are three types of women: hot girls, not so hot girls and, most importantly, the “hot-body-not-so-hot-face” kind. Why do I bring this up? Because every time I see Park-X Streets play, they remind me of the latter. Others would say that they don’t pass the famous “eye-ball” test. Nevertheless, since their inception in 2010, they have developed an aggressive and fearless brand of flag-football that transcends aesthetics. With the flamboyant Billy Seretis at QB and all-stars such as Niko Zermalias and Jonathan Makris, the pride of Montreal’s Greek community should remain. Now, if they can just transpose their regular season success into the post-season, I’m sure other teams will try to incorporate some “Greekness” to their game.

 

Green 18’s (8)

A team assembled by the GM himself, the Green 18’s are my darkhorse this season. Unpredictable, talented but subdued, this squad has all the elements to become giant-slayers. They have size (Azab, Deslauriers), defensive grit (Edwards, Aridi), experience (Cummins) and some classic je-ne-sais-quoi that makes my spider-sense tingle. On top of it all, it seems Mr. Kolethras found another forgotten QB to rehabilitate in Damian Imhoff. If so, a second straight general manager of the year award might be waiting for him at the end of the season.

 

Hurricanes (14)

Maïko Zepeda and the kids from Vanier are back and this time, they brought a QB. Hugo Richard has been touted by many as “the Next One”, the QB who will follow in Jeremi Roch and Myle Gibbons’ footsteps in the Quebec mecca of tackle football quarterbacks. However, he is still a relative rookie on the flag-football scene. After an underwhelming week 1 game, Richard maintains a question mark over his ability to perform on a small field under the unrelenting pressure of a rusher. Fortunately for him, he can turn to budding star Joel Brtka for some offensive help. I’d be very surprised if these two don’t eventually fill up the statistics columns.

 

Served with Ice (9)

After a breakout season by Jordan Panetta and Pascal Tshilambo in 2011, Served with Ice are now expected to hang with the elite. Sadly for them, they lost two huge pieces to rival teams during the off-season: Vince Nardone and Jordan McLaren. That’s 9 TDs and 7 INTs they are not going to get this season… Unless they figure out an efficient way of replacing those key loses, it seems Served with Ice will be falling short in 2012.

 

Next week, I will be unveiling the first Division 3 power rankings of the season as well as continuing my assessment of the teams in Conference B. Be sure not to miss it!

 If you have any comments, suggestions or rants, feel free to email me at [email protected]

See you on the field!