Fourth-and-Goal (Div 4) – Week 1

Apparently, I’m a sucker for punishment in this league. In addition to playing on two teams, holding a place on the disciplinary committee, being a personality on the weekly podcast and scorekeeping, I’ve opted to undertake the task of writing for a division that I don’t even play in. Madness? Maybe. But this is my creative outlet, and my way to illustrate exactly how much I love this league.

 

For those of you who don’t know who I am, you aren’t really missing out on much. Nonetheless, I know a decent amount of what goes on in the league due to too much time on my hands to browse the site, a decent memory when it comes to football and a small bit of people skills. So feel free to approach me if you’d like; I’m always down to talk about the division or the league in general. But for now, we move forward with the article!  

 

Yari’s

 

Probably the most competitive of the Wednesday night games was the matchup between Yari’s Autonomics and Underrated (formerly Beers of last winter). This was a back-and-forth matchup between two veteran receivers turned quarterbacks in FPF (Coté and Nikoletopoulos). While Yari’s got off to an early lead largely due to the mix of their skill and chemistry, I feel that if the game had 5 more minutes in it, we might have seen Underrated pull off the comeback. Underrated managed to fluster the YA squad in the second half, forcing more incompletions than we had seen at the beginning of the game. Furthermore, I’ve mentioned it in the past as well; Coté to Foucault is a dangerous combination and a theme that we’ll see recurring for a great many games to come.

 

All W’s? Not this season.

 

Now, I’m going to go into a little bit of schadenfreude, but the division knew it was inevitable. When you hype yourself up, and display a great deal of hubris, it’s inevitable that you’re going to get a big fat target on your back. Everyone knew that once #NoRegard faced the steeper competition of Division 4, they would not be as dominant. The irony of it was that it was not an established D4 team who gave #NoRegard their first season loss in 20 games, but one of the few other Division 5 who moved up: La Sauce. It was evident that La Sauce showed up to win; not only in their plays, but in their playbook as well. Francois Raymond established plays to exploit holes in the aggressive #NoRegard defense. Very few make the transition from Division 5 to Division 4 seamlessly, but La Sauce could definitely be just as much a contender in Division 4 as they were in Division 5. Meanwhile, #NoRegard are no longer a big fish in a small pond, and as such will need to adjust fast. Relying on trick plays and risky 4^th down plays will put you behind the 8 ball in D4. While La Sauce will continue looking ahead to their next matchup with Green Nation, #NoRegard will need to re-evaluate and fast, as they play an unrelenting and merciless opponent in Clockwork next week.

 

CSJV

 

As you all know, we’re without Hebert for at least the next few weeks. Last season, I took an in-depth look at Hebert after the talk and speculation that surrounded it. While there hasn’t been as much as of yet (largely due to the fact that this was outside of our control and such short notice) I figured that I’d give an analysis and evaluation of the field.

 

Pros:

– Lighting: The lighting at CSJV is good. Not Brossard great, but certainly far better than Lachine or Loyola. You’re not blinded every time you look up for a pass, and it’s certainly not dark. Compare it to how Hebert was.

– Turf: The turf at CSJV is fantastic. It is in fantastic condition (no craters or bumps in the field like Lachine or Loyola) and is much softer on impact than Brossard or Lachine should you come into contact with it.

– Spectator area: Like Brossard (but not quite as large) there is an elevated and somewhat shielded area where you can bring fans, spectators and/or mom and dad.

– Locker rooms: Unlike Loyola and Hebert, CSJV (like most of the others) has locker rooms.

Cons:

– Sidelines: Or lack thereof. You have very little space between sideline and wall on the end field, and same with the end zone. There’s still enough room for it to be safe, but please be careful nonetheless.

– Location: This one’s a bit more objective. But oh God, the drive! I live in the West Island, and continuously thought that I had driven too far on the 40. For some of you, it’ll be easier, but it’s literally at the other end of the island for me.

Misc:

– You’ll get incredibly poor cell reception at CSJV. As in pretty much none. So if you tell your wife or girlfriend that you’re off to play football, and she tries to reach you multiple times while you’re at CSJV to no avail, expect your stuff to be on the lawn when you get back.

– Of course, as always, these are just my findings and opinions. Feel free to take a trip there and come to your own conclusions as well.

 

Stray Observations

 

– No matter how many times I say it, people always claim they didn’t know. Once again: TEAM PHOTOS ARE WEEK 2.

– One of the best teams to not win in Week 1: Green Nation. Look for this team of College Ahuntsic Indians to adjust quickly and do some damage

– Of all the games this week, the Past Our Prime/The Family game looks like it’ll be a serious battle, and the best football you’ll see. If you happen to be in Brossard on Saturday, don’t miss it!

– Once the few new teams get through the learning curve, we’re going to be seeing some strong football. I’d say the strength of the division took a big jump from last season to this one.

– Definitely not going to make the trip out to CSJV this week, but it won’t always be the case. So look for me anywhere but there this week!

 

Power Rankings

 

Here’s a rundown of my opinion of the top 10 teams in the division. This has to do with victories, as well as some personal bias and opinion (due to half the teams in the division are currently 1-0.) But favoritism aside, make no mistake gentlemen: wins will put you in the rankings.

 

1. La Sauce – Snapping the 14-game winning streak of their opponent is a contributing factor in what landed La Sauce here, but there’s more to it than that. A staunch offense, a stingy defense and an incredibly mobile QB who is capable of throwing a 40-bomb while on the run is certainly enough for me to give them a top spot.

 

2. Past Our Prime – If I were playing in Division 4, this would be the team that would scare me the most. Dale Williams (in addition to earning himself two interceptions this week) has put together a team that is littered with talent. Having “Owie” O’Brien and Aggie Kalaidopoulos, as well as playmaker Jeff Dort and utility man Hisham Abdel-Rahmon makes Past Our Prime a very misleading name.

 

3. Toute Garnie – Last winter season when Ed Shoshan quarterbacked a team, they had one of the hardest hitting offenses and one of the best plus-minus ratings in the division. Guess who’s vying for that spot again? Furthermore, new acquisition Timothy Godber impressed me most week 1 and will be a player you’ll hear a lot about in the coming weeks.

 

4. The Incredibles – Any time a referee on the sidelines groans pre-snap because he knows he has to run to cover the long-bomb completion, you know you’ve built up a reputation. The boys in red have earned themselves a spot in the ranking not just for the show they put on in week 1, but also because my girlfriend likes them more than she likes my own team.

 

5. Clockwork – With Marco Masciotra having another Division 3 season under his belt at the same time, he becomes an even bigger threat this winter. Having a more focused authority role on Clockwork, he can lead by example and thrust his boys into the limelight to become more than just the DBoys farm team. The additions of Jackson and Gittens will certainly help in this regard.

 

6. The Family – In the rivalry, it’s now become 3-1 The Family over Sphinx.  (dating back to Winter 2010 when the two were the ORIGINAL Division 5 powerhouses) The Family were a strong team then, and they’re a strong team now. Despite the return of Maxime Forget, J-S Ouellette will be manning the helm full time. Nonetheless, Forget made sure that we all didn’t ‘forget’ about him; proving his worth with a 2 INT, 1 TD game.

 

7. Gators – It would seem that David Hurley has been a busy bee in the off season. After publicly slamming his old QB publically in the spring Division C press conference (I highly suggest anyone who hasn’t seen it check it out in the archives) he’s picked up a familiar face in Jon Young, and assembled a strong supporting cast as well. Look for them to make as much noise on the field as Hurley does off of it.

 

8. The Commission – The same nucleus as the team that made the finals in C two springs ago, plus the addition of Kenton Lowe. Lowe immediately proved that his pickup was worthwhile by putting up two interceptions and a touchdown. Could this be the year that they break the 6-4 record stigma?

 

9. Patriotes – The only team that is two-time champions in this list. While they’re still at a loss with the injury of Mathieu Belanger, they seem to be rekindling the spark that was missing the past two seasons. A less frustrated Patriotes team will be a much more efficient one.

 

10. Yari’s Autonomics – They’re not a lot to look at, but there is definitely a lot of talent on the team.  Hopefully they can “make it to the big game give themselves a clap on the hand”. Plus, where there is Moe Khan, glory will follow. Right? Right?

 

 

 

Quick Picks

I usually keep a tally of how on point I am with my predictions, and usually compare it to that of our resident French journalist, Simon Dagenais. I don’t mind being wrong (in fact, I enjoy it – it means more parity in the division) all that matters to me is that I once again finish the season with a better average of predictions than Simon. Here are my quick picks for Week 2.

 

Marauders vs. Thunder – Thunder

FTP 2.0 vs. Toute Garnie – Toute Garnie

Patriotes vs. Outlaws – Patriotes

Yari’s Autonomics vs. The Incredibles – Yari’s Autonomics

Underrated vs. Falcons – Underrated

Coyotes vs. Certified Flyguyz – Certified Flyguyz

Bruizers vs. Nutcrackers – Nutcrackers

KGP Lite vs. Channel 4 News Team – KGP Lite

La Sauce vs. Green Nation – La Sauce

FOTC vs. Mustangs du Gridiron – Mustangs du Gridiron

Past Our Prime vs. The Family – Past Our Prime

Maccabi vs. SWCP Bulldogs – SWCP Bulldogs

Spartans vs. Gunslingers – Spartans

The Commission vs. Gators – Gators

Sphinx vs. Longhorns – Longhorns

Backyard Bullies vs. Smokin’ Aces – Smokin’ Aces

Les Buddays vs. Ball Busters – Les Buddays

Cool Kidz vs. Knights – Knights

Park-X Streets vs. Dark Side – Park-X Streets

69ers vs. Rogues – 69ers

Sea Assassins vs. Discount Double Check – Discount Double Check

Pitbulls vs. Vis Motus – Pitbulls

#NoRegard vs. Clockwork – Clockwork

No Punt Intended vs. Broccasion – No Punt Intended

 

Quote of the Week

“50-13 Clockwork. Write it down.” – Marco Masciotra, referencing his next week’s matchup against #NoRegard.