FPF Cup ’21: Opening Week – A New Hope for All

We’re Back!

With the winter right around the corner, FPF had to get it’s Fall Cup season started shortly after the Spring season ended, and so here we are, with week 1 in the books. Let me first introduce myself, as one should for the first article of the season. The name is Iggy Magnets and I will be one of 3 writers this season to confirm any rumored FPF news and give my breakdown and analysis on the weeks played and give my previews and predictions on the weeks to come. If you don’t find your squad mentioned in my weekly article, try catching Peeze Della Reeze‘s (Quarterback of Hot Sauce Sports and Kiss My End Zone) article or Alexi Dubois‘, dubbed “The Prime Minister” (of FPF), article to see if they wrote about you and/or your team. Alternatively, FPF’s website is relatively new, and you can in fact quickly search if any one of us wrote about you, by clicking “Articles” under the Content tab, and then searching your name or your team’s name in the Search box!

So let’s dive right into the action as we’ve got a whole Fall Cup to discuss, debate, analyze and pose questions on!

Game Recaps – Week 1

Tim Brandy 28 – 33 Warriors

At first glance of the score, it seemed that Tim Brandy held their own against an experienced Warriors team that is coming back to play FPF after a few seasons off. There was only one time in which Tim Brandy led in this game, when the score was 13-7 in favor for them. The Warriors though, immediately wiped that lead off the board with their well-known, quick-strike offence, driving the length of the field in just 2 plays after Brandy scored to go up 13-7. The score now was 14-13 for the Warriors and they never looked back; not giving up the lead the rest of the game. In fact, they lead by two scores at 2 different moments in the game: once up 27-12 and then up 33-20 at the end with under 5 plays remaining.

The key difference in the game was not only the 3 interceptions thrown by Michael Timmis (Tim Brandy) vs. the 2 thrown by Mitch Fergenbaum (Warriors), it’s that the Warriors were able to score and put up 14 points off those turnovers to Tim Brandy’s 6.

No surprise, for the Warriors, the dynamic dup of Benji Ziegler and Adam Rabinovitch were at the forefront of the victory on both sides of the ball, combining for 5 catches, 97 yards, 3 TDs, as well as 3 tackles, 3 INTs and 3 PDs. Those are some game-changing stats.

For Tim Brandy, while Jared Buck‘s individual performance was eye-popping impressive, with his 7 receptions, 188 yards, 3 TDs, along with his 2 tackles and 2 INTs, someone else on the team will need to help out their star player if they want to contend with the top-dogs of Tier 3. Otherwise, against some of the weaker competition in the Tier, they can get away with it and more often than not, come away with the W.

Players of the game

Tim Brandy Player of the Game: Jared Buck – 7 receptions, 13 targets, 118 yards, 3 TDs, 2 tackles, 2 INTs

Warriors Player of the Game: Benji Ziegler – 3 receptions, 5 targets, 51 yards, 2 TDs, 2 tackles, 1 INT, 2 PDs

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Arouch 32 – 13 Grim Reapers

The season could not have started worse for the Grim Reapers and Rory Semerjian, playing in his first 1st ever season under center, as his first career FPF pass was picked off by Arouch’s Étienne Bruno-Blain. Already having scored on their first offensive possession, Arouch would capitalize off their turnover to another put 7 points on the board and go up 13-0 in the first 5 minutes of their season.

R. Semerjian seemed to compose himself on his second drive, as a couple of runs plus utilizing his favorite targets in Dilan Daoust and snapper Mike Collard led to a Charles Olivier Vachon 1 yard TD for Rory’s first career touchdown pass.

But as Arouch would prove in this game that they are going to be a quick-strike offense, they answered CO Vachon‘s score with one of their own, scoring in just 3 plays as Alexis Andrieux made the most of his only reception of the game, a 23-yard TD to put Arouch ahead 20-6. The Grim Reaper 3rd drive of the game saw more runs by Rory with easy pass completions to Collard, but as most new QB’s quickly realize, the game is much harder and faster when you’ve got the ball in your hands and need to distribute it to your receivers, as Rory was picked for the 2nd time, with Andrieux making the back-to-back key play for Arouch, coming away with the INT.

Now, the Reapers following the 2nd turnover did play some good defense and forced a 4-and-out to prevent Arouch from scoring at the end of the 1st half. Not only did they prevent Arouch from blowing this game away, the Reapers started with the ball start in the 2nd half, and with a 20 yard reception to Dilan Daoust and a 20 yard run by Rory which reached the endzone, the Reapers made it 20-13. However, this is as close as the Reapers would get, as again, Arouch answered quickly, scoring in just 2 plays, this time a 37 yard TD to Simon Losier, one of his 2 TDs on the night. This ability by Eric Lalonde to score in a fast and on-demand manner is something that can greatly help this Arouch team, as it is one of the scariest and key characteristics a winning FPF team can have. In fact, Arouch only had 3 first downs in the game, which speaks to their quick-strike offense in this game, but that did not mean their conversion rate was low, as they also went an impressive 3/3 in the redzone.

The next Reaper drive took a little too long and eventually ended up in a turnover on downs, but while Devin Daoust made a last attempt to get his team back in it with a pick of his own on Lalonde, it was all for none, as 2 plays later, Simon Losier picked off Rory and returned it to the house for 6.

The last play of the game seemed to have boiled over in emotions, as both Rory and Antoine Prefontaine got OC (Objectionable Conduct, for new FPF readers) penalties.

Overall, an impressive, statement victory by Arouch that they are here to make a run for the Fall Cup as their Spring season hopes fell short.

Players of the game

Arouch Player of the Game: Simon Losier – 5 receptions, 6 targets, 90 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 1 DEF TD.

Grim Reaper Player of the Game: Mike Collard – 12 receptions, 12 targets, 64 yards

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Game previews

Tier 1 preview: Urgence Medic vs. Blessed

In our Polar Opposite segment on Calling The Audible, Moe Khan selected Blessed as a team that I needed to find a team that matches up well against them. The team I chose? Urgence Medic. Well, here it is for us to see what these 2 teams have got, as they face-off in a week 2 Tier 1 matchup.

So here are how things are looking from the Blessed side of things coming into this matchup.

This is Blessed’s first attempt at playing in the top Tier/top divisions in FPF after a successful Division C season that ended in a championship. This kind of evolution and growth is exactly what FPF strives for, so kudos to them for stepping up and playing in the highest tier the Fall Cup had to offer (they would have otherwise been labelled as division dodgers for playing in Tier 2). One thing to consider though, is that Blessed doesn’t really know their competition in Urgence Medic.

That said, the thing with Blessed is that Harripersaud and the Blessed offense is such a safe and efficient offense, that it’s almost matchup proof. He runs the same offense against ANY team and it works. You can almost book it, that week in and week out, Harripersaud will have 6 TDs and 180+ yards with a 65%+ completion percentage. The best example of the boring but efficient play is the triple slants play they run. Harripersaud is becoming one of the best in reading it and it works against any team.

Of course, it’s not all Steve… he and Terry Babalis have once again built a team with amazing offensive weapons. Everyone on the offense has not just good hands, but high-end catch talent and skilled route-running abilities. In fact, from their Division C championship team, they added superstar in the making, James Langshaw and the FPF all-star and rangy, Justin Lerner. To show that anyone can make plays and contribute offensively, 4 different players got between 44 and 80 yards and 3 of those players scored all 6 TDs (Will Power, Marvin Steinberg and James Langshaw).

From the Urgence Medic side of things, this is an experienced Tier 1/Division 2/Division A-B team that also does not know much about their opponent in Blessed. One key advantage that UM has over Blessed though, is that they are now used to the “we must score on every drive” mentality that playing in the higher divisions offer. Now, they should know that Blessed is that type of offense, so this should actually be a very good game and a great measuring stick game for Blessed to see how far they have developed.

On the aforementioned polar opposite segment, I mentioned that Urgence Medic’s large size will give Blessed some trouble, on both sides of the ball. On offense, the big bodies of guys like Flag Jesus (Mathieu Houle for the uninitiated) and Anthony Lapointe are extremely difficult to cover as they use their big frame to box defenders out, and they have deceivingly quick speed. Defensively, they also cover a lot of turf and force Quarterbacks to make throws into tighter windows than they usually have to.

The other thing to consider in this matchup is the quarterback play of Jesse Dupuis. His level of QB play is something that Blessed is not used to, especially his ability to both air it out with his arm and gain yards with his legs.

So overall, I can actually see Blessed going score for score with Urgence Medic, and I actually have them winning this one in their first game against a top-division team.

Prediction score: Blessed 39 – 37 Urgence Medic

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Co-Ed Cup preview: EZFun vs. Y&Y

Both these teams are coming off Week 1 wins against the same team: The Rock. EZFun rocked The Rock and put up 50 points, while Y&Y won their game 22-13.

What immediately caught my eye from the Y&Y box-score was the 3 different Quarterbacks who threw for them. I don’t like when there isn’t a clear cut QB on a team going into a season, and 3 QBs going 6/10, 6/11 and 1/5, while combining for 1 TD and 2 INTs isn’t a warm and comforting feeling. The offense has good receivers, particularly names like Ryan Dobbs-Garnett and Marilou Côté Noël, but they need to stick to 1 QB, the one who gives them the best chance to win. Now, this could be a moot point, as its possible their primary QB may not have been able to play in Week 1.

Now, defensively, Y&Y looks to be as strong a defensive squad as their is in the Co-Ed division, as Quaysie Gordon-Maule is an absolute ball hawk and can take any pick he gets to the house, as he did in Week 1. But it doesn’t stop and start with him, as Frederique Brunette also came away with 2 INTs, and took one of them back for 6 points.

As for EZFun, Jeremy White is the cream of the crop when it comes to Quarterbacks in the Co-Ed division, especially after a 216 yard, 8 touchdown, 0 INT performance. He obviously has chemistry with players like Maxime Boucher-Cyr, CO Lavigne and Sam Emilio Pelchat, but one thing I want to see as the season goes along will how fast he can build chemistry with the women on the team, and which will be his go-to targets. Jeremy is great at distributing the ball, so hence why I am interested in seeing which female he develops chemistry with fastest.

In terms of this matchup, I think Jeremy will be staying away from Quaysie’s side of the field, which is why the Co-Ed division is so interesting because Jeremy will have to find that chemistry quick with his female players. I’ll say that Rosalie Ouimet and Maria Argyropoulos will be the 2 female players on EZFun to watch out for in this game and all season. The 2 made contributions on both sides in Week 1, as Maria scored a touchdown and Rosalie came away with an interception against The Rock.

All that said, I see EZFun coming away with the victory and go to 2-0 on the season and drop Y&Y to 1-1.

Prediction score: EZFun 38 – 19 Y&Y

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Game Picks Week 2

Home	Away	Peeze Pick	Moe Pick	Iggy Pick	Alexi Pick
Mangoose	The Apocalypse	Mangoose	Mangoose	Mangoose	Mangoose
Urgence Medic	Blessed	Urgence Medic	Blessed	Blessed	Urgence Medic
KGP	EZW	KGP	KGP	KGP	KGP
Pincellos	Ravens	Ravens	Ravens	Pincellos	Ravens
Unexpected Diablos	Centaures	Centaures	Centaures	Centaures	Centaures
Hot Sauce Sports	Team Ethnik		Team Ethnik	Team Ethnik	Team Ethnik
Los Siete Amigos	Glogang	Los Siete Amigos	Los Siete Amigos	Los Siete Amigos	Los Siete Amigos
Grim Reapers	KGP Ra	KGP Ra	KGP Ra	KGP Ra	KGP Ra
Mean Machine	Chocolate Thunder	Chocolate Thunder	Chocolate Thunder	Mean Machine	Mean Machine
Bruins	Tough Lungs	Tough Lungs	Tough Lungs	Bruins	Bruins
The Stormers	Save a Horse	Save a Horse	The Stormers	Save a Horse	Save a Horse
Tim Brandy	Post Malone’s Knights	Tim Brandy	Tim Brandy
Save a Horse	Demons	Save a Horse	Save a Horse	Save a Horse	Save a Horse
Trailer Park Boys	Pardon My Swag	Pardon My Swag	Pardon My Swag	Pardon My Swag	Pardon My Swag
The Penetrators	Lockdown	Lockdown	Lockdown	Lockdown
TuneSquad	The West Yard	The West Yard	TuneSquad	The West Yard	The West Yard
Two Inch’s Gang	Free Agent Squad	Free Agent Squad	Free Agent Squad	Free Agent Squad	Free Agent Squad
Lionhearts	FSU	FSU	FSU	FSU	FSU
Fighting Cones	Killer Rays	Killer Rays	Killer Rays	Fighting Cones	Killer Rays
7th Rounders	Lockdown	7th Rounders	7th Rounders	7th Rounders	7th Rounders
Save The Turftles	Warriors	Warriors	Warriors	Warriors	Save The Turftles
La Secte	The Rock	The Rock	The Rock	The Rock	The Rock
EZFun	Y&Y	EZFun	EZFun	EZFun	EZFun

Of course, above are the individual media Game Picks, but as revealed on Calling The Audible and as seen on Instagram live now, the FPF community can now make their own picks that go against the FPF media!

Here’s a brief breakdown of how that is going to work this season:

1 game from each Tier played on Sunday nights will be selected for the FPF community to vote on against the FPF staff, for a total of 4 games per week.
The 4 games will, from Week 2 onwards, appear on Instagram as of 6:45pm on Saturdays, 24 hours in advance of the Sunday night start-times, 7pm, so that members of the FPF community can vote on which team they believe will win the game that is posted.
While individuals will vote, it will be a single community vote, (determined by the team with most votes, per game posted) that will be selected as the FPF community selection.
The FPF staff, comprised of Alexi Dubois, Iggy Magnets, Peeze Della Reeze, Moe Khan and Eagle, will also have 1 single vote that goes up against the FPF community.
If at the end of the 8-week regular season, the FPF community has more correct game picks than the FPF staff, then a $50 FPF credit will be awarded to 2 unique member(s) of the FPF community who participated in the voting process. The winners will be determined by a random, live draw on Calling The Audible, FPF’s podcast show. More details on the draw date will come later during the season.
*To be eligible for one the two $50 FPF credits, a player must have voted in at least 4 different weeks of the FPF Cup season. So make sure you vote throughout the season to be eligible for the FPF credit!! Note: A player can only win one of the two $50 credits available, and not both.
Remember to follow @flagplus on IG and vote for the games posted on Saturday evening into Sunday!

The community picks are starting Week 2, but a reminder that we have a lot of things commencing this week as well. We’ve got Chris Rivest continuing another edition/season of Game of the Week videos. Week 2 also means picture day across the league (both team pics and individuals). And you might be wondering who that guy is, coming onto our field as we are playing our game?? That’s Lance Daniel, giving the FPF community a live look into moments across the league in real-time on Instagram.

Well that does it this week for my Week 1 article, but make sure you read my fellow article writers, Peeze Della Reeze‘s and Alexi Dubois‘ article and catch me on Calling The Audible this past week and this coming week!