FPF Cup Tier 1: Short and Sweet

Week 1 of the FPF Cup is in the books. I know it’s early and only six teams have played, but it didn’t take away from the excitement that surrounded the kickoff of yet another season of football.

I can’t be the only one that thinks that the schedule makes no sense. How is it that some teams have played two games already while others have not even taken the field yet? There are five squads who have yet to play a game, while Blessed and Never Overtime are two games in? As a captain, I know that preferences and player conflicts due to players playing on more than one team factor heavily into the equation, but I think I need to talk to the schedule-maker, my friend Chief, to figure out the logic of that.

We might need to put an asterisk beside this one because they are one of the aforementioned teams with two games under their belt, but Blessed might end the year with the top offense in Tier 1. So far, they have 62 points scored, which averages out to 31 points per game If the team keeps up their pace over the whole season, they will hit 248 points. Let’s see if they can keep up. If you look at more than just the numbers, they have an elite Quarterback in Stephen Harripersaud, and he has tons of weapons at his disposal.

Speaking of one of those weapons for Blessed, it was nice to see Isiah Allard back in action. After missing the majority of the Spring Season due to a suspension he picked up in the Winter Season, the 7-time All-Star made an impact on both sides of the ball in Week 1, with two touchdowns as a Receiver and a pair of sacks to go along with four pass breakups from the Rusher position. Expect the numbers to pile up on both sides for Allard.

There was another comeback that took place while Blessed was playing, and that was Hall of Fame Quarterback Ryan Kastner, who suited up for #NR in their head-to-head matchup. Throwing in one of the top divisions for the first time since being the QB for Clockmakers in 2019, Kastner, threw for 207 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions. It wasn’t the return he or his team was hoping for, but they are only one game in and there is still time to get things right. On a funny note, Kastner showed up to the wrong field on Thursday, as he came to Laval, before realizing his game was at Loyola. When looking at all the players and teams in FPF, I feel like that happens at least 10 times a season.

Sticking with the offensive theme, to the surprise of many including yours truly, not a single Receiver went over 100 yards this week. James Langshaw of Blessed led all players 80 yards, and a slew of pass-catchers hit the mid 70’s in yardage, but they all fell short of the century mark. With the Cap Friendly Braves, Royaume Luminaire, 450 Ballers, Maroons 2.0, and Terror Squad all set to open their season this week, I’ll put my money on someone cracking the plateau.

He might not have eclipsed the 100-yard mark, but Mathieu Lepage, more than made up for it with the trips to the endzone, as he had a Tier 1 high four touchdowns, including the game-winning score in his team’s thrilling (36-32) win over Mangoose.

For all the defensive fans myself included, there were some impressive performances on that end. Run It Once might be known for their skill and playmakers on offense, but they showed both on the other side of the ball, as they picked off Quarterback Ryan Kharouf once, limited him to 9 of 29 passing, forced three turnovers on downs, and held the Never Overtime offense to 138 yards, in their (32-12) win.

On offense, QB Jeff Rosenblatt was near-perfect as he went 22 of 27 for 204 yards with five touchdowns. The veteran passer connected for a pair of TDs with Anthony Brisebois and James Ohayon, while finding Manu Allard-Roy for another.

A few matchups stand out to me this week. Blessed versus Terror Squad will see two veteran QBs and good guys in Tam Vilaydeth and the Stephen Harripersaud square off. I expect this to be a close game that goes down to the wire.

Cap Friendly Braves versus 450 Ballers means yet another showdown between Jonathan Maheu and Dan Lazzara. This unfortunately is not a playoff matchup, but it is the two top Quarterbacks in Tier 1 going at it. You can’t ask for much more than that. I expect this to be a shootout.

Never Overtime struggled to move the ball and score in both losses, as they scored a combined 18 points in losses to Run It Once and Blessed. I said in last week’s preview article that this team looks like A Tier 2 squad forced to play Tier 1. Will they be able to get off the mat, find some juice on offense and pull off the massive upset against Royaume Luminaire? We shall see.

Picks (Favorites in bold)

Maroons 2.0 vs Royaume Luminaire – Royaume Luminaire

450 Ballers vs Cap Friendly Braves – 450 Ballers (My Pick for Game of the Week)

Mangoose vs Maroons 2.0 – Maroons 2.0 (Upset Special)

#NR vs Run It Once – Run It Once

Blessed vs Terror Squad – Blessed

Never Overtime vs Royaume Luminaire – Royaume Luminaire

450 Ballers vs #NR – 450 Ballers

Last Week: (4-0)

Regular Season: (4-0)

Upset Special: (1-0)

Week 1 was short in terms of games, but it wasn’t lacking in competition and talent. Week 2 promises to be more exciting, as there are more teams in action, which means more fun for everyone.

That is it for this week. Good luck to everyone in their games this week!

If you liked the article, hated it, or simply felt like I left something out, please feel free to contact me at [email protected], or on the FPF Facebook page.