FPF Cup Week 8: Tier 1

Welcome to Week 8 of the FPF Fall Cup. On Monday night in St. Laurent, I was the scorekeeper for the Cap Friendly Braves versus Run It Once game Monday night in St. Laurent. Two veteran teams with experienced Quarterbacks and elite playmakers on both sides of the ball. As we saw two weeks ago with the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys, sometimes teams just don’t show up. Unfortunately for Run It Once, they played like America’s team, as Quarterback Jeff Rosenblatt had his worst game of the season, as he missed wide open receivers, and was late on several throws leading to three interceptions, and a season-low 19 points.

The Run It Once Receivers did their QB no favours as they dropped several touchdown passes. The defense was just as ineffective, as they experienced multiple blown coverages and missed tackles which resulted in TDs for their opponents.

The Cap Friendly Braves took advantage of all the mistakes, as Kristopher Verreault intercepted Rosenblatt twice, while FPF Hall-of-Famer Mike Pierrecin ran his INT back to the endzone for a touchdown. On the other side of the ball, Quarterback Jonathan Maheu sliced and diced the Run It Once defense for 173 yards and five touchdowns on 16 of 20 passing. His two biggest beneficiaries on the evening were William Trottier and James Drysdale, who both caught two TDs.

The irony of the game taking place on Monday night when the Cowboys were playing the Los Angeles Chargers, and the Boys’ responding by getting a much-needed win, will hopefully serve as inspiration to Run It Once to get up off the mat and respond in a big way when they take on Maroons 2.0 next week. Will Run It Once who also lost to KGP two nights earlier, show that Monday night was just a bad game, or the sign of a bigger problem?

The Blessed versus Mangoose showdown that took place the same night was also a blowout, as the former nearly doubled up on the latter. This game also featured a Quarterback that was picked off multiple times as Will Power threw three interceptions. The difference in this game is that Power also tossed five touchdown passes, connecting on a score to Marvin Steinberg, and a pair to James Langshaw and Isiah Allard.

The Blessed defense showed up in a huge way, as they sacked Quarterback Nicolas Schaefer three times, intercepted him once, and forced four other turnovers by holding the Mangoose offense to three for five on redzone visits, and zero for four on 4^th down attempts.

This week has three games on tap. Royaume Luminaire versus 450 Ballers, the Cap Friendly Braves take on #NR, and Terror Squad goes head-to-head with KGP, in a showdown between two veteran squads.

A win for Royaume Luminaire, would see them leapfrog the Cap Friendly Braves for sole possession of second place, provided the latter losses to #NR. If that doesn’t happen, a win would at least give them some breathing room, as they would see themselves go three points up on the 450 Ballers who are currently one point behind. A victory for the 450 Ballers would see them vault all the way into second place in the standings.

If the Cap Friendly Braves beat #NR, they will sit tied for first with Blessed, which would set up a massive showdown in two weeks, when they close out the regular season with a game against Blessed. A #NR win would put them in a tie with Run It Once for seventh, the top seed in the single elimination round of the tournament. Ironically enough, both teams played each other to (28-28) tie in Week 3.  

Terror Squad versus KGP means we get to see Tam Vilaydeth take on Phil Cutler. Two veteran Quarterbacks with a combined 10 championships between them. Both teams have weapons, tons of big game experience, and players who can take over a game in a moment’s notice.

When you look at the numbers, this appears to be a mismatch, as KGP comes into the game next Saturday playing arguably their best football of the season, as they have two in a row, and three out of their last four games overall. As we all know though, you have to actually play the game on the field for it to count.

I expect this game to have some fireworks as both defenses are among the five teams in Tier 1 who have given up more than 200 points. Will we see Terror Squad finally get their first victory of the season, and gain some momentum as they get ready to wrap up their regular season with a showdown versus the also winless Never Overtime next week, or will KGP continue their hot play and give themselves a chance to shake free of a three-way tie for fourth place, and potentially shoot up to into a tie with the Cap Friendly Braves for second if they win? We will get an answer next Saturday in Brossard.

As I am sure most of you know by now, we all got some exciting news this week, that flag football will finally be added to the Olympics beginning at the 2028 L.A Games. It was long overdue, but well worth the wait. I think it is cool that we will most likely be seeing some NFL players take part. Obviously, names like Tyreek Hill and Jamar Chase are getting mentioned, and rightfully so, but five years from now, I think names like Marvin Harrison Jr, Shadeur Sanders, Arch Manning, Keon Coleman, and others are the names people should be looking at.

Here at FPF, young players like Fitzgerald Cenatus, Nicholas Groppini, Darius Simmons, and James Drysdale who already has some experience representing Canada, will be the names to keep an eye on, as they will just be hitting their prime in five years.  

Football is the greatest game in the world. Like many people in our league, I come from a tackle background, so I will always be biased as to which brand of the sport I prefer. I will say this about flag, it has given former tackle players like myself, a chance to still play a game we love, and experience it in a different way. The popularity of the game is at an all-time high with both males and females. This is a great time to be a fan of our game. Getting to showcase football to the world is an amazing opportunity. I know it is still five years away, but I am excited for it, and for the sport.

Picks

Royaume Luminaire vs 450 Ballers – Royaume Luminaire (Upset Special and my pick for Game of the Week)

Terror Squad vs KGP – KGP

Cap Friendly Braves vs #NR – Cap Friendly Braves

Last Week: (2-1)

Regular Season: (18-8-2)

Upset Special: (5-3)

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.