Power Shift.

Last week, I took the time to talk about certain teams emerging from the pack and slowly becoming powerhouses in their respective division; I guess I might have been premature. With teams like Mustangs slowly creeping up in Varsity to fight back Lions’ dominant start and Panthers making a move on the Musketeers’ undefeated season as soon as next week, there’s a chance for upsets.

There is also a brand new team making its debut in Varsity this week; Voltigeurs. The former Sophomore team is now Varsity-bound. We’ve spoke to the coaches, teams and players and believe it’s in the league’s best interest to re-shuffle the deck and push Voltigeurs ahead in Varsity. There will be very minor scheduling changes that should be finalized very shortly for all Sophomore and Varsity teams. Expect an email from us in the upcoming days confirming everything.

Let’s get started.

 

Week 4

Yellow Jackets’ offensive playbook continues to impress as they put up 26 on the Hurricanes this week, Dusters got their first win thanks to stellar play from basically every single player and Lions look unbeatable for the second straight week. Another great week? Without a doubt.

 

Recaps

Varsity Division

• Lions vs Cougars

It’s been two weeks since Cougars were forced to shuffle around and find a new QB to solve their enigma, but Olivier Gauthier might need a bit more time. In a game that forced Cougars up against the stalwart Lions, Ryan McGrath and Alexi Dubois showed they could compete with the very best, but it simply wasn’t enough. For the second straight week, Jake Applebaum dominated the secondary with 4 Pds and at least one interception (2 this week) and made Qbs regret throwing his way. It’s growing difficult to name one stud out of Lions as a new player seems to standout every given week. Can someone figure them out and ruin their potential undefeated season?

 

• Mustangs vs Longhorns

It was great to see Alex Kahan back out there playing QB, but he wasn’t 100% and it showed. With David Salonichinos still sidelined, the Longhorns’ offense was lack-lusting. Sure, Eric Flinker and Spencer Fitzpatrick did their best to fill the glaring holes, but a 6-man roster wasn’t enough to overcome the new and redefined Mustangs who had Ben Soroka open most of the hour on deep patterns and Max Kadanoff all over the place. Not to say that Longhorns aren’t competitive, but the recent injuries are really taking a toll on the roster and the way they do things. With a little bit of time, they’ll be able to turn things around and adjust to their opponents, but hopefully they’ll have a full squad before the playoffs come rolling in.

 

Sophomore Division

• Hurricanes vs Yellow Jackets

After a heartbreaking loss last week, Yellow Jackets came in with a mission and executed their plan perfectly. After forcing Marco Gentile to hand his spot to Nicholas Masella (who performed excessively well to be honest), the men in yellow did not take their foot off the gas in the second half and QB Garner Ross kept going back to his favorite target Jonathan Jagermann for huge gains. With a new playmaker at rusher in Evan Dias-Juliao, the Yellow Jackets’ defense is really making the best of their current situation and their offense is hitting the ground running. If they can keep building in that direction, they might just be a top contender once the playoffs come rolling in a few weeks.

 

• Voltigeurs vs Wildcats

We’ve circled the matchup between these two teams a few weeks back seeing how strong these two actually were and how competitive this game could be; we were wrong. In fact, Voltigeurs took Wildcats by storm early as Simon Boudreault kept distributing dimes all over the place. With 6 different receivers catching a touchdown and almost shutting down the Wildcats, we’ve all come to acknowledge it was time for a change. Don’t let this game fool you as these Wildcats are much better than this result could show; I’m eager to see how they’ll bounce back next Sunday.

 

• Dusters vs Fighting Irish

A few weeks ago, I said the Dusters were on the up and coming team in Sophomore. I wasn’t wrong, I was simply a bit too early with my prediction. In fact, seeing how their defence has been playing recently, I have no doubt these guys will turn their record around in no time. With Lewis Epstein showing up (as previously called out) with an interception and Matthew Eiley leading his team in yards, there’s no doubt they took my word to heart. 7 players recorded receptions on the day and Adam Malinoff had a pretty good day all around. Fighting Irish’s defence continues to stand tall as they nudged three interceptions (2 by Jacob Provost who brought one back for six and one by Lucas Piscopos), but it wasn’t enough to push them over the edge. They’ll remain competitive seeing how they barely allow any points from their opponents, but their offence needs to find its rhythm before it’s too late.

 

Freshman Division

• Tigers vs Panthers

Panthers might have found a new way to stop the Tigers offensively as they’ve restrained Alex Paliotti to only 38 yards rushing (his smallest number so far) and managed to bring an interception back for 6 after Zacharie Gadbois jumped a short pass that reminded me of NFL players. Although Justin Swaminadhan’s 30+ yards touchdown was a very impressive run down the sidelines for his team’s only score of the day, the play of the game remained with Zacharie Gadbois’ interception. Caleb Perks continues to impress offensively as he can turn any small patterns into huge gains once the football touches his hands and he’s been making his Qbs look real good recently. Taking no credit away from Massimo Longo who had, once again, another pretty good outing under center for his team.

 

Players of the Week

• Jonathan Jagermann (Yellow Jackets): With 119 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns on 7 receptions, he showed everyone present on Sunday just how talented he really is.
• Alexis Leclerc (Voltigeurs): Going up against a very mobile QB in William Bradford is no easy feat, but he ate him up for 3 sacks and quite a handful of hurries; something you do not see everyday.
• Jacob Provost (Fighting Irish): 2 interceptions, including a pick-six, is an impressive performance regardless of the final score. Way to go Jacob.
• Jake Applebaum (Lions): For the second straight week, he records a 4 PD performance, but this time he added 2 interceptions (including a pick-six) to his numbers. Wow.
• Coby White (Mustangs): He seems to have FPF all figured out as he went off for 234 yards and 6 touchdowns cumulating for a 152.7 QBR.

 

Crystall Ball and Shenanigans

Quick reminder: Hurricanes and Voltigeurs have a BYE week this week, thus no games.

 

• Panthers vs Musketeers

Panthers are looking to upset the currently undefeated Musketeers in this week’s opener. Can they get the job done? I believe so. With Massimo Longo under center and receivers like Caleb Perks, Kevyn De Serres-Payne, Phoenix Thomas and a studded defence led by star player Zacharie Dubois and Emile Gagnon, there’s very little doubt these guys can beat any given team. Kaydon Shaw has been flawless recently and he’s been making everyone around him better including Frida Llaguno who had a pretty great week two Sundays ago scoring twice and Davyd Jefferies who’s slowly coming out of his shell. This has the potential to turn into a very high scoring affair!

 

• Cougars vs Longhorns

Olivier Gauthier is still learning his new position as QB and Alex Kahan is nursing an injury. Both teams have the potential to reel in big numbers any given week, but the recent displays are simply not what we’ve come to expect of these two teams. If either QB can come back 100%, we could have a fantastic bounce back game on our games. With receivers like Spencer Fitzpatrick who looks uncoverable and Ryan McGrath who shown us he actually is, we might just have our very own duel on our hands. I expect Erica Dubois or Eric Flinker to earn the Game Ball this week as their team’s rusher.

 

• Tigers vs Panthers

In their second game of the day, Panthers will be up against Tigers for the second week in a row. If they’re able to contain Alex Paliotti the way they have last week, they might be able to flip the script in their favor once again, but I expect the Tigers to come in ready and distribute the ball well early on like they have late in the second half last week. If guys like Noah and Justin Swaminadhan or Thomas Hemens can create some space, they’ll turn this game around in no time.

 

• Lions vs Mustangs

Mustangs have been on a roll recently with the newly acquired Dylan Hacker acting like a shutdown corner and Ben Soroka offering a deep threat presence on offence. We should have ourselves a fantastic matchup as the Lions’ secondary will have their hands full with different types of receivers and a great QB in Coby White. If Mustangs can continue to punch in 2-point convert repeatedly, they might put just enough pressure on the Lions’ offence to show cracks in Evan White’s armor for the very first time this season. Can anyone cover Jacob Soles and Bradley Parent? Time will tell.

 

• Wildcats vs Fighting Irish

Last week’s game still feels fresh and I expect Wildcats to come in swingin’ in this week’s matchup to get their “revenge”. Facing up one of the best defence in the division, William Bradford will have to play risk-free football if he wants his offence to put up big numbers. With receivers like Jaden Frenette, Noah Smallwood, Dean Fleming and Matthew Robertson, there’s very little doubt he can make it happen. If Fighting Irish can solidify their offensive system, they should be more than capable of keeping up with what Wildcats will display on Sunday. Their defence has been restraining opponents to small numbers all season long led by corner Lucas Piscopos and safety Jacob Provost. Hopefully this is the week the offence breaks through.

 

• Dusters vs Yellow Jackets

Dusters got their first win of the season last week and it felt SO good. I expect them to keep the momemtum going against Yellow Jackets this week. From what I’ve seen so far, their defence has 0 trouble keeping the score low, but their offence struggled. Last week, their offence found its rhythm and Dusters could really turn their season around. If they can find a way to remedy the Jonathan Jagermann, Charles Presser and Jesse Dym trio that Garner Ross loves to feed, they might just have a chance to keep this game in-check. Can Lewis Epstein get, yet another, interception this week?

 

That’s it for me this week. Hopefully I’ll still have a job by week 2. Happy, annoyed, frustrated, humbled by my comments? Take a second to send me a quick message either via twiter (@DagenaisFPF) or via email ([email protected]) and I’ll be sure to rectify or simply explain my point of view. I’m also at the fields every Sunday; don’t be shy to drop by and talk some football!