Categories: Division 6Winter

GOTW, Week 4 and a tad bit more

Welcome back readers, to the Div 6 article for this week. On tap, we’ve got my bullet point review of the division, a preview between one team that absolutely needs a win in Div 6 and see who balled out in Week 3. Before we begin though, a quick correction regarding the media members. Last week I introduced Chris Rivest as a photographer. While he has done photography in the past, he is focusing this year as a videographer and will be shooting game clips as well as the FPF-favorite Game of The Week.

Speaking of which, this one was a great intro to Kevin Wyeth, a.k.a. THE G.O.A.T of FPF and how good he is and how good the battle between him and Jo Maheu of The Braves, the newer generation that has followed and who have challenged Wyeth‘s claim atop the peak of FPF.

Head Ref Leo Gervais who was officiating this game, in his own words, said “that game may have been the top 5 games of all time in FPF”. High words of praise, and it was quite the game. Depending on the time I see there’s a new GOTW to watch, I am grabbing a different beverage appropriate for that time of day with a snack and sit down on the couch for 8 minutes of entertainment that somewhere usually leads to me say “no way” or “what a play”, followed by a rewind (or 2) to see it again.

Division Talking Points

  • We’ve got 8 undefeated teams remaining and 6 winless teams. How long until both categories reach 0 teams?
  • Zack Stacey will be looking for a QBOY award, along with Tyler Havlena and Olivier St-Onge. Noah Swaminadhan could be in the conversation but needs to up the passing yards if that’s going to be the case.
  • Even if it was Saturday – Week 4, woah. Pigeons put up 42 points on Top G… IN THE FIRST HALF. Luca Chiricosta had himself a GAME with 3 TD’s on 79 yards and 2 pick 6’s off of 3 interceptions. Talk about a hat-trick on both sides of the ball.
  • Win Diesel have only allowed 18 points in 3 games played. That is some stellar defense.
  • Despite having lots of flag experience, Wild Hogs took an L to the Mountain Dew Babies 31-21.
  • There are already 4 rushers with 6 sacks: Nicolas Tawfik (Habibis), David Vasii (Demons), Nino Lombardi (Fiddlers) and Massimo Rosati (The Royals).
  • After starting 2-0, Douilles Molasses have lost back-to-back games, first to Practice Squad in Week 3 and then the Baby Rays this past Saturday.
  • Demons have had a tough schedule so far playing teams like the LaSalle Warrios, Win Diesel and Dime Squad and fall to a 1-3 record.
  • Antoine Richard turned the ball over WAY too often as Why So Serious doubled up on Threat Level Midnight lead by Robert Di Ielsi and his 113 yards and 2 tuddies.
  • Anthony Addona has caught the most balls in the div with 18 (on 21 targets; catching 86% of balls thrown his way!).
  • FA Squad pitch the shutout against Slippery Slopes. Our resident Eagle had 2 INTs and 2 PDs, while Mason Fleming, of the FPF Jr program had himself a game. 65 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs and a PD. He was filling the stat line as Slippery Slopes had trouble moving the ball, completing only 3 passes all night.
  • Fiddlers vs. Bananas… Bananas by 1 after Anthony Addona gets a late-game INT which leads to a game-winning score.
  • Dime Squad have rebounded from their 0-2 start to bring themselves to a .500 record. 103 points in 4 games is good for a Div 6 team. They are athletic and good, but reckless. They need to be more in control of their bodies at all times, regardless if they are playing the ball.
  • Jeremy Lantendresse and Dave Gordy Lang both have over 200 receiving yards and 5 Touchdowns each, as they are both in the Top 3 in Receiving yards. Hmmmm… Defenses… you know where to focus.
  • Only playing their 2nd game of the season, Trailer Park Boys came back 21 days after losing to Top G and beat up on C Town Spice. Antoine Meunier had himself a very good game with 6 TDs and over 200 yards of offense. My boy, Alex Blais and Fred Meunier were the recipients of all 6 TDs, split 3/3 between them. Blais had an additional 2 INTs while Fred had 1 INT and Alex Wilhelm another.
  • Dak to The Future against X-Men should be a fun early-season battle, as only one of them will remain undefeated by the end of the game… of course unless, they tie 😒. Don’t tie please.
  • Patrick Lapierre is leading the Div in passing yards, TDs, but also in Interceptions. A big part of FPF is protecting the ball. If you are scoring and giving up the ball at a 1:1 ratio, it’s not a good way to win football games.

Game Preview

The Royals vs. Betway Bandits

The Royals (0-2)


vs.


Betway Bandits (2-1)

Like I mentioned last week, The Royals have a really tough schedule and had a chance to get a win over Douilles Molasses, but were edged out by 1 point, 18-19. Ryan McGrath will need to take charge of this offense. While a 3:1 TD-to-INT ratio is pretty good, the overall numbers of 6:2 after 2 games is not quite enough offense, even for division 6. 3 TD’s is the bare minimum that you can squeak away a win in Div 6. 4 TD’s you’ve increased your odds to about 55-60% of winning, and 5+ TD’s you’re giving yourself an 80-85% chance of winning the game.

While Xavier Hilditch and Eric Pawlusiak have been heavily targeted in their 2 games, having a 3rd outlet is key. The other 3 receivers have COMBINED for a total of 6 targets in 2 games, which is simply not enough. It makes defenses hone in on the receivers that require special attention. Massimo Rosati is one of those receivers with just 1 reception, although it was a 38 yard TD. He’s only leading the way defensively with 6 sacks which are always welcome in Div 6 where offenses tend to struggle a bit more. Putting them in 3rd and 4th long situations is great for the The Royals D and they will need plenty of that against a fairly strong Betway Bandits offense. The key will be making sure the Bandits can’t convert on 3rd and 4th down. Holding defenses on 3rd own to a 35% conversion isn’t bad, but allowing them to convert for the 1st on 4th down 43% of the time isn’t horrible, but not great either. Like I said, they will need to keep both of those to 33% or lower against Betway.

As for Betway Bandits, Tyler Havlena is off to a flying start, throwing 12 TDs to just 1 INT and spotting a 110.5 QBR. Both of those numbers are fantastic for Div 6. It helps of course when you have the Top 3 receiver in both receiving yards and TDs in Tomas Colicchio. While Colicchio is the clear WR1, Havlena is still distributing the ball across Sean Langis, Brandon Amaral, Samuel Duchesne, and Shayne Mailhot as they all have 6 targets or more. This is what I mentioned The Royals should do more of. The Betway Bandits defense have also forced considerably more turnovers than The Royals, having picked off opposing quarterbacks 5 times to The Royals 1. This sets up Betway Bandits in better field position more often, and they’ve proven they can make teams pay with points off of turnovers.

Ultimately, the mis-timed turnovers and the potent offense that Betway Bandits possess will prove too much for The Royals to overcome and will see them fall to an 0-3 record.

Prediction: Betway Bandits 37 – 20 The Royals

Week 3 Players of the Week

QBs of the Week (2)

QB1 – Zack Stacey (The Habibis): 16/19 (84.2%), 218 Passing Yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs, 1 Rushing Attempt, 15 Rushing Yards, 1 Rushing TD.

QB2 – Manny Bizogias (Fiddlers): 14/17 (82.4%), 170 Passing Yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs, 3 Rushing Attempts, 37 Rushing Yards

Receivers of the Week (4)

WR1 – Dave Gordy Lang (Top G): 6 receptions, 7 targets, 114 yards, 3 TDs

WR2 – Robert Di Ielsi (Why So Serious?): 10 receptions, 12 targets, 112 yards, 3 TDs,

WR3 – Anthony Addona (Bananas): 7 receptions, 9 targets, 95 yards, 3 TDs

WR4 – Luca Chiricosta (Pigeons): 7 receptions, 7 targets, 96 yards, 2 TDs

Defensive Players of the Week (3) + 1 Rusher

DB1 – Luca Fonsato (X-Men): 2 tackles, 3 INTs, 1 Def TD

DB2 – Olivier Roy (Mountain Dew Babies): 2 tackles, 1 INT, 1 Def TD

DB3 – Owen Rourke (X-Men): 1 tackle, 2 INTs

Rusher – Max Depatie (Win Diesel): 4 sacks

Epilogue

Alright Div 6, that does it for this week, but be sure to come back next week and see what’s happening in the division. If you want more content, there’s always more! Check out our podcast, Calling The Audible for our Div 6 talk: