Inside the Red Zone (Div 3) – Week 7

Welcome back to another edition of Inside The Red Zone. The 2013 Winter Division 3 season is winding down and with only three weeks remaining, the playoff race is getting intense. I can’t recall the last time this many teams were still in hunt so late in the season. Every remaining game will have a playoff like atmosphere and week by week, teams will either stay in the race or be eliminated. Therefore, it is very important to leave everything on the field and have no regrets otherwise it can be a very long off season.

 

Do not forget that with each season comes the awards that are granted to those players who are the best at their respective positions including QB, Receiver, DB and Two-way. Having said that, I’ll break down the leaders in each category; furthermore, my STAR-AWARDS are making a return. Check back next week for more details.

Want to know if your team is in the playoffs or still has a fighting chance? Check out the playoff picture a little later in the column.

 

Headlines

CF snapped a five game losing streak by defeating the Jonesers.  I cannot stress the importance of this win for playoff purposes. Sevag Kaloussian threw for 4 TDs and more importantly, he had 0 interceptions. They are now 2-5 and will have an important matchup next week against KGP who also are fighting for a post-season berth.

 

The Trojans keep on rolling and last week’s victim was Prestige World Wide. It was a close game (38-35) but Nathan Thompson threw for one more TD than Alex Lever and that proved to be the difference. Prestige World Wide are still in decent shape for a playoff spot even though they are 3-5. As for the Trojans, they only have one loss (against B.D. Bandits) and getting ready to make a strong run in the playoffs.

 

I would also like to congratulate High Rollers on getting their first win of the season. They defeated Picksquad by a score of 51-18. If anyone has watched the High Rollers play, you’d know they are a talented squad with many athletes capable of making big plays on offense and defense. It is surprising that it took them this long to get the first W however that only speaks for competitive nature of Division 3. Philippe Carier had a great performance by throwing for 7 TDs (three different receivers). It might be too little too late for the High Rollers to make the playoffs however they can definitely play the role of spoilers.

 

STARWARS OF THE WEEK

QB: Philippe Carier (High Rollers) 18 of 23 for 239 yards, 7 TDs and 0 INT.

Receiver: Eric Bishara (Dirty Birds) 6 catches for 113 yards and 3 TDs

DB: Morille Njau (B.D. Bandits) 1 tackle, 3 INTs (1 for TD) and 2 PDs.

Rusher: Hinsley Adams (One Night Stands) 5 sacks.

Team Defense: B.D. Bandits – 2 sacks, 5 INTs (2 for TD) and 9 PDs.

 

Playoff Picture

With the playoffs only three weeks away, I am going to switch gears. Instead of putting together power rankings, I have decided to dedicate this section to conference standings. I will update the next couple of weeks so teams can see where they stand in the playoff race.

 

The conference standings are properly tabulated so they take into account all the tie breakers that are outlined on our website. So without further ado, here are the current up to date standings after seven weeks:  

 

Conference A

1. D-Boys (7-0)

2. Dirty Birds (7-0)

3. DK (6-1)

4. Dirty Dawgers (4-3)

5. Les Eudistes (4-3)

6. Le Loft (4-3)

7. Raw Dawgs (3-4)

8. Prestige World Wide (3-4)

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9. KGP Champs (3-4)

10. Pap N’ Co (2-5)

11. CF (2-5)

12. Lazy But Talented (1-6)

13. Picksquad (1-6)

14. Mongoose (1-6)

15. Eagles (1-6)

 

In looking at the standings in Conference A, the gap between fourth and eleventh place is narrow. In another words, eight teams are not guaranteed anything at this point. With some outside help, even the 1-6 teams have a chance at the playoffs if they win out. With a huge win in week seven, CF is only one game out. A lot of movement is still possible so we’ll revisit next week.

 

Conference B

 

1. B.D. Bandits (7-0)

2. Rude Bwoys (6-1)

3. Trojans (6-1)

4. Sandlot Saints (6-1)

5. Fighting Irish (4-3)

6. Jonesers (4-3)

7. Legends (4-3)

8. GPK (3-3-1)

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9. Served With Ice (3-3-1)

10. Afternoon Delight (3-4)

11. VPC (3-4)

12. G-Men (2-5)

13. One Night Stands (2-5)

14. Higher Rollers (1-6)

15. Ball So Hard University (1-6)

 

In Conference B, GPK’s loss to the Raw Dawgs brought them down to eighth place. A total of nine teams are tightly condensed between fifth and thirteenth place which means we will see a lot of movement in conference B. Served With Ice started the season with a lot of promise, yet if the post-season started tomorrow, they would be on the outside looking in. G-Men are in the same category because if anyone thought at the start of the season that they would be fighting for a playoff spot at the eight week mark, those people would be labeled as clinically insane.

 

The bottom line is that in both conferences, majority of the teams are still very much in the playoff picture; so treat every game as if your playoff lives depend on it.

 

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Meet the Competition: Le Loft

by: Justin Blanchard

 

In FlagPlus Football, the addition of just one top-division player to the roster can often be the deciding factor between a win and a loss.

 

Just ask Le Loft, who have had the fortune to add three: quarterback Rapha Beladjat, and receivers/defensive backs Godfrey Abu and Wooby Fontaine.

 

“The big difference from this year compared to last year, I’ll tell you honestly is that we added some big elements to the team,” said receiver Laurent St-Onge. “We have a quarterback with a great arm, Godfrey is a great player who will do what he needs to do to go get the ball—everyone we brought in are great additions who know the league well.”

 

Indeed, with the three aforementioned additions—all former mainstays of the Division B Maniax—Le Loft’s core players have enjoyed a great turnaround from their forgettable 1-9 season as Trapstars in Division 4 last year.

 

“Me and the guys from Trapstars, we’re high school friends; guys that grew up playing football together for seven to eight years now,” said St-Onge, listing the likes of Saint-Leonard, Sun Youth and Saint-Laurent as teams he and his teammates have played for.

 

But the team amounted to little in FPF at first, going a so-so 5-5 in their inaugural season in Winter 2010 before hitting rock-bottom with a 1-9 record in last year’s Winter season. 

 

“Last year, sometimes we were missing some guys, so we had to add some friends who had never played football,” explained St-Onge.

 

Starting anew this year under the name Le Loft—a reference to the Montreal restaurant St-Onge and his brother Cedric opened last July—St-Onge turned to his address book to ensure the team’s competitiveness this year. “I used to work in clubs, so I had a friend of mine who knew bouncers like Godfrey and Wooby, and that’s how I got to know them and asked them to join,” St-Onge said.

 

So far so good: At 4-3, Le Loft look playoff-bound as they currently sit in second place of Conference A’s East division.

 

However, considering all four of those wins have come against 1-6 teams, and having just been blown out 57-18 by DK two week ago, Le Loft know they still have much to prove.

 

They’ll get the opportunity to do so this weekend in a tilt with their division leaders—the 7-0 D-Boys.

 

“It’s a big game,” says St-Onge, adding the team scheduled a meeting this week just to prepare for it. “They have a few weaknesses in certain areas and we’ll need to exploit them.”

 

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Predictions

 

Last week, I went 10-4 which brings my overall total to 63-21. This week I’ll continue to make predictions but I’ll also provide a brief analysis on a few important match ups.

 

B.D. Bandits vs. Les Eudistes: B.D. Bandits

KGP Champs vs. CF: CF

Legends vs. G-Men: G-Men

Raw Dawgs vs. Sandlot Saints: Sandlot Saints

DK vs. Lazy But Talented: DK

Prestige World Wide vs. Eagles: Prestige World Wide

Ball So Hard University vs. Afternoon Delight: Afternoon Delight

Fighting Irish vs. Trojans: Trojans

High Rollers vs. VPC: VPC

D-Boys vs. Le Loft: D-Boys

Dirty Birds vs. Picksquad: Dirty Birds

 

 

Rude Bwoys (6-1) vs. Served With Ice (3-3-1)

 

It’s a must win for Served With Ice given they are ninth in standings. Jordan Panetta will go up against a solid rushing attack from Brian Eudoxie and a stingy Rude Bwoys defense. Additionally, it’s a divisional game so if Served With Ice ends up in a tie breaking situation, this win will definitely come in handy.

Prediction: Rude Bwoys are a complete team on both sides of the ball and should win game.

 

GPK (3-3-1) vs. Dirty Dawgers (4-3)

 

Erik Lagarde should return this week and that will be a humongous boost for GPK. They are barely hanging on the last playoff spot.  Dirty Dawgers will face a tough secondary featuring the aforementioned Lagarde and Corey Greenway, and seeing as they love airing out the ball, they might need to reconsider and use a lot of underneath options.

Prediction: GPK will win the game behind the strong arm of their returning QB.

 

Jonesers (4-3) vs. One Night Stands (2-5)

 

A loss for One Night Stands will really end their playoff hopes and that’s a strong possibility because they’ll take on a balanced Jonesers team led by their pivot Ryan Lelinowski, who also leads the team defense with 4 INTs. ONS will need a strong passing game if they have any chance in this matchup.

Prediction: ONS just don’t have the depth to at the QB position and thus Jonesers will win this game.

 

 

 

Well that’s it for this week’s coverage of Division 3. DON’T FORGET TO FOLLOW OUR TWITTER SECTION ON THE HOMEPAGE! If you liked what I wrote or completely hated it, please share your feedback by sending me your thoughts/comments/suggestions. You can contact me at [email protected] or on Facebook, twitter or in person. I wish everyone luck in their upcoming games. Till next time, stay classy Division 3!