Inside the Redzone (D4) – Week 4

Super Bowl is now over and as I had predicted the Steelers won. I am never wrong but you all already know this by now. I have noticed that the week off had some effect on a few teams as they looked rusty but for others, it was business as usual. I haven’t seen any big upsets thus far and it seems like the contenders have clearly emerged and so have the pretenders. Next week’s article I will name the contenders/pretenders in division 4. However without wasting any more time, I will dissect division 4 from last week.

 

Week 4 review

 

Conference A

 

The Cowboys (4-0) are proving that they are real contenders. They have also signed myself, Rehan Sawar, to the remainder of the season but that is not the reason they are contenders but rather because they are 4-0 and have a well balanced team. This past weekend they played the Hulkamaniacs (1-3) who put up a good fight but couldn’t get any real momentum going. Cowboy’s QB John Moodie threw for 187 yards and 5 TDs with no INTs and the defense held its ground for the most led by Karl De Nie who had 2 tackles and 2 sacks, proving he is a great rusher game in game out. Cowboys won the game 38-21. Cowboys are now top of the East but right behind them are Those Guys (3-1) who beat the Trojan Knights (1-2-1) 25-12. Norman Weeks only had about 35% of his passes completed and threw for only 2 TDs and 1 INT. Both of the TDs were caught by Nicky McGuire. The game was close at the half, 7-6 however Those Guys came out with a stronger effort in the second half scoring 18 points and limiting the Knights to only 6. Trojan Knights have fallen to 4th in the East and have struggled so far this season but Nicky McGuire has made it clear that the Knights will rise above this and we should watch out for them. Well they get another test next week as they play the surging Eagles and must revive that potent offense.

 

Moving on to the West, VPC (4-0) is on top and won last week 19-6 over Trapstars (2-2). VPC was always known for their offensive abilities (3rd rank offense in Conference A) but their defense is getting the job done too (2nd rank defense in Conference A). Against the Trapstars, they limited the QB to 5 completions and no passing TDs. On offense Matthew Broadbent had 3 catches for 92 yards and 2 TDs while helping out on defense with 1 tackle and 1 INT. VPC are definitely a well balanced team. And as for the Trapstars, they have a great defense and usually are in every game but their offense is struggling right now so they must address that quickly. Behind VPC in the West are the Eagles (4-0) and they pride themselves on being a great defensive team (ranked 4th defensively in Conference A) led by superstar rusher Frank Imbeault and defensive player Keaven Larose. Before their week 4 match, I got a letter from a player from Gia Thang (0-3-1) whose identity shall remain hidden. This young man said that he believes in his team very strongly and even their record is not ideal, their QB Alexandre Gaudet wasn’t there for the two losses and when he was present, they tied. Therefore he believed his team would have a strong outing but he didn’t guarantee anything (unlike a certain player from Bulldogs). The one thing he did guarantee was that he’ll catch 2 TDs and he did deliver so I guess his identity is now exposed, sorry Chris Rivest. I admire him for showing some passion about his team backed by a logical reasoning. In the game against the Eagles, Alexandre Gaudet had no INTs as well as the game they tied earlier in the season. The Eagles did beat Gia Thang by a score of 36-24 (proving that with Gaudet, Gia Thang are a stronger team however their defense still needs work) and their defense wasn’t as spectacular as it has been in the past but it was good enough to get the win. Frank Imbeault had 3 sacks and 1 tackle for the Eagles however more surprising was their offense, led by Gabriel Dupont, who completed 15 out of 19 passes for 149 yards and 4 TDs with no INT. As Keaven Larose of the Eagles has said time and time again, his team has so much depth that each week they find ways to win, whether it is on offense or defense. Chris Rivest’ Gia Thang will play Bulldogs next week and as long as Mr. Audet is there, they should have a good chance. It will also give them a chance to move up in the standings. On the other hand, the Eagles will definitely have a tough match up in week 5 against the Trojan Knights and it will be interesting to see how they fare.

 

Another surging team in the West is the Gators (2-1-1). They used to rely on their defense to win games but have now added an offensive dimension (ranked 2nd in offense in division 4) Gators QB Kevin Marlowe, former division 3 All Star, is firing on all cylinders and week 4 match up against the Green Machine (1-3) was no different. He threw for 139 yards and 4 TDs but also helped out on defense with a “pick six”. Gators’ defense did their thing by picking off Green Machines’ two QBs, Blouin and Forget, 5 times (one was returned for a TD) and sacked Blouin twice, thus winning easily 36-6. Gators are now ranked 3rd in the West.

 

Conference B

 

When we think of Dirty Birds, Jamaal Anderson from Atlanta Falcons comes to mind with his infamous dance however Dirty Birds (4-0) are a team in East and making a lot of noise. They were the Patriots in winter 2008 season and are now on top of the East division. This past weekend they annihilated the Love Cows (0-4) by a score of 59-2. The Dirty Birds are led by their QB Jon Young and star receiver Eric Bishara. In the game, Young threw for 8 TDs and no INTs while Eric Bishara had 100 receiving yards and 1 TD. Just by looking at the stats sheet, you can see how six receivers had 1 TD so Young does a great job by spreading the wealth. Now as good as they have shown to be, they have to be much better because in week 5 they play the Triple Sixers (4-0). Right behind the Dirty Birds are Marauders (4-0) who won 31-12 over the Longhorns but did it without their start QB Denis Beauregard. So who was the QB you might ask? None other than his brother Roger Beauregard. Roger threw for 5 TDs with no INT but also intercepted the Longhorns 3 times. Roger knew that his brother wasn’t playing in the game (on vacation) and after the first play of the game their star receiver, Stephane Lavoie, was hurt. Yet he managed to lead his team for the win, showing that Marauders have depth and great leadership. In other news, Flying Weasels (1-2-1) tied Snookers (2-1-1) 13-13, keeping their playoff chances alive. Flying Weasels are off to a disappointing start but were up 13-0 at the half however the Snookers put together some good drives led by QB Chris Politis and receiver Eric Kavaldjian (who also had 1 INT on defense). Andre John wasn’t a huge factor in this game.

 

In the West, Triple Sixers (4-0) defeated the Pompei Roughriders (0-4) 46-12. Karim Chaoual was his usual excellent himself throwing for 252 yards and 7 TDs with no INT. Even though the Roughriders are not a strong team, the Triple Sixers are dominating division 4 right now and more impressive than their powerhouse offense is their defense that has allowed only 39 points through 4 games, lowest in division 4. Team 666 will play Dirty Birds next week, which promises to be a great match up. Cobras (3-1) also returned to their winning ways by defeating the Orangemen (1-3) by a total of 26-6. Cobras defense stepped up and limited the QB to only 15 completions out of 41 attempts which included 8 PDs. On the offensive side Alex Lever threw for 4 TDs, two of them caught by Jean-Francois Trudeau. Cobras are now 2nd in the West.

 

 In other games, Chaos (3-1) won comfortably over the Wonderslugs (2-2) by a final of 27-6. It seems that Slugs are going downhill since the thrashing they received by the hands of Triple Sixers on the first ever FPF game of the week. For Chaos, Eugene McLaren led the team offensively by throwing for 194 yards and 4 TDs with 1 INT. The Slugs were in the game at the half as it was 7-6 however they dropped a lot of balls, a few in the endzone, and that would haunt them all game. Second half, Chaos woke up and the rest is history. Defensively Chaos rusher Paul Goyens had 4 sacks and the defense picked off Slugs twice. Chaos is ranked 3rd in the West and are looking to continue their surge while the Slugs better turn it around fast because they started 2-0 but can easily fall to 2-3.

 

And you are now up to speed in division 4.

 

Three STARwars of the Week:

 

3rd star: Dean Dimitriou (Brew Crew) helped his team win and bring them to.500 by contributing on offense (throwing for 3 TDs) and defense (5 tackles, 2 INTs one of which was returned for a TD)

 

2nd star: David Dasilva (Gators) got it done on both sides of the ball. 4 catches for 51 yards and 3 TDs on offense and 1 tackle, 3 INTs and 1 PD on defense.

 

1st star: Roger Beauregard (Marauders) knew that without his brother who is QB and Stephane Lavoie, he managed to take over the game through leadership and great stats. On offense he threw for 193 yards and 5 TDs and on defense 3 interceptions.

 

 

Hopefully everyone enjoyed my article and those who didn’t can write to me and make a case for yourself. And this wraps up this week’s article. If you have comments/suggestions don’t hesitate to contact me on Facebook or via email at [email protected]. This is Rehan “J.J” Sarwar signing off and I wish you all luck in your week 5 match ups. I’ll catch you all next week but until then, Stay Classy Division Four!