Inside the Redzone (DC) – Week 1

IT HAS BEGUN! The 2009 FlagPlus Football Spring season has officially begun. For those who don’t know me, I’m Rehan Sarwar a.k.a STARWAR and I will have the pleasure of covering Division C this season. My article will be known as Inside The Redzone. In the past I have tried to make my articles as exciting as possible for the readers because I understand the boredom that arises at your jobs or other activities in which you partake during summer. Please also tune in to our video show, The Weekly Extra Point Live (WEPL) hosted by Daron Basmadjian, Moe Khan, Rostyn Castleton and myself. The 2009 Spring season will not take backseat to any prior seasons because there is a lot of talent on each team. I expect a hard fought, intense and grueling season. I will do my best to cover everything and if I miss out on something, please feel free to contact me and set me straight.

 

My articles follow a similar format every week with a few changes here and there. I will start every article with a recap of the games from the previous week, followed by the three STARwars of the week; they are the top three performers. This season I am introducing something new called TOW or Tip(s) Of The Week which will provide you guys with some inside information about our league (especially for the inexperienced teams) that you guys can use to make your team better. Next, I will discuss a general topic about the league and give my opinion on it and that will be known as A Second with Sarwar. Finally, starting week 3, I will also name the contenders of Division C on a weekly basis. Having said all of this, let’s kick off the 2009 Spring season.

 

Week 1 review

 

Mongoose 24 – Green Machine 17: This was a great game and came down to the wire. The Green Machine was leading 9-6 at the half however was outscored 18-8 in the second half, thus losing the game. Mongoose showed a lot of character and resiliency by engineering the comeback. Alex Gaudet (QB of Mongoose) played an excellent game. He was 13 of 18 for 145 yards with 4 TDs; he also rushed for 38 yards. This young man is developing into a solid QB because he plays simple and mistake free football. He had three receivers with 1 TD each, one of them (Chris Rivest) had 2 TDs. Alex Gaudet also had an interception on defensive side of the ball. I spoke with Chris Rivest about Mongoose, he is very confident in his team. He feels that they have added the right group of guys (an upgrade from Gia Thang of Winter 2009 Division 4 season) and they can go quite far. I guess time will tell how much noise these guys can make but I have to agree that the Spring roster is a lot stronger than last season’s. Moving on to the Green Machine, this game didn’t showcase this team’s true talents. From what I understand, they will be acquiring a QB who will turn their franchise around. Also the addition of Rob White (who caught 5 catches for 88 yards and 1 TD his first game) will add some depth and experience to this team. Therefore, Green Machine has definitely improved and will look to have a strong season.

 

KGP Champs 32 – Balls Deep 30: It was a surprise to many of us that KGP Champs jumped down to Division C however before we get on their case, their QB is playing hurt and with the amount of talent that is in Division B this season, I probably agree with their decision to go in a lower level. Furthermore, they barely won the first game in which they blew 25-14 lead but hung on for a 32-30 win. Phil Cutler (QB of KGP Champs) had “rusty” numbers throwing for 111 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs and completing only 47% of this passes. Hopefully he can use this season to regain his old form. Olivier Saleh (KGP Champs) caught 4 catches for 61 yards and 3 TDs; he also had an interception on defense. Jason Noseworthy (QB of Balls Deep) threw for 163 yards, 3 TDs and 2 INTs. These are decent numbers for Division C however both QBs will need to have better TD/INT ratio if they plan on going far. They will also need to complete more passes, at least over 50% is a great start. Notable mention goes to Matthew Brethour (Balls Deep) who caught 5 catches for 75 yards and 2 TDs. As I said before, KGP Champs have fallen off the charts as of late and will need to heal together and this is the perfect place for them to start their journey. As for Balls Deep, I see there is some talent on this roster however they need to have strong starts and can’t afford to be down by multiple scores at the half. It is tough to play catch up in this league, especially if you play against a potent offense.

 

In other news, Triple Sixers looked a little shaky but managed to win by a score of 28-19 over For Teh Lulz (I hope to God this is a typo). Karim Chaoual (Triple Sixers) has used the off season (a month or so) to get his troops ready for the Spring season however if the first week was any indication of their preparation, they are in trouble. His pass completion was only 41% and he also threw an interception however it is a long season and they must address their issues quickly. Moving on, the Cobras looked strong as they manhandled the Monstars by a score of 40-7. Frank Grenier added Alex Lever in Spring 2008 to address the offensive woes. This Spring season, he addressed the defense by acquiring Simon Rheaume a.k.a the Tackle Machine. The Cobras are a definite contender for Division C title and anything less should be a disappointment. Aside from that, the remaining match ups saw the favorites win however I am quite certain that there will be a lot of parity this season and you can quote me on that. There are some new teams and others weren’t covered this week however you will all get your spotlight as the season progresses.

 

And you’re now up to speed in Division C.

 

Three STARwars of the Week:

 

3rd star: Alex Gaudet (Mongoose) had an efficient game throwing for 145 yards and 4 TDs; he also had an interception on defense.

 

2nd star: Olivier Saleh (KGP Champs) had 4 catches for 61 yards and 3 TDs.

 

1st star: Jean-Francois Marquis (Triple Sixers) had a monster game on defense by accumulating 3 tackles, 2 PDs and 2 INTs one of which was a “pick six” special.

 

 

Tip Of The Week

 

I know this is the oldest advice in the book but a captain must come early to every game and make sure all of his players follow suit. This ensures that the team can be ready and fully prepared in terms of stretching, strategies and warm up drills. A warmed up squad will have a slight advantage most of the time over a team who shows up 5-10 minutes prior to the game.

 

A Second with Sarwar

 

I am sure everyone has heard time and time again that a new team in this league should try to acquire veteran players to help them grow and develop. A team doesn’t necessarily have to be new, they might just need a few missing pieces to get over their slump. The Falcons from Division B added Adi Sharma (professor of FlagPlus Football) a few seasons ago and he transformed them into a better team using his leadership and football knowledge. Similarly, the Cobras added Alex Lever to help their passing game and now have acquired Simon Rheaume to help their defense. Although there are many examples of success stories, there are also some failures. Rostyn Castleton took on a group of kids who looked up to him in Spring 2008 season. Their team was known as Organized Chaos and had a below-average season in which they missed the playoffs however they decided to try again in Winter 2009 season. Their team was called Walk Ons and although they made the playoffs, they suffered an embarrassing loss in the first round. After two disappointing seasons with Rostyn Castleton at the helm, the young kids were devastated from the experience. Can this get any worse? I am afraid so! In the Spring 2009 season, these young kids didn’t have the courage or confidence to come back and play. One wonders, what went on in the closed-door meetings? How can a group of kids who loved FlagPlus Football just decide to not return? How deep are their scars? One of the members was quoted as saying “He is selfish and doesn’t care about anyone but himself. He used us to become an All-Star and I hope the league implements a no-substance policy… that’ll show him.” The more important question is what became of Rostyn Castleton? In desperation of winning a title, he decided to join the Dirty Birds team who are coming off of a perfect season. They hadn’t suffered a loss in all of Winter 2009 season and also won the championship (joining exclusive company in FlagPlus Football as the 3rd team to have a perfect season). However this past weekend with Rostyn Castleton in the line up, the Dirty Birds finally suffered a loss. Is this all a coincidence or will we see another catastrophe? I leave that for you to decide but I believe a valuable lesson has been learned here.

 

 

And that is it for this week’s edition of Inside The Redzone. If you have comments/suggestions don’t hesitate to contact me on Facebook or via email at [email protected]. This is Rehan Sarwar signing off and I wish you all luck in your week 2 match ups. I’ll catch you all next week but until then, Stay Classy Division C!

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