It is done…. and so, it begins again! – FlagPlus Football League

Hello and somber greetings my fellow FPFers… Welcome to the end of week 5 (and 6), and now, the end of the SUPER BOWL! The entire world mourns the Eagles loss on Sunday and I’m not sure anyone will ever recover. Sure people may say things like “I was actually going for the Chiefs!” or “I was always a Chief’s fan”, but we do not take their jokes seriously. They know not what blasphemy they speak.

So now, with our heads held high, waiting patiently for our next chance at a Super Bowl…. Let’s take a deep dive into Co-Ed 2 where the games are fierce and the competition fiercer! There is so much movement happening in this Division that I’m worried I’ll get whiplash. Let’s see how things are shaking up before our mid season report card.

*Editor’s Note* : Other writers seem to have some kind of shtick or gimmick for their articles. I’m hoping to bring some of my own personality to the articles in coming weeks…. Which means get ready for terrible jokes and obscure Superhero references.

THE UNSTOPPABLE THOUGHTS OF A MAD MAN

Unless FITSQUAD is scoring 50 points in their next game, BENCHWARMERS are smacking the competition around with 210 points for….. In 6 games……that’s a 35pt avg per game…. The big outlier being their loss against FLASHBANG TEAM where they only scored 12 and lost. They also have the lowest points against (PA) despite having played an extra game. They just couldn’t stop Charles Verreault who scored every TD that game, including 1 on Defense! Are FLASHBANG TEAM the new heavy hitters?

With BENCHWARMERS and FLASHBANG TEAM having a week off, all that FITSQUAD has to do to keep the lead of the division is beat KISS MY ENDZONE. This might be easier said than done since KISS MY ENDZONE is coming off a tough loss to FIREBALL. Will KME be able to swing the upset? Will FITSQUAD dig their heels in a little deeper into the #1 spot? Let’s find out!

I was only 50% correct with my game predictions last week. In the Battle of the winless, DEEP BALLZ and TEAM ROCKET came out on top and now both have 1 win under their belt. If FLAMINGOS and BLOCK PARTY continue to lose out, they shouldn’t fret. Both teams will get another chance at a good matchup, since both of them go head to head in week 9!

The competition for top Rushing QB is intense. 3 players have 3 TD’s: William Ducas, Gabriel Wiseman, and Mikael Arseneau. I hope that despite the losses for Flamingos, William can keep pace! As a Gabe Wiseman fan and someone who lost to Mikael Arseneau…. They are going to be incredibly hard to keep up with the rest of the season!

I see a couple of repeat performers in my picks of the week! I promise I try to switch it up week by week if I can, but if you ball out – I gotta give you a shout out. If you want a shout out in my picks, you’ll have to give 120% due to the fierce competition!!

The IG TEAM face off against THE VILLAINS. If they can muster up another win, they may be able to hop over KISS MY ENDZONE in the rankings.

Gotta give a shout out to Julien McLaren-Thompson of FIGHTIN’ TIGERS! An incredible 14 sacks in 5 games! If he can keep the pace and have 1 additional amazing game, he is on track to breaking the single season record for sacks!

TEAM REVIEWS

FIREBALL:

Coming out of the gate for 8D6 damage (Sorry, DND reference), FIREBALL has been cast at various opponents this season and come out victorious. They now sit at 4-1, after a win over KISS MY ENDZONE where Mikael Arseneau made me look like a rookie, novice, doo doo head. I hope we see each other again in the playoffs for Round 2! That being said, 17 passing TD’s and 3 rushing TD’s in 5 games puts him among the top QB’s of the division, but it is not a spot set in stone. Mikael will need to rely on Dimitri Melsbach – the WR with the most yards (312) in the division, Kevin Malonga – WR tied for most TD’s on the team (6), and Emmanuelle Flynn – WR on the team with the highest catch rate at 71.4%,… (except for Mikael who is 3/3)… Anyway, Emmanuelle should be their reliable receiver for 1st downs and must catch balls!

Defensively, they are a force to be reckoned with. 13 INT’s between Mikael, Kevin, and Oumar Toure means they have given their offense an additional 13 chances to score; an average of 2.5 possessions per game. Pair that with Chloe Belanger Bouchard (7 tackles) and Chloe Corbeil (2 tackles), who both have a PD on defense, and I think you have a recipe for success!

Prediction: 7-3

FLASHBANG TEAM:

Up until last week I would have said: FLASHBANG TEAM is definitely a good team, but can they hang with the top tier of the division? Are they what the FPF would call “False Kings”? Then KABLAMO!! They came out in week 5 and beat BENCHWARMERS 21-13. Taking the lead position at QB is Charles Verreault. Having 2 TD’s on the ground and an incredibly high pass completion rate, Charles and his squad have shown they can do it all. They put up 44 points in a single game, beat a top level team, are currently on a 5 game win streak (FLASHBANG TEAM has not lost since week 1 against KISS MY ENDZONE), and if that wasn’t enough, they have Jeremy Augustin as a secondary QB. Jean-Nicolas Brenko currently leads this offensive unit with 296 yards and 7 TD’s and is currently in the #2 spot for Receiver of the Year.

On defense, Charles once again proves his worth: most tackles, most TD’s, and a handful of PD’s. Alongside him are key players – Sarah Berube, who has 12 tackles, a PD, and even picked up a sack. Penelope Enault and Ariane Brenko, both have 2 PD’s and Ariane also has 3 sacks! With this defense being so versatile they have been able to keep most of their opponents to 2-4 TD’s a game, which has been a large factor in their recipe of success. In the rest of their schedule, FIREBALL seems to be their only large competition left. Can they win out the rest of the season? I’m excited to see what this team has to offer, since I think they can be a serious playoff team.

Prediction: 8-2

KISS MY ENDZONE:

What is this, the 2nd, 3rd, or 17th iteration of a KISS MY team?? Between the inlaws, outlaws and endzones, these teams have become a staple in FPF Co-Ed, already having a few Championships under their belts. Ignacio Valdes Manzanedo a.k.a Iggy Magnets, whose nickname refers to him catching balls, has settled into the QB position for this KISS MY roster. Drafting just behind the Top QB’s of the division, Iggy’s stats are consistent and effective for what he is trying to do – keep the ball in his hands. This is possible thanks to his diverse and strong offense highlighted by their female players: Abigail Cockerton may have the most targets (30) on the team and over 100 yards, but nearly every female player also has a TD. Brianna Keeley and Lory Ouellette have also been instrumental in key plays and first downs, but will have to push their catch rate up if they want to be able to put more pressure on opposing defenses. Despite missing 2 games, Luis Begin has taken the lead on the #1 WR off the team. However, with Alex Laroche, Alexis Labonte, and your’s truly – me – all have over 100 yards receiving, and Alexandre Noel with 3 TD’s, KISS MY ENDZONE has plenty of targets.

On defense, they have been able to step up to most challenges, but with losses against BENCHWARMERS and FIREBALL, does this show that they can’t hold out against higher level teams? Alexis Dubois is currently leading the team in tackles with 11, but with an avg of 1.5 INT’s per game, someone will need to step up to be the big playmaker on the team! I can’t be too biased, but watch out for the playoff ready version of this team!

Prediction: 7-3

GAME OF THE WEEK PREVIEW:

The Villains (2-3)

The IG Team (3-2):

First off, somehow I must not have been paying close enough attention, but Mehdi Chabchoub is having what appears to be a phenomenal first season in FPF! With 19 TD’s and 2nd most yards in the division, Mehdi is leading THE VILLAINS on a journey to the top, as they attempt to jump the competition. Mehdi just needs to reduce those INT’s and potentially work at making his female targets more of a threat, and that should help win a few more games! Looking at their offense, THE VILLAINS main antagonists are: Jeremie Thompson OReilly, Xavier Sauve, and Ricardo Antonio Gutierrez Orsini serving up 6 TD’s, 5 TD’s and 4 TD’s respectively. With each having roughly 20 targets, I expect more wins to come as they use more of their female players – especially with their catch rates being so high! Defensively, THE VILLAINS lag behind THE IG TEAM in all fields: INT’s, PD’s, and TD’s. VILLAINS have the capability to out score THE IG TEAM; but with IG TEAM’s defense on the prowl, THE VILLAINS might find that they have less room for mistakes and turnovers than usual.

THE IG TEAM have slowly been making their way through Co-Ed 2. They have been able to win out against some of the lower teams in the Division: HUNGRY HIPPOS, FLAMINGOS, and DEEP BALLZ, while losing to the best of the best: BENCHWARMERS and FITSQUAD. Although there was a large discrepancy in their BENCHWARMERS game, they were able to keep the game interesting, scoring their last TD on the last play of the game and despite opening the game with a safety! Jeanslee Alexis is doing a great job at keeping turnovers to a minimum, but with only 11 TD’s in 4 games, will he be able to keep up with Mehdi’s 19 TD’s? THE IG TEAM defense has done a good job at keeping most opponents to only 3 TD’s a game, so we will have to see how Clifdji Solon, Gabrielle Poissant, and Jordanson Alexis are able to adapt to THE VILLAINS.

With both teams hungry to prove themselves and separate from the middle of the pack. In this slugfest between Good and Evil, I’ll give the edge to the IG TEAM; who I expect to come out with a strong defensive front to put a stop to THE VILLAINS nefarious ways.

Prediction: The Villains 19 – The IG Team 26

ZACK’S TOP WEEKLY PICKS:

QB (1): Charles Verreault (Flashbang Team) – 17 Attempts / 13 Completions (76.5%), 110 Yards, 5 TD’s, 0 INT, 1 Sacks / 3 Rushing Attempts, 39 Yards, 1 Rushing TD

QB (2): Gabriel Wiseman (Benchwarmers) – 16 Attempts / 12 Completions (75%), 160 Yards, 5 TD’s, 0 INT’s, 0 Sacks / 1 Rushing Attempt, 7 Yards

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WR (1): Jeremy Augustin (Flashbang Team) – 6 Targets / 6 Receptions (100%), 82 Yards, 2 TD’s

WR (2): Olivier Laberge (Hungry Hippos) – 8 Targets / 7 Receptions (87.5%), 62 Yards, 2 TD’s

WR (3): Rebecca Decary-Corbeil (Fightin’ Tigers) – 7 Targets / 5 Receptions (71.4%), 46 Yards, 2 TD’s

WR (4): Nicolas Gomes-Risso (Benchwarmers) – 5 Targets / 4 Receptions (80%), 37 Yards, 2 TD’s

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DB (1): Melissa Rochefort (Benchwarmers) – 5 Tackles, 1 INT, 1 TD

DB (2): Charles Verreault (Flashbang Team) – 5 Tackles, 1 INT, 1 TD

DB (3): Nassim Ouadhi (Team Rocket) – 2 Tackle, 2 INT’s

DB (4): Oumar Toure (Fireball) – 5 Tackles, 3 PD’s

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RUSHER (1): Julien McLaren-Thompson (Fightin’ Tigers) – 0 Tackles, 3 Sacks

RUSHER (2): Victor Rifiorati (Deep Ballz) – 0 Tackles, 2 Sacks

GAMES OF THE WEEK:

HUNGRY HIPPOS Vs BADGERS (Upset of the week)

THE VILLAINS Vs THE IG TEAM

DEEP BALLZ Vs FIGHTIN’ TIGERS

KISS MY ENDZONE Vs FITSQUAD *I shan’t vote for nor against my team*

BLOCK PARTY Vs FIREBALL

Finally finished with this trio of articles! Dear lord, that took longer than I thought. I think the results of the Super Bowl had me in the dumps. Look forward to the mid-season report card where I make up some ratings and get to tell teams where they fit in my arbitrary system! I will be using a never before seen rating system so stay tuned to see who is the best of the best, who has disappointed, and who has excelled.