Categories: Co-EdComplementaryDivisionSpring

Les Semi-Croquants Surge as Yin & Yang Continue to Struggle in Coed

The coed season is well under way and there seems to be a pattern emerging behind the weekly results. Every, all games except one go according to my predictions. Last week, Funtastic 9 shocked me and many others when they upset Yin & Yang. However, that upset pales in comparison to the one we saw this week. Les Semis-Croquants, a team who most expected to be a bottom dwelling coed 2 team defeated coed 1 hopefuls Party Mix by the score of 37-25. Every week, us writers predict the outcome of every game and post the results to the Facebook group. Well, every single writer had chosen Party Mix to win this game and we were all long. While there will definitely be more coming about this game in the recap section, I think this is one of the most shocking upsets in recent memory in the coed division.

Before launching any further into the article, I also just wanted to send teams a few reminders. While the pandemic seems to be winding down, we still need to be vigilant. By now we all know basic sanitary measures, but this also means taking a few additional steps while you are at the field. Please be sure to submit you rosters before the game. That can be done through our website at this link: https://www.flagplusfootball.com/en/roster-submit Additionally, please try to avoid getting in referee’s or anyone’s face. If you have something you need to discuss, please do so from a safe distance. Finally, please remember that handshakes after games are prohibited. Thank you all for keeping our league safe for all of us!

Week 3 Recaps

Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (38) vs Yin & Yang (19)

Both of these teams are veterans of the coed division, except neither has gotten off to the start they hopped too this season. Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce were hoping that this would finally be the season they breakthrough and start competing with the big names in the coed 1 division. Instead, they are winless versus coed 1 opponents and this was just their first win of the season. On the other hand, Yin & Yang were expecting to steamroll to an easy victory in a week coed 2 division. To their surprise, they were upset by Funtastic 9 and then this week failed to beat a winless SHCS team.

After struggling at quarterback last week, Y&Y’s Justin Weir was downgraded from quarterback to receiver for this game and Gino Di Fazio took the reigns of the offence. While he did better then Weir, his performance was not stellar by any metrics. He did pass for nearly 200 yards, but was only able to convert on 33% of his third down tries. That led to Y&Y only scoring three touchdowns. While Di Fazio did not have a great game, that was only part of the issue for Y&Y. For a second week in a row, their defence was unable to stop their opponents. The biggest play that their defence was able to manage was a defended pass, courtesy of Justin Weir. Other then that, the team did not record a single interception or sack. If this team wants to start winning games, they will need to find a way to both stop their opponents and create turnovers.

While I have talked at lengths about Y&Y’s shortcomings, that is not to take way from Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce. They played a flawless to secure their first win of the season. That perfect game all started with the play of JF Marquis. He made no mistakes on his way to throwing for 225 yards and six scores. JF was not the only Marquis playing top level football. JF’s brother, Vincent Marquis was the teams leading receiver with seven catches for 71 yards and two scores. If there was one area where SHCS could improve, it would be with implicating the women on their team. They only caught five passes for a total for 28 yards. Versus more talented teams, that simply won’t be enough to win.  

Les Semis-Croquants (37) vs Party Mix (25)

In case I did not already make this clear in the introduction, this was a shocking win by Les Semis-Croquants. When I first saw this score, I expected Party Mix to have blundered the way game, thrown a ton of interceptions and all in all, lost the game. What I saw while perusing the box score was the exact opposite. Party Mix’s Francois Deslauriers was good, but Les Semis-Croquants’ Mariève Girard was simply better. Deslauriers threw for 150 yards and four scores. Girard left him in her dust. The second-year quarterback threw for over 250 yards and six touchdowns. The only blemish on her record was the interception she threw.

A large part of Girard’s success was due to her chemistry with Louis-PhilipThibodeau. Party Mix simply were not able to cover the elusive receiver and he kept on finding ways to get open just about every play. Girard targeted him eleven times and he caught ten of those passes on his way to 125 receiving yards and two scores. Another reason for Les Semis-Croquants was how much they used their women in this game. I already talked abt Girard, so it is clear how much of an impact she had. However, Les Semis-Croquants’ second leading receiver was Rachel Gagnon who had a great game, She caught three passes for 60 yards and two scores. On the other hand, the women on Party Mix accounted for three receptions for 11 yards and no scores.  This was one of those rare occasions where the women on Party Mix were out shown by their opponents, and ultimately I think that I cost them the game.

Defensively, Les Semis-Croquants might not have recorded an interception or even a sack, but they did manage to halt Party Mix’s experienced offence enough times to manage a convincing victory. Les Semis-Croquants’s defence stepped up big when it mattered the most. Party Mix attempted three fourth down in this game and succeeded none of them. You do not need any interceptions when you for your opponent to turn the ball over on downs three times. Party Mix’s defence was not as successful. They let Les Semis-Croquants convert on 75% of their third down attempts and 100% of their fourth down attempts. The end result was that Les Semis-Croquants scored on 6 out of their 7 possessions whereas Party Mix only scored on four of their 8 drives.

Week 3 Team of the Week

Every week, I will name 12 players to the team of the week. If you make the offensive team of the week, you cannot be on the defensive one and vice versa. Since this is coed, there will always be a minimum of two women on the offensive and defensive team of the week. When choosing the players for the team of the week, I do not consider the tier that the players are in. I only consider their achievements.

Offence

Quarterback: Mariève Girard (Les Semis-Croquants) 23 completions, 255 passing yards, 6 TDs, 1 INT

Receiver: Louis-Philip Thibodeau (Les Semis-Croquants) 10 receptions, 123 receiving yards, 2 TDs

Receiver: Quaid Johnson (Party Mix) 5 receptions, 75 receiving yards, 4 TDs

Receiver: Rachel Gagnon (Les Semis-Croquants) 3 receptions, 57 receiving yards, 2 TDs

Receiver: Vincent Marquis (3rd Down For What) 5 receptions, 85 receiving yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Tommy Roadley Trohatos (Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce) 4 receptions, 69 receiving yards, 2 TDs

Defence

Rusher: Laurence Lamy (Party Mix) 2 tackles, 1 sack

Defensive Back: Guillaume St-Jean (Funtastic 9) 1 tackle, 2 INTs, 1 PD

Defensive Back: Jeremy Murphy (3rd Down For What) 4 tackles, 2 INTs, 1 PD, 2 defensive TDs

Defensive Back: Kevin Lubin (3rd Down For What) 3 tackles, 2 INTs, 2 PDs

Defensive Back: Godefroy Verron-Trudel (La Secte) 1 tackle, 1 INT

Defensive Back: Édouard Leroux (Funtastic 9) 4 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD

Week 4 Predictions

3rd Down For What (3-0) vs Party Mix (2-1)

Last week I talked about this game being for control of the coed 1 division. Of course, I presumed that Party Mix were going to beat Les Semi-Croquants and come into this game 3-0. The narrative has completely changed. Party Mix need to win to stay above .500 while 3rd Down For What are looking to stay undefeated. While I know Party Mix will bounce back from their loss, I do not think it will be in this game. The speed of the Murphy brothers combined with the accuracy of Sara Parker will be simply too much for Party Mix to handle.

Prediction: 3rd Down For What

Les Semis-Croquants (2-1) vs Funtastic 9 (2-1)

This game is going to be for top spot in the coed 2 division and I definitely expect it to the game of the week in the coed division. Les Semis-Croquants are brimming with confidence after an upset win, but Funtastic 9 are still riding the high of their unexpected win versus Yin & Yang. Ultimately, I am far more impressed with Les Semis-Croquants beating Party Mix then I am with Funtastic 9 beating an imploding Y&Y team which is why I will chose Les Semis-Croquants to this this match.

Prediction: Les Semis-Croquants

Power Rangers (2-0) vs Fightin’ Tigers (0-3)

Power Rangers are one of, if not the best team in coed 1. On the other hand, the Fightin’ Tigers are coming to the conclusion that they should have probably signed up to play in coed 2 instead of coed 1. Simply put, the Fightin’ Tigers do not have the firepower to compete with a team like Power Rangers. While they do have a start in Jamie Ojeaha, their roster is not very deep behind him. Furthermore, they do not have a true coed 1 quarterback. Seth Galina might be experienced, but so are all the passers in this division. When his experiencing does not set him apart, he does not have the arm strength or accuracy to compete with the likes of Power Ranger’s Tam Vilaydeth.

Prediction: Power Rangers

Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (1-2) vs La Secte (0-3)

Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce are fresh of the heals of their first win and they looked great in that game. On the other hand, La Secte have not beaten a coed 2 team yet this season. They do not have a chance of beating a coed 1 team like Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce. While La Secte are showing signs of improvement and GodefroyVerron-Trudel is turning into quite the player, they do not have the experience or talent to compete with a coed 1 team.

Prediction: Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce

Yin & Yang (1-2) vs Power Rangers (2-0)

Yin & Yang are struggling. They are 1-2 and in third place in the division when they expected to be comfortably in first place. To be fait, Y&Y have had a brutal schedule to start off the season and things will only be getting easier from here for them. However, before things get easier they have to face off against a daunting Power Rangers team. Simply put, if this team did not have the defensive playmakers to contain Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce or Funtastic 9, there is no way they will be able to contain Serge Pilon and company. Power Rangers are going to run away with this one, even if Gino Di Fazio is throwing.

Prediction: Power Rangers

There you have your week three coed article. In case any of you are wondering why this article is done extra early, I am getting my second dose of the vaccine this week so I have booked off the next few days for lying on the couch recuperating.

That being said, I will never be feeling too sick to answer your questions, so if you have any comments or critiques about the article, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]