Let the games begin: Week 1 Recap

Happy New Year, ladies and gentlemen. Let me be the first to welcome you back, or to introduce you to FlagPlus Football’s Division 6. This is FPF’s most diverse and unique division. Why you may ask? Well, because this is the only division where you have experienced football players, FPF veterans and newbies, and just fans of the beautiful game who want to try and play it for the first time. Simply put, you won’t find all of those attributes in any other place.

For those of you that have been here before, things are a little bit different this time around. For starters, there will be a new champion crowned this year, as last year’s champs- Obamacare, have taken their talents to Div. 5A. Unlike last year, instead of 22, we now have 20 teams in Div. 6 this year. Not to worry though, as the expression less is more definitely applies here, as the talent has now become more spread out evenly throughout the D6 as to make sure that the competition will be at an all-time high.

For those of you that are new to this, or for you people that need a quick refresher, let me give you a quick break down of what to expect from my weekly article. I will start by giving you guys a couple of quick things that caught my eye during the previous week’s action. I will also be bringing back my ever-popular High-Five and Step It Up sections, but with a small twist to the former. Instead of listing the five top performances, I will have a Top 3. No, I’m not being lazy (although this does result in a bit less writing for me) I am doing this because it will make things harder for me to choose just three things, and it will in turn (at least I hope) make you guys step up your game even more.

To make things fair because we do have FPF newbies, and in my never-ending quest to keep things fresh, I will include an honorable mention each week. The other side of course, deals with 3 players and/or teams that need to step up their game. How does one qualify for the latter?  Dropping a ton of passes, giving up more or nearly triple digits rushing, or throwing more, as many, or close to as many interceptions as completions is a good start.

Another new idea I wanted to introduce to the article this year is matchups.  I want to look at a player matchup that I think will not only standout, but possibly have a chance to steal the show. Naturally as the season goes on, and I get to know more of you guys and see more games, I’ll be able to go more in depth with this section.

Finally, what football column would be complete without picks? You’ll have my choice for each week’s games. So now, with the intro done and all the explanations out of the way, the only question I have left is…Are you ready for some football?

Week 1 is now officially in the books. We had good and exciting football played kickoff weekend, and it’s sure to get better and better as we go along. Out of the aforementioned 20 teams this year in Div. 6, we welcome 13 new teams to the fray. Some of the new clubs are combinations of former teams, while some are brand new all-together.

There are a lot of story lines that will be played out in front of us this season. Namely, who will be the new Div. 6 champs? Will it be a returning veteran team like Jean Guy, TDs and Beer, the Diablos, Fourth and Twenty, Smokin’ Axolotls, or the N.W.O, OR Team Laval (formerly Beast Mode), or will it be one of the impressive newcomers like PB n’ Jelly, Nighthawks, Trojans, CMS Laval, etc?

Will Jean Guy’s and FPF Rush King Simon Laporte be able to top his career-best 27 sacks that he posted last season? Better yet, will he hit the magical 30 mark?

Will the departure of names like Jordan Mcinnis, Ross Olshansky, Daniel Goloff, and Jordan Bellemare, mean that Team Laval’s Samuel Saumure is the automatic choice to snag the Top QB award for Div. 6?

Tons of questions and only 9 weeks left before we start to get some answers.  

 

Top 3

Mickey Marini – (Sabrfc) The second year WR formerly of the aforementioned ’15 Winter champs Obamacare, had a fantastic debut with his new team Sabrfc as he recorded 8 grabs for 166 yards and 3 TDs. Now that he is a number one option on offense and doesn’t have to share the spotlight with Andrew Hopkins, Kyle McGuigan, Mike Ambrosino, and company, you can expect Marini to put up career-high numbers this year. The fact that his brother Max is Sabrfc’s QB doesn’t hurt either.

Dylan Catellier – (PB n’ Jelly) He put up some huge numbers (6 catches for 126 yards and 3 TDs) vs Gronky Kong in his FPF debut. Up next is a much tougher test against a Gamecocks defense that had an impressive first half against veteran N.W.O QB and former Chateauguay Raider Michael Sanchez.

Simon Laporte – (JeanGuy) The reigning sack-king makes the near-impossible look easy, as he recorded 4 sacks in the first game of the year. Get used to it people, you’ll be seeing his name a lot on this list. The first D6 Hall of Famer perhaps?

 

Honorable Mention:

Giovanni Bavota – (Victorious Secret) Yes, his squad got blown out 26-6 by team Fourth and Twenty (They were only down 13-6 at halftime) He did record 2 interceptions in his first ever game in FPF. That should count for something, no?

David De Andrade – (Tip Top Shape) In his first time playing the position extensively in 4 years, he lead his team to a big W over a favoured and predominantly veteran Smokin; Axolotls squad. Kudos.

 

Step It Up

Blowouts –  I know it’s Week 1, so I will cut you guys some slack, but out of the 10 games this kickoff weekend, 6 ended up as blowouts. I really want to say 7, but I will give the aforementioned Smokin’ Axolotls credit for stepping up their game on both sides of the ball in the 2nd half of their contest. Step it up Div.6.

Johnny Montanaro (Victorious Secret) – As I said earlier in the article, if you have as many, or as close to as many picks as completions, you’ll find your name on the list. Going 8 for 22, for 62 yards, 1 TD, (at least there was that) and 4 INTs will earn you a spot. That said, this was Montanaro’s first ever FPF game, so it’s only uphill from here!

Massimo Cicchini (Goon Squad) – 11 for 28 for 85 yards and 3 INTs. READ ABOVE. In all seriousness though, it’s Week 1, things will get better.

 

Matchups

Brad Evans vs Samuel Saumure – Two good QBs take center stage in this one. Almost a year ago these two hooked when Evans’ Pardon My Swag took on Saumure’s Beast Mode. The contest wasn’t close as Evans and his team came away with the 30-13 victory. As I said though, that was almost 365 days ago. Evans has a much different squad around him, and Saumure has not only a new team name, but a much valuable year under his belt.

Simon Laporte vs Vince Menniti – The sack-king of FPF looks to claim another victim. At first glance, you might not think that Vince Menniti is all that fast, but as the saying goes, and Menniti’s 10 yards per carry average the last two years will tell you, looks can be deceiving.

The N.W.O offense vs the CMS Laval Defense – Not to be a spoil alert, but if you know anything about the N.W.O (beside the point that they are one of my favorite teams) it’s that they like to run the ball. Yes QB Michael Sanchez likes to carry the rock (I personally think he might have picked up his love of running the ball not just by himself, but using that formula for his entire offense from Chateauguay Raider Head Coach the late great Bruce Bennett. R.I.P Coach Bruce) but they like to run a lot of read option plays as well. How the CMS Laval defense who gave up 55 yards and 1 TD on the ground to Nighthwaks’ QB Kristopher Diktakis last week will be key.

 

Picks (Favourites in bold)

Smokin’ Axolotls vs Sabrfc – Sabrfc

Trojans vs Ravens – Trojans

Goon Squad vs Spartans – Spartans

Gronky Kong vs Bricksquad – Gronky Kong

Diablos vs Tip top Shape – Diablos

Team Laval vs TDs and Beer – TDs and Beer *(My pick for game of the week)

Victorious Secret vs Nighthawks – Nighthawks

Gamecocks vs PB n’ Jelly – PB n’ Jelly

Fourth and Twenty vs Jean Guy

CMS Laval vs n.W.o. – N.W.O

Last Week : N/A

Season Record: N/A

 

That’s it for this week! Be sure to tune into Division 6’s weekly podcast ‘Super Flag Bros’ featuring Peeze, David and Antonio. You can stream it live between 7:00 pm and 7:30 pm every Thursday, or watch it at your convenience afterwards. https://www.youtube.com/flagplus

If you loved the article, hated it, or simply felt I left something out, don’t be shy. You can shoot me a tweet at @BADNEWS51.