Categories: Co-EdComplementaryDivision

Midtown Impress and Michael Scott’s Tots Continue to Struggle in Co-ed

For most of the season, I have been wondering who Midtown are exactly. I had heard they were a talented team, but I was surprised by their caliber when I faced them on Monday night. They may not have the most FPF experience, but they make up for it with lots of talent and even more athleticism. You would be hard pressed to find a weak link on this team. One of their key players is Jean-Christophe Morin-Phaneuf. On offence, he is a deep threat and defensively he is a ball hawking corner. While this team may have one of the most skillful rosters in the division, their game is not perfect. Their offence is largely unidimensional. They rely on their tall and fast receivers to make plays down the field. I don’t think they have the patience to drive the entire length of the field five yards at a time. What Kiss My End Zone was not able to do was take away that deep ball. Time after time, they made us pay with long perfectly placed balls over the top of our defence. However, if a slightly taller team can find a way to take away that deep ball and force Phillip Enchill to march down the field, he will make mistakes.

Another game that surprised me was the one between Michael Scott’s Tots and Party Mix. I know Party Mix are a good team, but I expected MST to win this one. With Rico Tulino back in the lineup, MST had a nearly complete roster. They were only missing AJ Gomes. Most believed that the return of a star player like Tulino would help MST secure their first win of the season. Unfortunately, the presence of Tulino had the opposite effect. Having played against Evan Ely Nolet on a few occasions, I can tell you that his main flaw is exploiting the same receiver too much. Instead of spreading the ball to his other receivers, Ely Nolet threw to Tulino time after time. While Rico Tulino did have an impressive outing with nearly 100 receiving yards and two scores, MST did not have anything else going for them on offence. The talented and experienced Party Mix clued in very quickly to what was going on. They realised Ely Nolet wanted to go to Rico Tulino on every single play, so they took away that option and forced Ely Nolet to throw to others. Clearly, that strategy paid off since Party Mix limited MST to two scores and went on to win. On Party Mix’s side of the things, their success was due to the phenomenal play of the women on their team. I often say that success in co-ed depends on the talent of the women on your team. Even if you don’t have a roster stacked with players from the top divisions, if the women contribute and are implicated in the play, then your team will be competitive. Party Mix are such a good team because they have four of the very best women in the division. On offence, Marilou Cote Noel was the leading receiver for Party Mix. She caught four passes for 44 yards and a score. Actually, three out of the four top receivers for Party Mix were women. Rounding out that group was Catherine Piche with three catches for 36 yards and Emma Racine with four catches for 21 yards and two scores. On the defensive side of the ball, Party Mix’s top performer was Melissa Rochefort with her six tackles, one defended pass and one key interception. With performances like that, it is easy to understand why Party Mix cruised to a 28-13 victory over MST

 

Week 3 Team of the Week:

Each week, I name 12 players to the team of the week (TOTW). Since this is co-ed and there always needs to be two girls on the field, both the offensive and defensive team of the week will feature two or more girls. If you are on the offensive TOTW, you cannot be on the defensive one.

Offence:

Quarterback: Francois Deslauriers (Party Mix) 163 passing yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs

Receiver: Philippe Aussant (Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce) 73 receiving yards, 7 receptions, 2 TDs

Receiver: Rico Tulino (Michael Scott’s Tots) 98 receiving yards, 6 receptions, 2 TDs

Receiver: Marilou Cote Noel (Party Mix) 44 receiving yards, 5 receptions, 1 TD

Receiver: Frederique Potvin (Drunk Again and Looking to Score) 54 receiving yards, 5 receptions, 2 TDs

Receiver: Keiya Allen-Beckles (Yin&Yang) 87 receiving yards, 2 receptions, 2 TDs

Defence:

Rusher: Felix D’aoust (Black Mamba) 2 sacks

Defensive Back: Alexandre Jubinville (Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce) 5 tackles, 1 INT

Defensive Back: Marie-Anne Landry Duval (Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce) 6 tackles

Defensive Back: Melissa Rochefort (Party Mix) 6 tackles, 1 PD, 1 INT

Defensive Back: Benjamin Leger (Party Mix) 3 tackles, 3 PDs

Defensive Back: Jean-Christophe Morin-Phaneuf (Midtown) 3 tackles, 1 interception, 1 defensive TD

 

Week 3 Game of the Week:

Drunk Again and Looking to Score (21) vs Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (18)

 This game was a very closely fought match. If we look at the game stats for the quarterbacks, we can understand why this match was so close. Rocca Christiano, quarterback for Drunk Again and Looking to Score passed for 143 yards and three scores. Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce’s Jean-Felix Marquis passed for 154 yards and three scores. More than just having similar statistics, both of these quarterbacks have similar styles of play. They are both incredibly mobile and they rely on their legs to move around in the pocket and buy extra time. If the play breaks down, neither are scared to run. What I think ultimately made the difference in this game was the fact that Christiano spread the ball much more than Marquis. DALS have one of the very best receivers in the division in Chris Milard and it would be very easy for them to target him on every single play. Not only would that make the game boring for Milard’s teammates, it would also make their offence unidimensional and easy to stop. DALS  understand this and they spread the ball accordingly. In their game against Sriracha, Christiano did complete six passes to Milard, but he also completed five to Frederique Potvin, three to Bobby Sepentgis and three to Kevin Kousaie. On the other hand, half of Sriracha’s receiving yards came courtesy of Philippe Aussant. While Aussant is a very gifted player, constantly feeding him the ball is going to wind up costing Sriracha. I know if I were facing them, I would design a defence that covered Aussant out of the game and force Jean-Felix Marquis to throw to his other receivers. While DALS were not able to mark Aussant out of this game, they were able to do just enough to secure the win.

 

Week 4 Predictions:

Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (1-2) vs 3rd Down for What (3-0)

I am sure Sriracha are tired of me telling them to spread the ball. Maybe a more visual demonstration will get the message across to them. On Sunday, I am sure that Sara Parker and 3rd Down for What will show them. Parker has always done an admirable job of spreading the ball and I am sure she will against Sriracha. 3DW are once again looking like the best team in the division. Despite losing a few players, Parker is just as lethal as ever and I am convinced that she will lead her team to their fourth straight win.

Prediction: 3rd Down for What

Party Mix (2-1) vs Midtown (3-0)

These two teams are just about as different as they get. On one hand, Midtown rely on their athletic receivers to make plays down the field and win contested balls. Party Mix, on the other hand, are on of the most methodical teams in the division. They have no qualms about taking 10 or 15 plays to march down the field. Earlier in the article I said that the way to beat Midtown is to slow down their offence and to force them to drive the field. If there is any team in co-ed that will be capable of doing that, it is Party Mix.

Prediction: Party Mix

Yin&Yang (1-2) vs Michael Scott’s Tots (0-3)

While Michael Scott’s Tots are much better than their 0-3 record reflects, I am not sure they have what it takes to beat a team like Y&Y. Y&Y added talented players in the off-season like Kendel Mayers and Isaih Alard. I thought MST had added a star of their own in AJ Gomes except he has only shown up for one game. Ultimately, Y&Y have more star power and they will prevail.

Prediction: Yin&Yang

Kiss My End Zone (1-2) vs Black Mamba (1-2)

Black Mamba will be missing a large part of their roster since they are off on vacation. On the other hand, Kiss My End Zone should have a full team. While this game could be a close affair if both teams had all their players, without seven players, Black Mamba will have a very hard time competing.

Prediction: Kiss My End Zone

With that, week three of the co-ed season is behind us and week four is fast approaching. While it may seem that the season has just started, week four will mark the half-way point in the co-ed season. With three of eight games already played, teams are starting to keep an eye on the standings. These next two weeks will be crucial if teams want to head into the long bye with a head of steam.

I hope you enjoyed this article and like always, if you have any questions about the league or feedback about the article, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].