One handers and 20K

Week 4

What’s going on everyone, welcome back to another Div 1 & 2 article. Were diving into to week 4 as were almost at mid season already. Time flies when your having fun! I have been loving all the extra media and social media content we’ve received from FPF with player performances, over/ under predictions, game of the weeks much more. Last week was an exceptional week in Division 1 & 2. Every Div 1 game was settled by 6 points or less and Div 2 had some great matchups. These two divisions have been very exciting to write about. I will also be joining Calling the Audible more often, FPF’s very own podcast where we talk about all things flag and where ill be discussing Div 1 and 2. Enough chit chat, lets dive into week 4 

Div 1 & 2 Weekly Headlines 

Pat Jerome Becomes the First Player to Ever to record 20k Receiving Yards! 

First things first, I would like to congratulate Pat Jerome for becoming the first player in the history of FPF to record 20 thousand career receiving yards. This Sundays 38-31 win for Allstars vs Party Crashers wasn’t just another regular season game for them. It was an opportunity to make history. Pat Jerome came into this season just 170 or so yards shy of this amazing milestone. And in vintage fashion Pat had a great game as the Allstars leading receiver catching 9 passes for 88 yards and 2 touchdowns, making him the only player to eclipse 20 thousand yards. I don’t know Pat personally but I’ve been watching him play ever since I began playing in the league. His athleticism paired with his knowledge of the game are truly what make him one of the best receivers in  the league and has been one for over 10 years. The 2014 Hall of Famer is adding to his impressive resume 10 years later and his career is far from over. Aside from all his accomplishments on the field, Pat has given more to the Flag community more then most as he has been coaching and teaching women in FPF and cegep. Pat passing down his knowledge and making individuals and the sport as a whole improve is really what makes him special. A real G.O.A.T and is definitely on my Mount Rushmore of FPF. 

Dirty Birds+ Get their First Win

After falling to 0-2 to start the season Dirty Birds+ were facing a must win situation early on this season as they needed to avoid going 0-3 and playing catch up the rest of the season with 3 top teams still remaining on the back end of their schedule. #NR came into this game as a favourite as they escaped week one with a 1 point win vs. 2HD. Quaid had a much better game here in week 3 then he has in the first two weeks of the season as he completed 80% of his passes, threw 5 TD’s and only 1 INT. But it was truly the Dirty Birds+ defence that stepped up and forced 4 INTS and denied all 4 convert attempts. A Huge 46-24 W to get them back on track. They face Skillz Bees next game and another win would bring them to 2-2 and get them trending in the right direction in the Div 2 standings. 

Raff’s Div 2 Game of the week (Recap)

Run it Once (2-0) Vs. Terror Squad (0-1)

After a tough loss to The Stoics, Tam and company are back and ready for week 3. Their offence crumbled in their first game scoring as many touchdowns as they had turnovers. Also unable to convert on any on their one or two point after attempts. AJ Gomes, Isiah Allard and Tam’s running ability has to be this offences focal point if they want to put up big numbers. Tam can make any and every rusher miss and can extend plays with his feet. Tam needs to use his legs in order to keep the defence honest and the rusher tired. This week isn’t going to be easy for them though as they face the 2-0, Run it Once. Run it once have already beaten Blue Ballers and Poseidon’s kiss and is looking for their 3rd win in a row. Jeff Rosenblatt has been great so far as I expected showing 9 TDs and 1 INT. He has a tough defence to face as he will probably face the best rusher DB combo in division 2. If Jeff is able to tear up this defence and not turn the ball over, he will breeze through the rest of his schedule. I do think that this game won’t be a high scoring affair as Terror Squad was only able to put up 18 on the scoreboard in there first game and Run it Once will have more trouble moving the ball this week. I already chose my upset of the week to be the 0-2 Dirty Birds+ to get a win but im going with another upset. Maybe im biased because AJ is my boy, or maybe im upset about losing to Run it Once last week either way give me Terror Squad 34-28.

Terror Squad 28, Run it Once 26 

What a second half by Terror Squad!! After trailing 14-0 and throwing 3 INTs in the first half. Terror Squad came out of half time with the ball and drove down the field like nothing had happened. 14-7. Run it Once still playing their game, scored in 4 plays. Their 2 point convert attempt was unsuccessful, 20-7. Another quick scoring drive for Terror Squad as they never believed that this one was over. Add a 2 point convert and before you knew it this game was only a one possession, 20-15. 0 INTs for Jeff Rosenblatt who still played a great game. Run it once marched down the field once again for a touchdown for Noah Groper’s second of the night. A one point convert attempt fail would follow that score 26-15. A surgical drive was needed from Tam and the Terror Squad offence was they knew after a successful drive an onside was needed. But Tam didn’t look ahead of himself as a six play drive brought them to the one yard line. A first down incompletion followed by a second down Touchdown to Xavier Couture!!. 26-21. Immediately Terror Squad singled for the Onside Kick and a 21 yard pass was completed. With time expiring, Only 5 plays remained and Terror Squad used 3 of them to get the score and the 1 point convert, 26-28. With only 2 plays Jeff did not have the time to go down the field once more and take the lead. What an Upset and what a COMEBACK. Im glad this was my choice for GOTW as this was a great back and forth battle from two great teams. We were even gifted an amazing catch on a convert attempt from Tam to AJ. If you haven’t seen it yet….allow me 

Tam dropped back both his wideouts as quarterbacks and had AJ run a  wonderful post across the field which ultimately became against man to man. Ive seen AJ make some crazy grabs….but this one would have been one of his best I’ve seen if I was on that field with him. What a win for Terror Squad as they pick up their first win of the year. 

Raff’s Div 1 Game of the week (Recap)

Flag Moi L’sac (1-1) vs Braves (1-0)

A Huge game in Div 1 this week as Flag Moi L’sac take on Braves. A big matchup early on this season could have huge playoff and seeding implications. The Braves are coming off huge win vs Allstars. Getting wins against both these teams could really put them at an advantage when it comes to seeding. Flag Moi L’sac are 1-1 so far this season but are coming off a loss to The Jamesons. Only a one score game as they lost 29-24 but I’m sure they don’t feel good about it and are looking to bounce back big against Braves. This is a game I predict the score to get into the high 40’s as both these teams posses the skill and experience to put up big numbers on offence. These QBs barely make mistakes and rarely throw more then 5 INT’s a season so a pick from either of these QB’s would surprise me. I do believe that Flag Moi L’sac have the ability to put up big numbers and out work the Braves defence but I don’t know if their defence will be able to make any stops. At least the Braves are not the home team and Flag Moi will most likely be the team to start the second half with the ball. One thing I notices this week was the Braves rusher. None other then Isiah Allard who is, in my opinion, the best rusher in the league. Isiah has speed, lots of length and knows how to take the best angles to impact a QB. No one impacts passing lanes and intercepts more passes then Isiah, so his season will be fun to watch. At last, my prediction for this game is that the Braves offence will be too strong and they will come away with the win 52-47. 

Flag Moi L’Sac 49 Braves 48

If Div 2’s game wasn’t enough thrilling action for you, our division 1 GOTW was filled with fireworks as well. I predicted a high scoring affair but these teams really brought their A game. 14 Touchdowns and only 1 interception between both QB’s in this one. A game that came down to converts where Flag Moi L’Sac had the advantage as the scored with only 3 plays remaining and only needed a 1 point convert to take the lead. And thats exactly what they did. Taking the lead 49-48 with only 1 play remaining. I will say that I was wrong predicting this game as I thought the Braves would be able to score over 50 points and thats what ultimately would have led them to win the game. But Joe Maheu’s one interception is what kept the Braves from dropping a 50 bomb. A huge win for Flag Moi L’sac as they were coming off a loss to the Jamesons. The Braves dropping this game leaves the #1 seed wide open in division one and will be exciting to see how the season progresses as teams have been beating eachtoher left and right. Also a career day by Flag Moi’s receiver Guillaume Paquet who caught over 100 yards and 5 TD’s…Yes FIVE TOUCHDOWNS, but more on his performance later. 

Raff’s Week 4 Game of The Week 

Div 1 

Royaume Luminaire (0-1) Vs Party Crashers (1-2)

Royaume Luminaire and Party Crashers kick off our division 1 week 4 here on Saturday night. Looking for their first win Royaume Luminaire are on a mission to get their first in the win column against the 1-2 Party Crashers. Also seeking a W, Party Crashers look to get their record back to .500 begin running the table. Royaume Luminaire led by Jesse Dupuis had a great week 1 performance after throwing 6 TDs and 0 INTs. Unfortunately his efforts weren’t enough to give his team the edge vs Blessed. Today they face a less talented squad in Party Crashers but one that will still test them and come out with a win if they don’t play to their standard. Watch our for AJ Gomes to have a solid day as I predict he will lead this team in targets and receptions all season. AJ is a threat in all areas of the field and has the ability to beat you in zone and man to man coverage. Other then Zach Alexis, Party Crashers do not possess a DB to slow AJ down, so they better hope he is present. Party Crashers will look to Vincent Cléroux as their leading receiver to make some big plays that will hopefully shock Royaume Luminaire and keep them in this game. Jesse Dupuis rarely puts the ball in harms way and I think he will keep his Int total at 0 after this game. I don’t predict a blowout but look for Royaume Luminaire to come out hungry and firing all game. They should control this one 44-26. 

Div 2 

Bless Up (1-0) Vs 2HD (0-1)

Bless Up and 2HD have only played once so far this season and have had opposite results. A 1 point heartbreaker vs #NR for 2HD and a 10 point win for Bless Up. Good to see Joey Taylor and 2HD back but the rust was evident as Joey’s last full season was one year ago. His first game of 2024 was not one to remember as he only completed 65% of his passes and turned the ball over 3 times. With vet players on this team such as Paul Lapierre, Danny D’amour and Justin Blanchard they are not short on talent and experience. If Joey can get back to his standard of play, which I think he will, 2HD will be a contender come seasons end. But I do think it is still early for this squad to pull of an upset vs Div 2’s top team. Bless Up and Stephen Harripersaud have been at the top of division 2/ B for a while now and I don’t expect it to change. I can’t wait to see what type of fire works this game will give us but I’m expecting a good one. At first glance this game looks like it could be Bless Up all the way, but once 2HD gets just a little more adjusted they will also be an offensive force. My prediction for this game is that both QBs will have turnovers but Joey Taylors will come late in the game and will lead to the game winning drive for Bless Up. Give me the guys in orange 36-30. 

Weekly Predictions 

UPSET SPECIAL 

Prediction record: 1-1 

Div 1= ATH Squad Vs. Flag Moi L’sac 

Div 2= Cap Friendly Braves vs. Ambush 

LOCK OF THE WEEK 

Prediction record: 1-1

Div 1= Blessed Vs Allstars 

Div 2= Dirty Birds+ Vs. Skills Bees