Peeze Chose DK for a photo this week! – FlagPlus Football League

Peeze’s Playbook

Week 7

by Paolo Della Rocca

In the land of flags, a not entirely young, non-aspiring writer put finger to keystroke as he served to bring tales of glorious people and equally defeated folk to the populace. His job was so utterly enjoyable that he considered himself to be the bringer of weekly joy much as a pie maker is the bringer of pie. While the not entirely young, non-aspiring writer knew his work was mostly enjoyed on bathroom breaks and hoped that it was not to be digested simultaneously with pie. Instead the not entirely young, non-aspiring writer looked to inform, recap and inspire.

With plays occurring between whistles, and bean bags being dragged to and fro all about in the world of flags, all the excitement was of the few remaining weeks to come. While seasons start with the hope of spring, the winter fall of despair approaches as the weather moves from snow flurries to warm weather scurries. The land’s populace continues to narrow on land that seemed at once harrowed.

On the surface this would seem to bother the not entirely young, non-aspiring writer as every day the darkness of defeat would remove yet another reader from henceforth. He remained undeterred as the excitement of playoffs would truly inspire those who remained in the land of flags. Those who remained looked to be truly drawn by the land’s competition and look to make their last stand.

It’s Week 7. This may be the last week your team is still alive for the playoffs. Best of luck to all.

Flag Moi? YOU WILL FLAG NOTHING!!!

You caught me; I wasn’t sober when I wrote the outline to this script. This headline makes it impossible for me to hide from that fact. I wrote the headlines, fell asleep and when I awoke I found this headline and figured, I’ll just roll with it.

The game of the week (take a look here if you’d like to see the FPF official Game of the Week footage: https://vimeo.com/205331517) lived up to its hype. Flag Moi L’Sac started with the ball and on the first play Jonathan Beaulieu-Richard caught a quick sideline hook beyond a diving defender and he took it up field into D-Boys territory. This set the tone for the game, as it was clear from the outset that both teams would be taking chances in this game. After a tight grab on 4^th down, Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze had his brother Sam Nadeau-Piuze run a quick out to the cone where he found himslef wide open. In the next moment, he would find himself with the ball and a touchdown. Let’s be frank: isn’t finding oneself the reason we tie sport to our identity in the first place?

Metaphysical questions aside, D-Boys got the ball and after a Marco Masciotra run, Masciotra looked deep along the sideline and connected with Theo Ojeaha for a fairly large gain. A few plays later, Masciotra would roll to his right, plant his feet and throw back across the middle to Theo Ojeaha, who had come across the middle of the end zone to tie the game 6-6.

On the next drive, the D-Boys defense looked to be settling in. Matt Kirouac showed that even in his veteran years in FPF, the elder statesman still has much to offer as a rusher. He demonstrated that he is a true tactical artist as he was breaking down and cutting angles off for Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze to run toward. This would prove to be a trend throughout the rest of the game.

Later in the same drive, Mikhaïl Davidson caught a well-placed wheel route before being deflagged at the 3-yard line by Leonardo Lanni. Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze would look to Davidson a play later on a smash-out route, taking advantage of Jordan McLaren aggressively jumping the in portion of the route. This is something that McLaren would not forget – he immediately plotted for revenge.

In the meantime, however, Marco Masciotra took off again on Sam Nadeau-Piuze on the ensuing drive. He made a beautiful jump-cut juke in front of Flag Moi L’Sac’s Mark Deluca that left the defender completely asunder. This led to a well-timed completion to Theo Ojeaha on a comeback route, as he drew his defender to the back of the endzone before coming back toward the front cone and laying out for a diving touchdown catch.

The D-Boys defense seemed to realize the debt of gratitude they owed their offensive performance. The aging Matt Kirouac closed on Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze and sacked him as he rolled to his right. After a quick grab and flag guard but Flag Moi L’Sac Jordan McLaren would get the opportunity to exact his revenge as he undercut a post thrown to Mikhaïl Davidson and intercepted the pass late in the first half.

The second half would begin somewhat ominously as Jamal Gittens dropped a wide-open, perfectly placed pass that would have been a walk-in touchdown. Despite aiming for the quick strike, this would lead the D-Boys to have to march down the field before Marco Masciotra returned to the comeback, and he threw the ball up for Theo Ojeaha. The ball was caught and ruled a touchdown, despite a pass interference called against Flag Moi L’Sac on the play. Ojeaha caught the ball but there was some dispute regarding whether or not his feet landed in bounds. The replay is still as inconclusive as the warren commission defined the Zapruder film to be. This would not be the end to the games controversy as Mikhaïl Davidson would catch a hook thrown so late in the play that it appeared that Matt Kirouac had successfully sacked quarterback Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze. Instead it was ruled a touchdown and the score moved to 26-19 in favor of the D-Boys.

The following drive would be somewhat tense as the D-boys did not look altogether sharp. The clearest evidence of this is Marco Masciotra’s overthrow of a wide open Leonardo Lanni in what should have been a mid-second half score. Instead the distinction would go to Theo Ojeaha, who scored his fourth touchdown of the game at the front of the endzone. After the failed convert, the score would be extended to 32-19 with Flag Moi L’Sac firmly entrenched in the trail position.

Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze was not immune to his own struggles as he and brother Sam were unable to convert on a deep pass where Samuel Nadeau-Piuze got behind the defense. This was followed by a two-hand volleyball-style rejection by Matt Kirouac after a failed pump fake. Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze’s pump was so dreadfully acted that it was akin to FPF podcast host Simon Dagenais’ girlfriend assuring him she’s never climaxed like that before. But I digress…

Two poorly timed misconnections later, Flag Moi L’Sac was facing a 4^th down. A beautifully run square out in front of defender Jordan McLaren resulted in a quick run up the sideline and a score by Mikhaïl Davidson. A completed convert to Mark Deluca would keep it a six-point game.

While attempting to prematurely close the deal, Marco Masciotra fired a deep ball to Jamal Gittens. Much like trying to close the deal with an attractive female, if handled prematurely, you run the risk of her hulking boyfriend staring you down and looking to pummel your face into the ground. The hulking boyfriend in this case was Viktor Amédé-Soltendiek, who intercepted the pass and kept his boys in blue in the game. As a side note, Soltendiek sounds like a great company name for a manufacturer of evil robots. But I digress again…

Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze kept hitting Mikhaïl Davidson on the ensuing drive. He did in fact catch 11 passes for 132 passes this game, but it truly felt as though he constantly had the ball in his hands. The game would change shape in the hands of others howeverm, as after a dispute about gained yardage, it would be clear that Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze finally escaped Matt Kirouac on a run that would miraculously not lead to a first down. The referees do not have the benefit of replay on the field, and as such, it would be 3^rd and 1, with 4 plays remaining. Alexandre Nadeau-Piuze had fury in his eyes as he delivered a quick slant to a disregarded Samuel Nadeau-Piuze.

The game is now tied with three plays remaining. I was so engaged that I could not bring myself to leave the sideline and prepare for my own game. On a beautifully engineered concept, Marco Masciotra had Theo Ojeaha run a 15-yard deep in under snapper Matt Kirouac’s fly. Ojeaha caught the pass and now the D-boys would have two chances to win the game from roughly midfield. The D-Boys decided to run the same play. When the defense jumped on Ojeaha’s in, Matt Kirouac would be free to make the leaping, game winning catch that saw his hips ever-so-slightly break the plane for a 38-32 win.

Ace Bunny and Friends Fall Like Meteorites to Montreal’s Finest

The game started with Montreal’s Finest stifling Paul Lapierre’s passing attempts. The Loonatics resorted to a throwback to Jamil Springer, who would fire the ball downfield to Tony Khoury for the game’s first touchdown. This would prove to be a stark contrast to the ease of the Finest’s first touchdown, as Kevin Wyeth threw a ball to an open, streaking Adam Bailey for a touchdown. A quick out thrown to Garret Taylor would serve to have Montreal’s Finest lead the game 7-6 from the outset.

The second drive would not start out much better for Loonatics as Paul Lapierre failed to complete passes save for a quick hook to Jamil Springer. Springer was later deflagged on a throwback play behind the line of scrimmage for a turnover on downs. Kevin Wyeth responded with absolute efficiency as two quick passes to Brian Larivière would serve as the perfect prelude to a short touchdown pass to Akked Moore.

The biggest issue in the game was that Loonatics were rarely finding themselves in a favorable snap count and as a consequence were forced to take deep shots and give up field possession on several turnover on downs. Mike Harrington’s first half sack of the towering Paul Lapierre allowed for this script to continue exactly as conceived. After Adam Bailey’s second first-half touchdown, Montreal’s Finest would take a 19-6 lead in a half where all that worked well for Loonatics was a gimmick throwback play that could easily have led to an incomplete pass (or a sack, like Karim Binette’s sack on Jamil Springer on the last play of the first half).

The second half started with Kevin Wyeth connecting on a touchdown to Akked Moore on a deep post over the middle. The second half started with a missed pass to JR Verger, then a drop by Stéphane Chartrand before Lapierre was able to connect with his security blanket Tony Khoury. This appears to have energized the Loonatics, as the very next pass was an absolute strike to Jean-Richard Verger for a touchdown. Jon Lyristis’ catch at the back of the endzone for one point made the game 25-13 for Montreal’s Finest.

The name of the game was controlling the pace for the Finest in the final act of this game. This was evidenced by their defense drawing out drives and Kevin Wyeth’s offense methodically connecting for slants an out all over the field before Brian Larivière finally caught one such slant for a touchdown. Loonatics were starting to look better despite still being afflicted with drops disorder. Finally Jonathan Lyristis was able to hold on to a ball for a touchdown on a deep in at the back of the endzone. Lyristis made a great adjustment and leaned back while in the air to haul in a pass that was slightly behind the defender.

The Loonatics would finally make a stop on an overly safe drive by Wyeth and friends. Jean-Richard Verger stepped in front of a pass and knocked it to the ground on a 4^th down effort. Montreal’s Finest would get the ball back on a ball that would deflect into the air in traffic as if in a 3D pinball game before landing in the waiting arms of Karim Binette. Seemingly tired of playing a slow paced game while slowly pushing to victory, Kevin Wyeth aired out a pass to Michael Harrington on a fly for a late second-half touchdown shortly after the interception. The game would end by a score of 37-21 on an interception by Brian Lariviére. Montreal’s Finest move to 6-0 while the Loonatics drop to 2-4.

The Brave and the Imperfect

This was the most anticipated game of the week. The Braves are an up-and-coming team from the Terrebonne league and Grip N’ Rip were in Division 5 just a few seasons ago. Simon Dagenais and I debated who would win this matchup in the preceding podcast. Both of these teams are as offensively explosive as they are unorthodox. Both of these teams have used that combination to upset the vast majority of Division 2 teams so far.

The Braves were clicking early. While Vinny Gualano and the Grip N’ Rip offense moved methodically to score on their opening drive, Jonathan Maheu responded impatiently by completing his first pass for a 40 yard touchdown. This would be the first of many strikes as Maheu amassed 232 yards on only 16 completions. Mike Pierrecin had a particularly effective game as he caught 7 passes for 82 yards and caught 2 of Maheu’s touchdowns. The only stop in the entire first half was on the last play when with three plays left Grip N’ Rip started the final drive of the half. On the final play they were stopped at the 2-yard line and Braves took a 22-18 lead into the half.

On the first drive of the second half, the Braves showed some vulnerability. After working their way down the field, Maheu received the snap from inside the redzone and his ill-timed pass was intercepted by Vinny Gualano. This led to a Grip N’ Rip touchdown and successful 2-point conversion.

Both offences slowed in the middle of the second half. Perhaps this was due to the incredibly tense nature and exhaustive pace of this game. This would be before Maheu would break the slump and lead the Braves offense in to the endzone leaving Grip N’ Rip with 7 plays remaining. At midfield with five plays remaining, Gualano connected with Matthew Da Silva on a quick out. Da Silva made two people miss and with the remnants of two broken tackles lying in his wake, he found himself, flag intact, in the endzone for what would be the game-winning touchdown. Sean Avraam and James Donald both scored while Teddy Frenette scored twice to allow Grip N’ Rip to defeat Braves by a score of 40-34.

Dupuis Implodes, Chernobyl Explodes

For one fleeting moment, CLR Forces looked like they may add their second W of the season to the win column. Frédéric Dupuis connected with Guillaume Paquet for CLR’s first touchdown pass before Karl Deschamps caught a 40-bomb for CLR’s second score of the first half. Deschamps looked to the sky and made a ridiculous adjustment to a difficult ball to catch. With the DB in the trail position, Deschamps slowed down, came back to the ball and used his body to box out the defender. Patrick Chénard of Chernobyl kept it close with two touchdowns for Chernobyl. While unspectacular, it actually looked as if Chénard was managing this game and waiting for CLR Forces to make mistakes.

The mistakes would come in the second half. Despite a 1-point lead, Fred Dupuis and co. did not look cohesive in the second half. The second half was littered with interceptions. Matt Bond and Mathieu Patry returned both of theirs for six points. Jovan Cober and Patrick Chénard both intercepted passes in this game while Jean-François Marquis intercepted 2. It has been a long time since I have seen a seasoned Division 2 quarterback throw six interceptions in a game. Most of Dupuis’ interceptions came in the second half in the redzone on either bad reads or passes that were fired then tipped into the air by receivers, and finally intercepted.

Now, Patrick Chénard was not perfect either. He did throw two interceptions. One was on a bizarre discard where instead of throwing the ball safely out of harm’s way, he threw the ball into the waiting arms of Frederic Laplante-Thompson. Still, Chénard showed remarkable patience and kept hitting Jean-François Marquis with quick passes. In the end, Chernobyl would prevail over CLR Forces by a score of 38-13.

Division 1 Power Rankings

Montreal’s Finest (5-0): Still undefeated and relatively untested.
D-Boys (4-2): D-Boys’ offense seems to be clicking and the defense is ever difficult to beat.
Got-Skills (3-3): It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you play a full game. They beat Waste Yout to go to .500.
Flag Moi L’Sac (3-3): they were about as impressive in a loss as a team can be. D-Boys just did that thing where they seem to always be able to win with a handful of plays left.
Waste Yout (2-4): I’m wavering on the Waste Yout bandwagon. I like this team A LOT. However, they are struggling, which can be expected in a first season in Division 1.
Rainmakers(3-3): They are creeping up in the rankings and Ryan Kastner has always kept his team in striking distance. This week, they strike once more.
Loonatics (2-4): This team needs to stop beating itself. Once that can be accomplished they can focus on their opponents.
DK (1-5): D1 should be Rochdi Benabdelkader’s operating table where he is among the surgeons. Instead, for this season, FPF’s top division appears to be a mud-hole (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtQbj6N_kn4 and yes, I do see Rochdi Benadelkader as Batman; you don’t?)

Division 2 Power Rankings

Dan & Co (5-1): Beating Clockwork 45-40 is a big step for Dan Lazzara… and Co.
Grip N’ Rip (5-1): They have a blemish on their record but they are the first to beat the Braves in FPF history.
STL (5-1): A big win over Points R’ Us is a big win indeed. Dylan Taylor’s seven touchdowns is a great performance.
Clockwork (4-2): They’ve lost about as many game as I expected to all season. One game won’t sway me however. Clockwork still have one of the best defenses in the division.
Braves (5-1-1): Jonathan Maheu’s 39 touchdown passes is one of the most impressive storylines in FPF this season.
ONS (5-1): ONS get a freebie against Wild Boys. The forfeit is not their fault but… yawn!
Monstars (4-2): Anthony “Crackwood” Brisebois adds another two receiving touchdowns to his total as Monstars get past Served with Ice.
Incredibles (4-2): Greg Stern throws six touchdowns as Incredibles beat Wolverines in Week 7.
#NR (4-3): Corey Pecker completed 76% of his passes to keep #NR from falling below .500.
Chernobyl (3-2-1): No one knows why it takes time for some teams to get going, but Chernobyl seems to be one of those teams. They are now on a two-game winning streak for the first time this season.

Others Receiving Votes

Wolverines (3-3): I’m having trouble figuring out the Wolverines. Thier hope is that their opponents will feel the same way.
Usual Suspect (3-4): Captain Rob White is not happy with me. However, with Grip N’ Rip, Monstars and Wolverines on the horizon, I don’t see a pleasant end to this tale. I could be entirely wrong and that’s why they appear here.
Gladiateurs (3-4): A 44-31 win over Terror Squad has Glads back on the radar.
Served With Ice (3-4): Served with inconsistency. That is all.

Hungover Visions of the World of Tomorrow

Well as Simo,n and I both picked the same teams in Division 1 there is no movement in our season’s rankings. In Division 2, however, I maintained my proven supremacy as my 8-2 was far superior than Simon’s 7-3.

Division 1	Peeze	Simon

Rainmakers vs. Got Skills	Got Skills	Rainmakers
DK vs. Loonatics	Loonatics
Flag Moi L’Sac vs. Montreal’s Finest	Montreal’s Finest	Montreal’s Finest
Waste Yout vs. D-Boys	D-Boys	D-Boys

Season Total	13-11 (.542)	13-11 (.542)

Wolverines

STL

Braves

#NR

Division 2	Peeze	Simon

Gladiateurs vs. Monstars	Monstars	Monstars
Chronic Pain vs. Wolverines	Wolverines
Points R’Us vs. Clockwork	Clockwork	Clockwork
STL vs. ONS	STL
Incredibles vs. Dan & Co.	Dan Co.	Dan & Co.
Served with Ice vs. Braves	Braves
Chernobyl vs. Terror Squad	Chernobyl	Chernobyl
Wild Boys vs. EMPS	Wild Boys	Wild Boys
Grip N’ Rip vs. Usual Suspects	Grip N’Rip	Grip N’ Rip
#NR vs. CLR Forces	#NR

Season Total	42-20 (.677)	40-22 (.645)

Friday’s Foot Fetish

It’s now Week 7 and the playoff picture is becoming clearer. For some teams it’s time to surge and make a push for the playoffs. For other teams, it’s time to look toward the impending, improving weather and celebrate that.

For further analysis, tune in to the official FPF Division 1/2 podcast Calling the Audible, where Simon Dagenais and Terry Tam discuss Samurai Jack’s epic bug battle, McLaren automotive’s bold new color choices, and whether or not Pelicans have rhymes. Remember that you can catch the Division 1/2 podcast as well as all episodes of calling the audible by visiting www.youtube.com/flagplus (alternatively, you can return to this article and click the link provided). Feel free to criticize me by reaching me on Twitter @PeezeFPF (as I am on most social media) or by messaging me on Facebook @Peeze Della Reeze.

Have a great and safe week of action. See you at the fields!