Reviews and Previews from Coed and the Women’s Division

For starters, sorry for being a little late getting this article out. I got caught up in the summer fun and was not able to get this done on time. I will be back on track for next week!

We finally had a full slate of games played across Coed and the Women’s division last week and it felt great! One thing that makes this season especially interesting is the staggered schedule. Some teams have played 6 games while others have played 9. This makes anticipating playoff scenarios extremely interesting and that is exactly what I am going to do.

In Coed 1, EZFun are in the driver’s seat. They have a 5-2 record, just like Kiss My Outlaws, but EZFun have the advantage when it comes to head-to-head record since they won both games between these teams this season. As long as EZFun win out, there is nothing that KMO can do to catch them. As for KMO they have a strangle hold on the second seed. If they beat Fast not Furious tonight, they will clinch the second seed. As a matter of fact just one win in their three final games will be enough for them to secure the second spot. The battle for third place is where things start to get interesting. Les Petits Phoques hold the head-to-head advantage over Justice League which means that as long as LPP win their final game of the season, they are guaranteed to finish above the Justice League. A team to keep an eye on during this last stretch of the season is Fast not Furious. They have four games left to play which is the most of any team in the division. If they go on a winning streak, they could finish as high as third.

In Coed 2, the biggest game of the season will be played tonight at 7pm between 3HUNNAS and Kiss My End Zone. As it stands, 3H are currently in first place with a 6-1-1 record while KMEZ are in third with a 5-0-1 record. However, KMEZ have two games in hand. With a win today, KMEZ will leapfrog 3H and claim the top seed. The other battle going on is the one between Les Princesses and Sneaky Snakes for third. Les Princesses have a one win lead and hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Snakes. What that means is that Sneaky Snakes would need to win out to claim the third seed while Les Princesses do not win another game. As far as the battle for 5^th is concerned, I think Blue Wave will hold onto that spot over Gorillas. Both of these teams have a very difficult end to their regular season and I do not see either winning another game. Iced Out have finished their season and will enter the playoffs as the 7^th seed.

The most interesting playoff race is taking place in the Women’s division. There are currently three teams all tied for first place with a 3-2 record. As a matter of fact, the only team that does not have a 3-2 record is Villa who are sitting at 1-4. Tonight’s set of games will be huge to determine playoff seeding. Each of the four teams is playing twice and my gut feeling is whichever team finishes the day with two wins will go on to claim the division title. Trying to figure out the tiebreakers in this division would be way too much of a headache so if you are interested in seeing how the seeding for the Women’s division will play out I would suggest you head down to Stade de Montreal at 7pm tonight and watch the action unfold for yourselves!

Week 6 Games of the Week:

Strangers (24) vs Villa (19)

For the longest time, I had been wondering why Villa was not trying different options at the quarterback position. Well in this game, they finally decided to switch things up and went with Olivia Stewart under center. She was by no means perfect but was a definite improvement over the QB play this team has been used to. The good news was the fact Stewart completed 21 passes for over 150 yards and two scores. The bad news was the four interceptions that she threw. If I am Villa, the good far outweighs the bad of this performance. This was Stewart’s first start ever as a quarterback in FPF. The fact that she was able to move the ball is a hugely promising sign for this Villa team. Even the interceptions do not worry me. The 5 on 5 Women’s game is extremely different to the flag football that is played in high school and CEGEP in Quebec so there is a learning curve. Having receivers like Keiya Allen-Beckles also helps out a new passer tremendously. Allen-Beckles is one of the fastest players I have ever seen. She has the ability to burn anyone in this division if she is running a fly or to turn a basic drag into a huge chunk play. She showed off that speed in this game as she totaled 13 receptions over 14 targets for 90 yards and a score. If Stewart was not looking towards Allen-Beckles she was probably targeting Eliane Robidoux who finished the game as the team’s second leading receiver with six receptions for 60 yards and a score. While those two might have had great games, Villa’s other nine receivers caught just two passes. Other than it being boring for a majority of their receiving core, spreading the ball keeps opposing defences guessing and helps you move the ball.

For the Strangers, Jade Mchugh Thibault was a turnover machine in both the best and worst way. Offensively, she had an overwhelmingly average outing. While she threw for 145 yards and three scores, that was outweighed by the fact that she threw three interceptions. Those three offensive interceptions would have been disastrous had she not made up for it on defence by recording a stupendous four interceptions. She saved her best interception for last. With her team trailing and just a few plays left in the game, Mchugh Thibault intercepted Villa deep in Strangers territory to give her team a chance to win. After taking three plays to get to Villa’s three yard line, the game was set for a deciding final play. Mchugh Thibault connected with Megane Gigurere for the game winning score.

Sneaky Snakes (14) vs Gorillas (12) – Coed 2

Gorillas were just a convert away from pulling off an upset in this one. As a matter of fact, they finished the game with the ball in their hands and a chance to win, but in the end, they were unable to come away with points on their final drive and Sneaky Snakes won 14-12.

Across the board, this was not a pretty game for the quarterbacks. David Brisson of Sneaky Snakes had one of his worst games of the season. He threw for less than 100 yards and for just as many interceptions as touchdowns, two. The one bright spot for the Sneaky Snakes in this game, as she has been all season, was Marilou Côté Noël. The speedy receiver led her team in receiving yards with 44 which represented over half of her team’s total offensive output. On the season, Côté Noël has been hands down the best Sneaky Snakes receiver. She already has 267 receiving yards and four scores. She is on pace to go for over 300 yards. Having a female as your leading receiver is a rare luxury in Coed. I always talk about needing to get your female players more involved. Well if anything, this Sneaky Snakes team would benefit from involving their male players a little bit more in the passing game. Julien Proulx is one of the more athletic players in Coed and has had success at all levels of FPF. The fact that he has only been targeted 15 times in seven games is criminal. This team has the potential to be amongst the best in the division, it just feels like they are missing a key ingredient which is great quarterback play. You will not win very many games in Coed by throwing for only 77 yards. If this team solves their issues under center they could be a legitimate contender for years to come in this division. 

As for Gorillas, this was their best defensive performance of the season. The impact of super sub Andrew Denis Lynch was very much felt in this match. On the defensive side of things he led the team with two huge interceptions that kept the Gorillas in the game. One player who has been flying under the radar for Gorillas this season has been Geraldine Cabillo-Abante. She led her team in this game in terms of receptions with five and finished the match with nearly 30 receiving yards. On the defensive side of the ball, she was everywhere. She was the Gorillas’ surest tackle, registering 5 and also led the team with 5 defended passes. Despite only playing four games, she has been the unsung hero of this team every time she took the field. She is third in receiving yards with nearly 120 and is catching touchdowns at a pace of nearly one a game. This is another team where it feels like the pieces are better than the quarterback play. They have tried three different quarterbacks under center but none have had any significant amount of success, however, there is promise on their roster. Sébastien Noël is on this team’s roster. He has only thrown one pass so far this season but it was for a 40 yard touchdown. Noël  is an extremely talented passer and has already thrown for nearly 1,400 yards in division D this season. If Noël takes the helm of this offense, they could be a dark horse contender entering the playoffs.

Week 6 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. The team of the week will be compromised of players from Coed 1, Coed 2 and the Women’s division. Only stats will be considered when choosing players for the team of the week. That means 100 receiving yards in Coed 1 is equivalent to 100 receiving yards in Coed 2. In the spirit of the Coed division, every team of the week will have a minimum of two female players on the offensive and defensive team.

Offence

Quarterback: Ignacio Valdes Manzanedo (Kiss My End Zone) 17 completions, 225 passing yards, 7 TDs

Receiver: Dimitri Melsbach (Les Princesses) 5 receptions, 119 yards, 2 TDs

Receiver: Keiya Allen-Beckles (Villa) 13 receptions, 90 yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Charles-Olivier Lavigne (EZFun) 7 receptions, 110 yards, 3 TDs

Receiver: Alexi Dubois (Kiss My End Zone) 6 receptions, 105 yards, 2 TDs

Receiver: Maryse Paquette (Blue Wave) 7 receptions, 63 yards, 1 TD

Defence

Rusher: Jenna Araujo (Red Nation) 3 sacks

Defensive Back: Andrew Denis Lynch (Strangers) 1 tackle, 2 INTs

Defensive Back: Eliane Robidoux (Villa) 1 tackle, 2 INTs, 1 PD, 1 TD

Defensive Back: Jade Mchugh Thibault (Strangers) 6 tackles, 4 INTs, 1 TD

Defensive Back: Mikael Arseneau (Les Princesses) 2 tackles, 5 INTs, 2 PDs, 2 TDs

Defensive Back: Rachelle Vallieres (Red Nation) 2 tackles, 2 INTs

Week 7 Predictions:

Kiss My End Zone (5-0-1) vs 3HUNNAS (6-1-1) – Coed 2

This is the biggest game of the season in Coed 2. With a win, Kiss My End Zone can just about clinch the top seed whereas 3HUNNAS need to win this one or they risk falling all the way down to third. The last time these two teams met it ended in a dramatic 31-31 draw. The difference in that game came in the form of Nykolas Pierre-Masse who arrived at the start of the second half and was an absolute difference maker for 3H offensively. Almost every target started being thrown his way and there was very little that KMEZ could do about it. As it always is with 3HUNNAS the biggest deciding factor will be who shows up. 3H need Pierre-Masse to be present for this game to be competitive.

As for KMEZ they need to keep things simple. The last time these two teams met they were their own worst enemy, Despite not throwing any interceptions, they made plenty of offensive mistakes. They got their routes crossed in the endzone which led to a turnover on downs in the first half and a missed pass to a wide open James Drysdale led to a key turnover on downs late in the second half that let 3H back into the game.

At the end of the line the easiest way to analyze a matchup is to look at the two opposing quarterbacks. However good Anthony Sotomayor has been for 3H, Ignacio Valdes Manzanedo has been better for KMEZ. He is yet to throw an interception and if he can stay perfect in this one, he will lead his team to victory.

Prediction: KMEZ 

Strangers (3-2) vs Red Nation (3-2) – Women’s

The duel I cannot wait to see playout in this game is the one between Red Nation’s QB Allyson Sobol and the Strangers’ Jade Mchugh Thibault. However, the duel I am talking about is not between Sobol the QB and Mchugh Thibault the QB but rather with Mchugh Thibault the defensive back. She already has 8 interceptions defensively and her ballhawking abilities single handedly led her team to victory over Villa last week. While Sobol looked like she had cleaned up her game, she is fresh off the heels of a four interception performance versus Les P’tites Miettes. Simply put, I think Mchugh Thibault will produce more interceptions than she will throw and that will lead her team to victory.

If you have any questions or comments as always I can be reached at [email protected] 

With that I will not waste anymore time since I am running late for my 7pm game. Good luck everyone and see you at the field.