Reviews and Previews from Week 9 in Coed and the Women’s Divisions

After pretty much a month of report cards and weird articles, we are finally back to our usual weekly recaps and boy does it ever feel good. It is definitely a lot of work to produce the report cards and I missed reviewing the events of the division every week. Before jumping into the games of the week, the recaps and all of the usual stuff lets take a quick season so see which teams are still battling for seeding in the final few weeks of the season.

In Coed 2, Kiss My End Zone are masters of their own fate. If they win their last two games, which I think they are capable of doing, they will close out the season as the top seed in the division. Their biggest challenge will be their game against the 6-2 Vultures but with a James Drysdale who is surely tired from the World Championships this past weekend and the absence of Rachelle Vallieres, this should be a winnable game for KMEZ. The more intriguing battle is the one for second. Pig 6 and The IG Team both currently have an identical record of 6-1-1. With games remaining against Vultures and Fitsquad, I think that Pig 6 definitely has the harder schedule so I will give IG the nod to claim second. There is also a ferocious battle going on for the sixth spot, aka the last bye through the first round between Never Too Late Team and Fitsquad. Both teams have a tough final game and I think both are likely to lose. Presuming they both lose they will have an identical 5-5 record which means they will go down to head to head record to split these two teams. Having won their duel this season, Never Too Late Team has the advantage if ever they finish with the same record. Finally, Block Party and Plenty of Fish are fighting it out for the final playoff spot. Having seen both of these teams play, I can confidently say that Plenty of Fish are the better team and my money is on them to make the cut.

The race for first place in Coed 3 is all but over. This has been known for quite some time, but Fast Not Furious 3 will be claiming the top seed. A win in their final game against Kamikaze will clinch the top spot. Drink Team are also looking like a lock to finish in second place. If ever the Drink Team does slip up, 1-9ers are lurking in the shadows ready to claim their spot. The battle for the last bye is between We Love Big TDs and Les Crevettes and I think We Love Big TDs are the clear lock to hold onto the final bye. Not only do they finish off the season with an easy matchup versus the 0-8 Les Schtroumpfs, they also have the head to head tiebreaker against Les Crevettes which could prove to be critical. Finally, Free Agents are making a last minute push for a playoff spot, but their odds are not looking good. They would need a win or two over their final two games and would need multiple other teams to lose out. All in all, the Free Agents have made a great last minute push for the postseason, but I think they will be coming up short.

There is a lot less intrigue in the Women’s division. The game this Sunday between Subzero and WOS will likely decide the top seed in the W1 division. I fully expect Subzero to emerge with the win in this one and clinch the top seed. 

In Women’s 2, the Wildcats have already locked up the top seed. There is an entire throng of teams stuck between 2nd and 6th place, separated by 4 points or less and I will not even try to map out the possibilities of what could occur there. Simply put, win as many games as possible and good things will happen. Touch Down For What? Have one last hope of making the playoffs and that is to beat the Wolfpack Sunday night. After that, their schedule becomes incredibly difficult and wins are unlikely. If they can beat the Wolfpack this week they will surpass X&X and climb into the final playoff spot.

Week 9 games of the Week

DreamKillers (20) vs Les Crevettes (26) – Coed 3

DreamKillers came so close to securing their second win of the season in this one but were ultimately stymied by Les Crevettes.

What  impressed me the most from Les Crevettes was the mistake free kind of football they were playing. This is a team that has struggled with turning the ball over all season long and has definitely lost games because of that. In this one, it was the opposite. Oswaldo Vibert  did a great job under center and threw four scores all while only turning the ball over once. A big part of that offensive success for this Les Crevettes team came from spreading the ball. While Vincent Morissette led the charge in terms of receiving yards with 45 it was Xavier Almonte who was the red zone threat on the night with his two touchdown grabs to go along with his 30 receiving yards. If there is one critique I would have for Les Crevettes in this one, it would be under-using their female players. All in all they were targeted three times and finished the game with two catches for under 20 yards. That is not enough.

Defensively however, the girls on this team proved their worth and they deserve more targets on offence. Éléna Morissette came up clutch for her team, recording one of their two interceptions. Vincent Morissette  recorded the other interception.

As for DreamKillers, their female players stepped up to the plate big time but it was not quite enough to secure them the win. Noémy Fortin Hurtubise tried valiantly but struggled under center. While she was completing a decent amount of her passes and was moving the ball down the field her ultimate downfall was turning the ball over twice. Marc-André Gauthier then took over the reins of this offence and had slightly more success since he threw for two scores and avoided any costly turnovers. Marie-Pier Adam was the top receiver for DK on the night with her four catches for 44 yards and two scores. Defensively, it was Melodie Massé who stepped up in a big way. Her interception kept DK in this game and gave them a fighting chance at the win.

EZFun (32) vs Fitsquad (21) – Coed 2

Things have been going from bad to worse for Fitsquad. Something about the summer air has clearly been affecting this team because after starting the season as one, if not the best, team in the division they have been struggling to score. I once regarded this offence led by David Michaud to be one of the best in the division. In this game versus EZFun he threw for just two scores. Michaud has had some fantastic performances this season including a 7 TD masterclass versus KMEZ, and eight score outing versus Street Runners and an impressive six score game versus Les Marchands de Vitesse. Over those three games he threw for a herculean 21 scores and did not toss a single interception. Those are quarterback of the year numbers right there. However, in the other four games Michaud has played he has thrown for four fewer scores and four more interceptions. There are clearly two different versions of this Fitsquad offence and David Michaud. One of those versions is a terrifying playoff contender and the other is hardly good enough to get this team into the playoffs. What should have other Coed teams worried is the possibility of this team finding their beginning of season form in the playoffs. If they do, they could cause some serious problems and even contend for a championship. 

As for EZFun, this was a classic win. They slowed the game down to a near snail’s pace and minimized the possibility of them making errors by reducing the total number of plays they ran. While you can call that style boring, it certainly worked for this team. Nicolas Blais completed 20 of 23 attempted passes and threw for four scores in the process. It was great to see Florence Leonard have yet another strong showing. She was one of Blais top targets on the night as she caught two passes for over thirty yards. The star of the show was of course JC Ferland who led his team with five catches for 46 yards and two scores. Defensively, EZFun continued to get production from their female players. Frédérique Daoust was the biggest standout with four tackles and a key pick. All in all, this EZFun team has a solid QB play, a decent receiving core, a respectable defence and impressive female players. What they are lacking is one area in which they excel or an x-factor player. Unfortunately with Jeremy White and CO Lavigne not on this team, there is no such excitement and that has led to the decent but not great season we have seen out of this team so far.

Week 9 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 made up of players from Coed 2, Coed 3, Women’s 1 and the Women’s 2 divisions. Only stats will be considered when choosing players for the team of the week. That means 100 receiving yards in Women’s 1 is equivalent to 100 receiving yards in Coed 2. In the spirit of the Coed and Women’s divisions, every team of the week will have a minimum of two female players on the offensive and defensive team.

Offence

Quarterback: Ryan Dobbs-Garnett (Fast Not Furious 3) 16 completions, 225 passing yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs

Receiver: Laurie Turcotte (WOS) 8 receptions, 84 

Receiver: Lucas Quenneville (Kiss My End Zone) 4 receptions, 95 yards, 2 TDs

Receiver: Marielle Paradis (Wolfpack) 10 receptions, 95 yards

Receiver: Oriola Poirier (Fast Not Furious 3) 5 receptions, 118 yards, 4 TDs

Receiver: Salim Tayae (Fitsquad) 6 receptions, 98 yards, 1 TD

Defence

Rusher: Frédéric Chevarie (Fitsquad) 1 sack, 1 tackle

Defensive Back: Rachel Shea (Les P’tites Miettes) 3 tackles, 3 INTs, 1 PD, 1 TD

Defensive Back: Alexandre Noel (Fast Not Furious 3) 4 tackles, 3 INTs, 1 PD

Defensive Back: Xavier Couture (Fast Not Furious 3) 3 tackles, 2 INTs, 1 TD   

Defensive Back: Alexi Dubois (Kiss My End Zone) 4 tackles, 3 INTs, 1 TD

Defensive Back: Frédérique Daoust (EZFun) 4 tackles, 1 INT

Week 10 Predictions:

Please note that the bolded team is the one I am predicting to win

Coed 2:

Pig 6 vs Vultures: 

This is going to be a great game to watch but an awful game for the rushers. James Drysdale and Vincent Cheung are two of the fastest and most elusive quarterbacks in this division. The question is, which team has the better rusher? The answer is not really clear since neither team has a designated rusher and they have been going with a rusher by committee approach. However, I know that Vultures Benjamin McMahon is a fantastic rusher. He has the speed and shiftiness to matchup with Cheung and could easily see McMahon containing Cheung all game long. While I have not given this Vultures team a lot of respect lately, it does need to be highlighted that they are a top 4 team in the division, led by a team Canada athlete in James Drysdale and are filled with FPF veterans. Despite all of that, I rather the squad depth of Pig 6 and have more faith in Cheung protecting the ball than Drysdale. However, look for this game to much closer than you would expect and it would not shock me if Vultures pull off the upset.

Predicted winner: Pig 6

Plenty of Fish vs The IG Team

Vultures vs Kiss My End Zone

Beeftons vs The Rookies

Pig 6 vs Fitsquad

Beeftons vs EZFun

Kiss My End Zone vs Street Runners

Deep Ballz vs Block Party

Street Runners vs Plenty of Fish

The IG Team vs Never too late team

Coed 3: 

Thunder Buddies vs TIGRES

DreamKillers vs PIG SIX

1-9ers vs Free Agents

Catching W’s vs Les Crevettes

Les Schtroumpfs vs Michael Scott’s Tots

Drink Team vs Catching W’s

Kamikaze vs Les Crevettes

Women’s 1/2 

The Rock vs Supernova

WOS vs Subzero

Touch Down For What? Vs Wolfpack

Blue Thunder vs Wildcats

Les P’tites Miettes vs X&X

Wildcats vs Touch Down For What?

B.I.T vs Red Nation

There you have it, your week 9 recaps and predictions. There were fewer games in week 9 than in your usual week which made recaps and the Team of the Week slightly harder than usual. I am definitely looking forward to things getting back into full swing next week.

As always, I can be reached at [email protected] with any questions, comments, or critiques about the articles. Good luck to everyone this week and see you at the field!