Shake Ups and Movement in Co-Ed 3 Week 5!

Let’s keep it shaking and moving onto Week 5 of the FPF action! There are always things to talk about in current affairs, and I feel as though it’s my duty to bore you with the ones I find interesting! First Off – People are throwing Soup at the Mona Lisa. Crazy times, what a waste of soup. Second – New game released recently: Suicide Squad kills the Justice League! Sounds great! I’m into it. Lastly: Who the heck would have guessed it (definitely not me!) But the Chiefs and the 49ers are headed to the SuperBowl! Love myself some Andy Reid, so I’m happy he is making another appearance, and the 49ers are always exciting to watch!

Week 5 is another short week. A triple header happening on Sunday after AT LEAST WE TRIED play game #1 of their 2 game weekend! We have some winless teams looking for their first wins, and other teams looking to keep moving ahead in the rankings. So let’s see what the Division has to offer in the upcoming week before I take a week off in Week 6 and come back for a week 7 article!

FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH:

The Meunier trio ran and threw all over the BANDIT(E)s, but it was not enough to put away the game! Antoine’s 2 INTs were just enough turnovers needed for BANDIT(E)s to slip away with the win. Shoutout to Mariane St-Yves, having 2nd highest Yards receiving that game!
HALF N’ HALF overtook AIGRE-DOUX in a back and forth shoot out that came down to the final play. Returning at the QB position for HNH, was indeed Gabriel Poulin, throwing up 6 TDs and over 200 yards! Even though AIGRE-DOUX was able to put up 39pts! Usually, an unbeatable amount, HNH were able to come out on top in a spectacular fashion. Despite finding their apparent QB, I don’t know how they will compete against teams like AT LEAST WE TRIED and BLOCK PARTY. I’ll keep steady with my 5-5 prediction, but this was not a game I had factored them to win!

AT LEAST WE TRIED is back in action and are looking to catch up in Games Played. They haven’t lost a game yet, but with AIGRE-DOUX feeling vengeful, and 2 games in 24hrs, will AT LEAST WE TRIED survive the weekend unscathed? I predict that we will have 3 undefeated teams by the end of the weekend: BANDIT(E), ALWT, BLOCK PARTY, but that only BLOCK PARTY will be undefeated by the end of the season.

Another great game happening this week is DREAMKILLERS and PERFECT STRANGERS! Both are looking for a win but DREAMKILLERS beating SHOW ME YOUR TDS are now primed to be able to snatch another win away from PERFECT STRANGERS while they’re down 0-2. This is an important game for both teams, since their schedules will offer a decent amount of resistance! DREAMKILLERS have the advantage with Noémy Fortin Hurtubise at QB. Almost 500 Yards in 3 games, Noemy currently finds herself in the top 5 QBs of the division. Let’s see if she can pad her stats with this game.

HALF N’ HALF and SHOW ME YOUR TDS do not play this week. That means Mathias St-Jean and Cyrill Jamal Belfort will each have a free week to catch up and potentially overtake Alexia Roy and Camille Ste-Marie at the rushing position. It is a tight race for top Rushers, and we can see that it has a large impact against the QBs that like to run – Kenny Boutilier, Alexandre Meunier, Xavier Parent, Dos Vas, etc. Shout Out to my hard working rushers, changing the tempo every game and keeping QBs from having easy wins! Keep it up!

Out of 13 teams, only 6 of them have scored more points on offense than they’ve allowed on defense. I’m not sure if I want to summarize this as “CO-ED 3 has a defense problem”, or if I just think there are a LOT of strong offenses! With only 3 teams relatively close (90+) to hitting the 100 Points Allowed mark (MST, HNH, SMYTDS), and 8 teams being within 25 pts of their + and- , I really do believe that we have been blessed with high scoring offenses!

Part of the reason I like CO-ED (besides playing with all my friends) is being able to highlight the talent of our MTL female athletes. Whether they are coming out of the Women’s Division, trying their hand at the Men’s Division (*cough cough* Jessica Bositampen), whether they’re a University Superstar, or someone who just likes being active on the weekend – There are some great athletes in FPF! As of next week, a WR and DB spot will be reserved to highlight my pick of female players.

A QUICK GLANCE AT THE COMPETITION:

DREAMKILLERS

Coming into the league in Winter 2023 in the Women’s Division, Noémy Fortin Hurtubise was able to pick up 3 wins, 18 TDs, and 1500 yards on Offense! Although they lost in the playoffs, DREAMKILLERS took what they had learned and busted into CO-ED in the Spring. Now, with the new Winter season upon us, DREAMKILLERS find themselves in both CO-ED and the Women’s Division, looking for their first season above .500. Picking up new recruits in Esther Morin-Struthers from LES P’TITS MIETTES (who is a SOLID offensive player!) and Jean Francois Bergeron. DREAMKILLERS have been doing a pretty great job at keeping most of their team together through the past few seasons and must be relieved to see Jean-Daniel Ratté and Marc-André Gauthier return as their prime targets on the offense! Last season the 2 of them accumulated 16 TDs and 700 Yards, so the DREAMKILLERS will be looking to them to bail them out when times get rough. Marie-Pier Adam is keeping up with everyone else on offense and has clearly become an important offensive piece.

Defensively, Esther Morin-Struthers pushes her team forward as she flies around the field, stopping everyone in their tracks! 20 Tackles in 3 games and 2 INTs is absolutely what she needs to do to set herself apart from the rest of her defense. Mathias St-Jean has been racking up the sacks and currently sits in a 3-way tie for top rusher! This team has the tools needed to get more wins than they currently have. With some unfortunate pairings early in the season, I think DREAMKILLERS can bounce back and make a real run for the playoffs. François-Xavier Delorme led this team in INTs and PDs last time they worked together, and will need to capitalize whenever Mathias is able to force an errant throw! With 3 more games that I think they will lose, it will take a little bit of luck and a lot of skill to be able to make it over the .500 hump! Good LUCK!

Predictions: 4-6

AT LEAST WE TRIED

ALWT might be a new team, but they are not rookies! Many members of AT LEAST WE TRIED were originally part of the CO-ED 3 team: DRINK TEAM, where they fought their way to the Finals with Alexandre Roel at QB. This season, with Alexandre gone and a partially new roster, Darryl Dorcely has taken his turn at QB and has already proven that he can hang with the best of them! Taking what they learned last season when they made it all the way to the Semi-Finals against SUBEZERO in CO-ED tier 2, Antoine Gaudet and Shelder Valéry aim to take the division by storm, already accounting for 5/7 of Darryl’s TDs so far. Nicholas Bournival also returns to this crew, having had a wonderful defensive season last time on DRINK TEAM (20 Tackles, 10 PDs, 1 Pick-6), will he be the veteran play caller on Defense? Also, how am I really only hearing about Shelder Valery right now? Take a look at his stats! He is a big 2-way player that can change the tide of any game.

On the female side of the ball, they have picked up Lilianne Roy and Anne-Gabrielle Bernadotte, who are looking to make their name on this already Star-Studded roster! Erica Magini and Josianne Martin are the female vets of this team, but with most of them missing a game or 2, how will the team fare if they continue to be absent? So far, it does not seem to have affected their game plan too much. They are currently 2-0 and have beaten THUNDER VILLAINS to get there. With AIGRE-DOUX, BLOCK PARTY, and HALF N HALF in their schedule, it might be enough to keep ALWT on their toes this season. Look for them in the Playoffs and most likely in the Finals!

Predictions: 7-3

DEATH BATTLE BREAKDOWN:

AIGRE-DOUX vs AT LEAST WE TRIED

This matchup has the potential to be a look into the playoffs. Despite their loss against HNH, I think AIGRE-DOUX is still one of the stronger teams in the division. They took an unfortunate last second loss last week, despite putting up a buttload of points, and are now facing off against one of the last undefeated teams in CO-ED 3. Julien Proulx has been able to put up 5 TDs in each of the games he has played, but will that be enough against another high scoring offense like AT LEAST WE TRIED? Defensively, AIGRE-DOUX have solid players and have shown that they can shut down a team (shout out to my SCOTT’S TOTS), but to compete against Darryl Dorcely – who has not given up a single INT yet – their team will need to prepare themselves for an offensive shootout. Boris Gagnier and Morgane Le Foll currently lead the AIGRE-DOUX offense with 4 and 3 TDs respectively and a combined 200+ yards. This duo will need to be stopped if AT LEAST WE TRIED would like to have any chance at success.

On the flip side, ALWT are coming back to the gridiron after a 2 week break. AT LEAST WE TRIED has done more than just TRY. Their offense shows that they can spread the ball to all of their receivers effectively, especially when Darryl can buy time with his legs. With most receivers having 10 targets and a few TDs, I’m not worried that AT LEAST WE TRIED can put up points on offense, but I am concerned a bit about their defense. Even though it has only been 2 games, I haven’t seen a lot of turnovers from this defense and they will not be able to rely on Darryl’s rushing to win them every game. My gut is telling me that AT LEAST WE TRIED will come back to the field and continue their winning streak as if they didn’t just have 2 weeks off, but something about AIGRE-DOUX is telling me not to underestimate them…. So I won’t.

Prediction: AIGRE-DOUX 34 – 27 AT LEAST WE TRIED

ZACK’S TOP WEEKLY PICKS:

QB (1): Gabriel Poulin (HALF N’ HALF) – 28 Attempts / 17 Completions (60.71%), 219 Yards, 6 TDs, 2 INTs, 2 Sacks

QB (2): Julien Proulx (AIGRE-DOUX) – 31 Attempts / 17 Completions (54.84%), 180 Yards, 5 TDs, 1 INTs, 2 Sacks // 2 Rushing Attempts, 26 Yards

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WR (1): Marc Antoine Martin (BLOCK PARTY) – 9 Targets / 9 Receptions (100%), 106 Yards, 3 TDs

WR (2): Tahnyus Steer (DREAMKILLERS) – 4 Targets / 4 Receptions (100%), 89 Yards, 3 TDs

WR (3): ***Jérémi Thompson OReilly (THUNDER VILLAINS) – 7 Targets / 6 Receptions (85.71%), 70 Yards, 3 TDs

WR (4): Boris Gagnier (AIGRE-DOUX) – 8 Targets / 5 Receptions (62.5%), 77 Yards, 2 TDs

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DB (1): Etienne Cardinal (AIGRE-DOUX) – 1 Tackles, 1 INT, 1 TD

DB (2): Mikael Williams-Claudio (P’TITS VITES) – 1 Tackle, 1 INT, 1 TD

DB (3): Lou-Félix Roy-Lachapelle (BANDIT(E)) – 3 Tackles, 2 INTs

DB (4): Samuel Thompson OReilly (THUNDER VILLAINS) – 4 Tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD

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RUSHER (1): Zackary Alberts-Gill (MICHAEL SCOTT’S TOTS) – 0 Tackles, 3 Sacks

RUSHER (2): Camille Ste-Marie (DREAMKILLERS) – 0 Tackles, 2 Sacks

GAMES OF THE WEEK:

AT LEAST WE TRIED vs ECLIPSE

DREAMKILLERS vs PERFECT STRANGERS

BANDIT(E) vs FLAMINGOS

AIGRE-DOUX vs AT LEAST WE TRIED (Undefeated Upset)

Prediction Record: 11-5

That’s it for Week 5! We are well into the season now and are coming up to the midpoint at neck break pace! With all of the team breakdowns finished next week, I’ll be looking to fill the space with Power Rankings among other things. If there is an idea or upcoming milestone you might want me to write about/cover in my articles, don’t be a stranger, let me know! If you want to see more accurate info about your teams, your players, your rivalries – send them to me! Comments, Criticisms, and Concerns are welcome… unless it’s about my Capitalization of random words. I stand by them! Also, check out the new episode of Calling the Audible – the official FPF podcast – available on Youtube and …. Probably somewhere else too!