The Birth of New Teams in CO-ED 3! – FlagPlus Football League

Welcome One and All to the 20th year of FPF! My name is Zackary Alberts-Gill and I will be your guide through this Winter season of my favorite sport – FOOTBALL (though Rugby is a close second)! I have been playing in the league since 2016, and hopped right into CO-ED during its 3rd season in Winter of 2018. My friends and I fluctuate in and out of CO-ED but always enjoy the fun and competition it brings! It has been a great way for us to play with our friends, families, and partners, while also being physically active. For those of you who are new to CO-ED and/or FPF – BUCKLE UP – cause you haven’t seen anything like it yet!

These weekly articles will be my chance to shed some light on our Division: Give players Shout Outs, Talk about Stats, Game Predictions and Track the rise and fall of teams. This will hopefully become a part of your weekly entertainment regarding your CO-ED 3 needs! If there is technical information, like Rules, Game Stats, and Ratings you need help with, always check out flagplusfootball.com or hit up their Facebook page for support from various people in the league. For fun coverage of the league, don’t forget to check out the weekly Calling The Audible Podcast and Game of the Week videos! I don’t do Social Media, but we have an Instagram too apparently…..Go sign up….

Anyway! Without further ado, let’s see who makes up this season’s CO-ED 3! I’ll cover the first few teams here, and the others in the weeks leading up to our Mid-Season Power Rankings:

FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH:

For returning teams, there are a few interesting rule changes that I’ll highlight below. The first being the coolest change coming to FPF CO-ED: CO-ED now requires 3 women minimum on the field as opposed to 2 women minimum! I, for one, am super pumped to see some more 40-bombs thrown to the ladies, and have the chance for more female talent to shine!

Look out for the new OverTime rule: With 1 attempt per team. Home team chooses first (who will attempt first, or which end of the field), and the visitor makes the 2nd choice. If the team making the first attempt scores (1 or 2 points), then the team making the 2nd attempt choice MUST go for 2 points. (You know, so it’s a win or lose situation?) The point of this rule is to help eliminate ties. To do so, they also made this rule…

The point differential MERCY rule comes into effect at 15 points (down from 18), the game is over and we do not play the 5 plays. This is adjusted because the total possible points a team can score with 5 plays left is 15 (including using your Onside Kick).

Random Thought – Maybe I shouldn’t be posting these rules here, and instead, just link you the article…….RULE 3!: On a rusher interference penalty, the non-offending team has the option to make this a loss of down (instead of 5 yards and repeat the play). Remember these 3 new addendums as we go through the season!

I will have a GAME OF THE WEEK section at the end where I try my luck, week by week, in guessing the winners of each game. If you would like to compete with me, feel free to send me your Predictions on Facebook or E-mail ([email protected]), and I will track and post your records at the bottom alongside mine each week!

Stats will be coming next week as soon as you all give me Stats to post. Each week, I’ll be ranking my top players: 2 QB’s, 4 Receivers, 4 Defensive Players, 2 Rushers. If you like seeing your name, give me some reasons to write it down!

A QUICK GLANCE AT THE COMPETITION:

PERFECT STRANGERS

I almost started singing “Beautiful Strangers” by Madonna when I saw this team’s name, but then realized I can’t read properly. So from here on out, I’ll be thinking of Austin Powers when I see this team. Ricky, Julian, and Bubbles have left the trailer park and made it to the CO-ED side of the field this year. Alexandre Meunier, Antoine Meunier, and Frederic Meunier (not necessarily in respective order) step out of their TRAILER PARK BOYS team in Div 6 and test their hand in CO-ED with a team full of new recruits! With a brand new team under their belt will this trio of Meuniers (Meunier cubed?), rally a fresh troupe of actual FPF freshman to a winning season?

Antoine Meunier will most likely lead this offense, looking to continue his upward trend of keeping INTs low and sacks even lower. Having thrown for 30+ TDs last spring and running for close to 200 yards, Antoine will be one of the better QBs tearing up this division as he looks to score his first Championship (or just have fun, both are good). I mentioned family before, so I’m really hoping that PERFECT STRANGERS does indeed have a trio of brothers on its team. Alexandre and Frederic will have to share the stage with the rest of the team, but maybe they plan to be the Meunier offense since they usually bring in 15+ TDs combined? Anyway, I’m excited to see the new talent on this team step in to fully gauge how successful they may be!

Prediction: 6-4

AIGRE-DOUX

I love CO-ED for its ability to attract new teams composed of FPF players who may be trying to strike out on their own! ! Another new team to FPF and CO-ED, AIGRE-DOUX comes onto the scene with a splattering of individuals who have dabbled in the league for a few seasons (some since 2019), but haven’t formally played together before. Having already heard about Emmanuelle Bronsard from when I wrote for CO-ED 1, I had assumed she was going to be the QB for this team, but with a QB rating of 76.5 (WOAH!), she cannot throw in this division! I’m not sure who will be taking that coveted QB spot, but only Victor Nolin is showing me much experience, so I will assume it’s him until proven otherwise. Having picked up fellow AHUNTSIC GIRLS – Alexia Ouellette and Morgane Le Foll – AIGRE-DOUX is already starting off with an incredible core of female players. Add Jeanne Gravel, IG TEAM playmaker, to this squad and presto = AIGRE-DOUX transforms into CHAUD-DOUX!

On the defensive side of the ball, AIGRE-DOUX are able to pick up Etienne Cardinal – previous rusher from THREAT LEVEL MIDNIGHT (though not on the roster this season…?), who has experience that should elevate this defense as they try to contain QBs across CO-ED. The veteran of the team, Julien Proulx finds himself the player with the most experience on both sides of the ball (save for QB). He will most likely be the #1 target on offense and will be relied on to be the defensive playmaker and guide, so watch him on the field. The rest of the players have decent stats, considering they are all fairly new, but I will be looking to the women of this team to keep this sauce from expiring.

Predictions: 3-7

BANDIT(E)

Some of the BANDITS D’AHUNTSIC are still itching to play football! Having come together in spring of 2023, 3 lone BANDITS have struck out on their own and find themselves drawn to CO-ED 3 with a swathe of new teammates. BANDIT(E)s have recruited a brand new group of women (and a few men) and have brought them into FPF! Welcome all new players and we hope you have a good time! I’ll only get to play against this team in Week 10, so until then, I’ll be scouting them to make sure I know who their rising stars are. Now… unless they have picked up a sleeper of a QB, Vincent Richard will most likely be taking that spot for the BANDIT(E)s. Having played with TRAPSTARS for a few seasons before switching to LE SPEAKEASY, Vincent Richard is a mix of an Air and Ground threat producing some intimidating stats- 200+ rushing yard, 25ish TDs, and multiple rushing TDs a season. Could Winter 2024 see CO-ED 3 transformed into a QB vs Rusher heavy division? If Vincent Richard is able to find his groove/rhythm early in the season, we could see his return to a 30+ TD season! (with a few rushing TDs sprinkled on top)

Vincent won’t be alone. Recent addition to the league, Lou-Felix Roy-Lachapelle, will be joined by slightly more experienced players (like… 1 season more experienced) – Xavier Parent and Jules Fortin. The aforementioned 3 musketeers of BANDITS D’AHUNTSIC (Lou, Xavier, and Jules) will have to be the support structure of this team and help Vincent shake off the rust of having not played since the Winter season of last year. Jules Fortin seems to have made the biggest splash in FPF out of all the players on his team so far. Already having won a championship with KISS MY ENDZONE in CO-ED 2 – while being the #1 receiver – in only his 2nd season! This team has promise, but I think it may take a few games, if not a whole season, to train a new FPF squad! Good Luck!

Prediction: 2-8

DEATH BATTLE BREAKDOWN:

DREAMKILLERS vs BLOCK PARTY

I don’t believe these 2 teams have ever met before. BLOCK PARTY has been trying their luck in CO-ED 2, while DREAMKILLERS (no relation to the Div A DREAM KILLERS) were established as an all female squad in the Women’s Division and moved into CO-ED 3 last season. The KILLERS are returning this season with a full squad and a new recruit: Esther-Morin Struthers!! Struthers was strutting all over LES P’TITES MIETTES as their #1 target and being a force of nature on defense. She is a great pick up for this team and should have her impact felt immediately! Which is good because they will be going up against a BLOCK PARTY team who have just a smidgen more experience working together.

Coincidentally, I had the opportunity to play against BLOCKED PARTY back in Spring of 2023, while I was taking a stab at QB. They were able to put up a big 15pts despite a decent defensive showing from my team, and almost won! Although BLOCKED PARTY may not have found the success they were looking for yet, do NOT underestimate this team; they have begun to click as a team and get a few wins under their belt. With the elusive Yvan Salomon missing from this roster, who will step up and keep the BLOCK PARTY going?

I’m expecting this to be a fun competition to kick off the season, with both teams trying to find their footing and identity early. Although BLOCK PARTY may have the experience, without Yvan at QB, I gotta give the advantage to the DREAMERS!

Prediction: DREAMKILLERS 19 – 13 BLOCK PARTY

GAMES OF THE WEEK:

MICHAEL SCOTT’S TOTS vs AIGRE-DOUX (CAN’T VOTE FOR MY OWN TEAM)

DREAMKILLERS vs BLOCK PARTY

ECLIPSE vs SHOW ME YOUR TDS

THUNDER VILLAINS vs HALF N’ HALF

P’TITS VITES vs AT LEAST WE TRIED

That’s it for Week 1; good luck out there! 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! I don’t know all your teams, but will probably get a feel for them as we progress through the season. Comments, Criticisms, and Concerns are welcome… unless it’s about my Capitalization of random words. I stand by them!