Two’s Company, Three’s a Crowd: Goodbye Week 2, Hello Week 3!

Hello, Hello! My name is Zackary Alberts-Gill and I’ll be covering our small but powerful Division B this season. Some of you may already know me: I’ve been in the league since 2016, and have played many positions (Receiver, Rusher, and recently dabbled in QB). Although my favourite spot is Receiver, I’m probably best known in FPF for my Rushing. My passion for football led me to FPF, and my passion for FPF eventually led me to want to contribute and help bring more content to the players! I’m a new-ish to the Div B scene, so I may not be aware of all the rivalries and intricacies between teams, but I’m a quick study. So, if you want to see your team highlighted or some of your players given recognition, let me know!

In true Zack fashion, I am showing up to the party late! I recently signed on to write this season, but I still feel bad for the boys missing the first bit of the season! This article will be a bit bare bones, but regardless, the first 2 weeks of the season has come and gone. Most of us in Division B are familiar with FPF (except maybe THE HATEFUL EIGHT), its rules, and know that the REAL season starts in the Playoffs. Just in case there are some of you who don’t know the key rules (because they change semi-often), we can review here:

There are 10 regular season games. To be Playoff eligible, should your team make the playoffs, you need to have played at least 5 games! To ensure that you record a GP, all players of the team need to be wearing the same (or similar) colour jerseys with distinguishable numbers on them. If you do not have a visible number, or a different coloured shirt, you will not receive a GP!

A slight change from the usual rules and was only recently implemented is the OT and the Onside Kick rule. Those of us who have been playing for the past year or so are well aware of FPF’s new Onside Kick rule, but others who may be returning from a break, or only played with it’s first iteration, might need some updating:

A team may choose to go for an Onside Kick instead of an extra point after scoring a TouchDown (Any touchdown, including a PICK-6). The scoring team must use a TimeOut and will only be able to choose the Onside Kick option once per game, regardless of how many TimeOuts you have!
The Onside Kick is taken at the scoring team’s 5-yard line and they are given a chance to make it to midfield to keep possession of the ball! If the team fails the Onside Kick, the other team will be given possession of the ball at the 5-yard line, regardless of where the play ended (obviously before midfield).
All scoring counts on an Onside Kick. The scoring team can opt to try and score a Touchdown. If they are successful, it will be counted as a 6-point TD and not just a convert play. That also means INTs will be counted as a change of possession (but unless you are getting that PICK-6, you better just settle for a PD) and Safeties will also count.

After being able to reduce the mercy rule to 15-Points (from 18) at 5 plays, FPF also implemented a new rule in the Winter season in an attempt to reduce the number of ties that were plaguing the league. Now, at the end of 5 plays, if both teams are tied, we will enter a Sudden Death version of Overtime! Both teams will be given 1 chance to score a conversion, and will be given the choice to go for either 1 or 2 points. If the first team is able to score on their convert, regardless of what they chose to go for, the second team will be forced to go for 2, and consequently – the win. This is all in an attempt to reduce ties in the regular season.

A small update to the Rusher Interference rule: A team can now choose between the 5-Yard loss and redo of downs OR can now opt to have it as a loss of down with no change in yards instead.

I’ll throw some random factoids as we make our way through the season, but let’s take a look at what Division B has to offer us this Spring.

I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE:

A lot of returning staples to Division B this season. Among them: SILENT TICKLERS and THE INFANTRY! These teams are familiar with the pace of Div B, and it showed in their first match of the season! Both Zack Stacy and Andrew Blevings were able to find success – throwing for 5 TDs and 1 INT each – but with Julien Mclaren Thompson on his side, Zack Stacy was able to outpace Andrew with 220 Yards and only 1 Sack. Andrew, having to face down Julien at Rush, felt the pressure and had a harder time syncing with his team. He was able to put up 147 Yards, but unfortunately only completed 30% of his passes and got sacked 3 times. Having played THE INFANTRY in week 2, I know first hand how difficult they can be, so credit to the TICKLERS and Charles Olivier Vachon, who came down with 4 TDs! THE INFANTRY came away with the win 34 – 38, but it’s week 1…. Anything can still happen.

HATEFUL EIGHT had to face off against BRUINS in their Season Opener. This isn’t a BRUINS combination that I’ve seen recently, as I’m more familiar with their Div 4 and 3/C make up, but this still looks like a capable team! Having faced EZW in the Division C Winter Finals last season, they’ve chased them up into Division B for a potential rematch! I’m used to seeing the key pieces of Rocco Christiano and Zach Zwirn, but Zwirn is missing this season. Jocelyn Calixte was picked up in Division 4 last year and has been with them ever since. With an ever changing roster and Kris Verreault no longer throwing, I expected Gabe Wiseman to shake the rust off and start throwing again, but it looks as though BRUINS will take the beginning the season to find their missing QB. This COULD have given HATEFUL EIGHT a chance to score some points and see how they fare against some calibre players, but they quickly found themselves outmatched. With Etienne Brisson being the only player to have FPF experience on this team does not lend well to a good FPF season. A forfeit in Week 2 also hurts their Points Against… With Week 3 on the horizon and already 102 allowed, it will be a struggle for them to climb out of the Elimination Zone.

After 2 weeks, a few teams have 3 games played, while others only have 1. This discrepancy shouldn’t mean much as you climb the divisions, but with Division B having some new teams, I think it may play a bigger factor than usual! Although these players might not necessarily be new to the league, I think new teams like ONESTOP, HATEFUL EIGHT, HEAVENLY SONS, and roster changes to BRUINS and KISS MY INLAWS, make this a very exciting Division. It’s also a nice change of pace to see how little QBs are running in the higher divisions. In our 2 weeks, no QB has scored a Rushing TD and the current leader has 65 Yards Rushing: Alexandre Fafard. This isn’t to say that Division B QBs don’t have the ability to run, with players like Ben McMahon, Zack Stacy, and Jeremy White, there are plenty of capable athletes. But, the focus on developing plays and moving the ball through the air is what I love most about football and FPF, so it’s great to see teams putting up 4-6 TDs and 120+ yards a game!

LOOK OUT! Not to over hype yet, but I have to call out my man Jerome Hovington for putting up numbers in our Game 1 against THE INFANTRY that other players only manage in 2-3 games! 4 TDs on 8 catches and 105 yards is a great way to start the season. Continuing that trend might be unmanageable, but even half of that performance every game could land him with 18-20 TDs. AJ Zeppetelli is another shout out worthy candidate! 3 TDs in 4 catches for 100 yards….. Every time he touched the ball… he basically scored. With players like this tearing up the division, I’m hoping to see a constant fight for the #1 spot! The Bruins are sporting 2 PICK-6’s on defence, but since they come against the HATEFUL EIGHT, i’ll be looking to see if they can repeat it against stronger teams, before commending them!

Michael Caparelli played almost a perfect game against SILENT TICKLERS, which is what was needed in a game that ultimately came down to converts! Where the TICKLERS spread the TDs to keep the ONESTOP defence guessing, AJ Zeppetelli and Charles Cossette took the team on their back and brought in 5 TDs. At this point, Ryan McNally, decided he wouldn’t be left behind, and came down big with a big 4th down TD. SILENT TICKLERS fought hard in the 2nd half, to pull ahead, and after a TD and successful Onside Kick, things were starting to look up! But, unable to stop Michael and Aj, ONESTOP was able to score and bring themselves out of range (despite TICKLERS scoring to end the game). This should be a warning and lesson to all teams out there: CONVERTS CAN MAKE OR BREAK A GAME! DO NOT TAKE THEM LIGHTLY!

BEER BELLY BRIGADE (hereby referred to as B-Cubed, BBB, 3B, etc) have taken a rough start, losing out 0-2 against BRUINS and HEAVENLY SONS. Another game that came down to converts, Ben McMahon and Alexandre Fafard went score for score, stat for stat, and although HEAVENLY SONS came away with the 3-Point win (37-34), BBB were almost able to overtake the SONS because of their 4 conversions! I’m a bit shocked that Alexandre ran more than my boy Ben, but Alexandre was sacked while Ben wasn’t. Having rushed against Ben in many divisions, I know first hand how hard it is to contain him, but it is also great to see him using his arm more and using his legs only when he needs to! When B-Cubed faced the BRUINS, Chris Rivest replaced Charles at QB (for what I assume is just this game?) and it looked like 3B would come away with their first win! Unfortunately, Alexandre had to make it past the #5 Top Rusher of FPF All-Time: Gabriel Wiseman, and Gabe said “No.” Although he picked up 25 yards, Gabe was able to come away with 4 sacks! With a game against KISS MY INLAWS coming up, will the BRIGADE be able to keep up with their high scoring offence? I’ll have my work cut out for me trying to contain Alexandre and hope he can’t target Nicolas Curotte too much! Look for Jonathan Benoit and David Enault to step up big. Defensively, they will need to be more aggressive on defence as they have yet to get a turnover! GOOD LUCK AND SEE YOU SUNDAY!

HEAVENLY SONS get a bye week this week after a close win over the BEER BELLIES! Taking a loss against EZW in their first game, the SONS really needed this win to stay above the Elimination Zone, and were able to secure it with a sack from Joey Notaro as the last play of the game. This team intrigues me and I’ll focus more on them when I begin my weekly team breakdowns, but I can’t help but expect great things from them: I previously mentioned Benjamin McMahon at the QB position and how explosive he can be, but the core around him are equally as impressive! Long time teammates: Kevin Donnet and Phillip Roberts can always be found around Ben, whether it’s VULTURES or AMBUSH, and are also joined by the Drysdale brothers – Anthony and James – 2 phenom athletes who have been game changers in recent years of FPF. Picking up Joey Notaro is definitely a great recruit for this already stacked team and gives this core amazing versatility when it comes to agility, talent, and endurance! I would consider their next game against HATEFUL EIGHT to be a sure win, so I’m intrigued as to how they will fare against THE INFANTRY in 2 weeks! Got my eye on you, boys!

TEAM SPOTLIGHT and DEATH BATTLE BREAKDOWN:

In the coming weeks I’ll fill these 2 sections with my review of 1 or 2 teams per week, as well as a breakdown of my picks for important matches of the week! Didn’t have time this week, and don’t want to just make stuff up!

ZACK’S FANTASY TEAM OF THE WEEK (WEEK 1):

QB (1): Jeremy White (EZW) – 31 Attempts / 18 Completions (58.06%), 226 Yards, 6 TDs, 1 INTs, 0 Sacks

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WR (1): Alexandre Barros (EZW) – 11 Targets / 8 Receptions (72.73%),127 Yards, 4 TDs

WR (2): Charles Olivier Vachon (THE INFANTRY) – 7 Targets / 6 Receptions (85.71%), 96 Yards, 4 TDs

WR (3): Kevin Donnet (HEAVENLY SONS) – 11 Targets / 11 Receptions (100%), 30 Yards, 2 TDs

WR (4): Marty Freedman (SILENT TICKLERS) – 7 Targets / 3 Receptions (42.86%), 73 Yards, 2 TDs

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DB (1): Gabriel-Charles Dabe Champagne (BRUINS) – 1 Tackle, 1 INT, 1 PD, 1 TD

DB (2): Rocco Christiano (BRUINS) – 1 Tackle, 2 INT, 2 PDs, 1 TD

DB (3): James Drysdale (HEAVENLY SONS) – 3 Tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD

DB (4): Andrew Blevings (SILENT TICKLERS) – 6 Tackles, 1 INT

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RUSHER (1): Julian McLaren-Thompson (THE INFANTRY) – 0 Tackles, 3 Sacks

ZACK’S FANTASY TEAM OF THE WEEK (WEEK 2):

QB (1): Michael Caparelli (ONESTOP) – 18 Attempts / 14 Completions (77.78%), 273 Yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs, 0 Sacks

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WR (1): Jerome Hovington (KISS MY INLAWS) – 11 Targets / 8 Receptions (72.73%), 105 Yards, 4 TDs

WR (2): AJ Zeppetelli (ONESTOP) – 5 Targets / 4 Receptions (80%), 99 Yards, 3 TDs

WR (3): Anthony Drysdale (HEAVENLY SONS) – 6 Targets / 5 Receptions (83.33%), 54 Yards, 3 TDs

WR (4): Andrew Blevings (SILENT TICKLERS) – 8 Targets / 8 Receptions (100%), 69 Yards, 2 TDs

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DB (1): Charles Olivier Vachon (THE INFANTRY) – 1 Tackle, 1 INT, 1 TD

DB (2): Phillip Roberts (HEAVENLY SONS) – 2 Tackles, 1 INT, 2 PDs

DB (3): Brady Ohanessian (KISS MY INLAWS) – 6 Tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD

DB (4): Ryan McNally (ONESTOP) – 5 Tackles, 1 INT

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RUSHER (1): Gabriel Wiseman (BRUINS) – 0 Tackles, 4 Sacks

GAMES OF THE WEEK:

EZW vs SILENT TICKLERS

KISS MY INLAWS vs BEER BELLY BRIGADE (Won’t Vote for my Team’s Games)

HATEFUL EIGHT vs EZW

ONESTOP vs THE INFANTRY

Prediction Record: N/A

That’s it for Week 1 and 2! We head into Week 3 this Sunday as 1/3rd of the season is almost behind us! Some big games this week that I can’t wait to cover. If there are upcoming milestones you want me to cover, don’t be a stranger, let me know! If you want to see more accurate info about your teams, your players, your rivalries/history – send them to me! Also, check out the new episode of Calling the Audible – the official FPF podcast – available on Youtube and …. Probably somewhere else too. And always keep a look out at FPF’s Official Instagram page for updates and exclusive content!