Wednesday Night Recap – Week 8 – Laval Edition

Here are your weekly recaps! Good luck everybody this week.

Bad Boys 40 vs. Terror Squad 19

Just before their game tonight, I wanted to formally congratulate Tam Vilaydeth on his recent Hall of Fame induction. Tam is somebody that carries a huge reputation and following and while I haven’t had the pleasure to talk with him too much, it’s easy to see why he’s so genuinely loved within the FPF community. The nod could not have happened to a better player and person.

When it came to their game on Wednesday night, Terror Squad’s speed was a big, big problem as it usually is. Tam was able to find both Pilon brothers on numerous occasions and ran it in from past midfield and showed why he just entered the Hall of Fame. Making several defenders miss badly and showing how dirty he can be as a dual threat QB was the icing on the cake in this game.

On defense, they often had Patrick Chenard very frustrated and forced him into throws that he wouldn’t normally make. He was often visibly frustrated on the sidelines and his receivers weren’t helping. I was impressed by Matt Bond in the second half who came up with a few huge catches and I was surprised that he didn’t use him earlier. I think that ultimately Bad Boys didn’t have enough big play ability in this game and couldn’t keep up with that Terror Squad speed.

Tough Lungs 25 vs. Glogang 21

Hope I’m not giving too much away, but the formula for Tough Lungs in this game was simple. When the going got tough and they needed a play, the mixed it up with Justin Bizarro Gray short and then fed the ball a healthy amount to either Justin Lerner or Olivier Doleyres in the medium to deep range. That said, their secret weapon in this game was easily John Madimenos. He came up big on both sides of the ball and made a huge touchdown catch when the game was on the line to give Tough Lungs the win.

As I mentioned, Tough Lungs started off the game by using Bizarro Gray quite a bit. Matthew Lerner went to what he knows best after an interception on his first throw. Luckily enough, they got the ball back immediately when Justin Lerner caught a pass that sailed over the middle of the field. That said, Matthew made a second mistake early and Glogang was able to score first.

While they did well with Francois Laramee at QB, they seem to be a much better team when Brandon Gourgon took over and I’m not sure why they waited until the second half. Laramee is an excellent receiver and I believe that Gourgon is a much better quarterback. They had a solid game plan either way by feeding Francisco Perez short and using their playmakers like Youcef  Kaced and Reynold Junior Jean.

That said, it just felt meant to be for Tough Lungs. After a rocky start, Matthew Lerner showed his experience and drove the field while they were down by 2. John Madimenos started the final drive on an excellent sideline catch for 21 yards and they went back to a similar play in the redzone for the touchdown and airplane dance that followed. Tough Lungs escaped a close one but it must have them feeling themselves.

Goon Squad 34 vs. Zone 6 Ballers 14

In the voice of Oprah, you get a pick, you get a pick, everybody gets a pick! While it is Division 6 and you expect a few missteps, the defenses on both sides took charge in this one. Was it their dominance that caused such a disturbance or the inaccuracy of Jeansley and Mike Romito?

Goon Squad started the game a little sluggish and turned the ball over on downs because Romito failed to connect with his receivers consistently enough. Two players later, Goon Squad found themselves down 7-0 with a small hill to climb. The worst possible position to be in is to be down early and your opponent getting the ball at the half. From bad to worse, Romito threw an interception on the next play and Zone 6 Ballers became completely in control of the game.

Jeansley Valbonard didn’t handle that responsibility very well and quickly threw his first interception of the game, only to have the favor returned yet again 3 plays later. It honestly seemed like nobody wanted to win this game at first. After a second interception by Valbonard, Romito and Goon Squad finally got on the board and jump started their game plan with a 16 yard touchdown pass to Matthew Gagliardi. The Ballers did their best to stay on top and scored on their next drive after both teams seemed to be trying to feel the other out.

From that point on, Goon Squad took over the game and held the Baller in check. The only time that Zone 6 Ballers scored again was on their final drive, but they got stopped a few too many times in the second half and gave away this game after starting in such a good position.

The BrotherHood 26 vs. Martine et le Flag 7

Definitely the first time that I’ve seen Martine et le Flag frustrated all season, they just couldn’t seem to move the ball against the tough BrotherHood defense. Samuel Bedard started the game looking flustered and unsure of where to put the ball. I don’t blame him, having to choose to attack short and run into Omar Jackson, Khalil Kerr or Quaysie Gordon-Maule. But then again, if he tries to throw over them, he has to deal with Theo Ojeaha prowling deep. Not many good options..

With a short field and wanting to take advantage of the turnover, The Brotherhood took aim with short hooks and slants and finally connected for the first score of the game from Theo to Ahmed Majid. Wasting no time and perhaps catching Bedard trying to score quickly, Ojeaha did what he does best and jump a deep route for the second turnover by Martine et le Flag. On the very next play, Theo found Jeremy Ronsin on a post up the middle of the field and he broke a few tackles to take it to the house. 13-0 for the BrotherHood.

With their backs against the wall, Martine et le Flag knew they had to do something. Bedard took his time and made sure not to make any mistakes. He used his plethora of playmakers and hit them on mostly short routes on a 10 play drive to get their first points of the game. Unfortunately for them, it’s the only points they would get.

After both teams stalled before the end of the first half, there was a lot more of the same to start the second half. It wasn’t until the BrotherHood’s second drive of the half for them to get to 20 points and after Martine et le Flag still couldn’t get anything going, they scored again shortly before the end of the game. The BrotherHood are proving that they can win the division with a defense first mentality and remain undefeated.