Week 1 in the books.

After quite a handful of weeks of speculation, we finally got to see how some of these teams fared in their opening week and, I must say, I wasn’t too far off with my predictions.

It was also week 1, let’s not over-react here.

Let’s get started.

Week 1

Freshmen are in for a tough time, Ocean’s 12 might give Ryan Kastner a resurgence, Khan Artists might turn out to be the best offensive team in DivA, DTM is back to their old ways, Prospect Squad can’t do much without their QB present and Le Sport Campus may be more competitive than predicted.

Thoughts of the Week

Khan Artists could crawl their way into a top contender with a few defensive additions. I’m curious to see who they add before Week 2.
Did Paul Lapierre win the gig over Dan? Hmm.
Zack Jauniaux is poised for a monster year.
Will the Centomo brothers finish the year?
MetaMayhem is looking real good out there. So is Victory Royale!
Is Pat Chenard too one-dimensional and was figured out too quickly?
If I had to pick an early favorite for 2way in DivA? Pat Jerome.
Sebastien Simon held his own real good vs Theo Ojeaha this week. I have a feeling this won’t be the last time I throw compliments at him.
Is it just me or did those Braves’ drives take forever on Tuesday? Either way, it worked.
Freshmen only lost by 20? Ocean’s 12 played nice. Not everyone will.
I’ll cut Prospect Squad some slack for now. They didn’t have their QB, showed up to the wrong venue.
Alex Holowach might have another special season.
Monstars vs Outsiders this week? Yes please.

Players of the Week

Pat Jerome: Dominant two way performance (74 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT) setting him up nicely for a strong season.

Rod Mashtoub: 7 passing TDS + 1 rushing. Oh my. He made it look EASY out there.

Justin McLean: Opening week 1 with a pick-six and a touchdown. More and more people are about to find out who he is.

Sam Mashtoub: Making Pat Chenard look bad on two throws is good enough to make this list, but he went off and added a TD just ‘cuz.

Jelani McLaren: Two interceptions (one for six) in week 1. If he plays all 10 games, there’s a solid chance he finishes with some hardware.

Mathieu Gratton: He might not be as famous as others on this list, but he soon will be. With 3 touchdowns, 83 yards and an INT in his first week, he’s getting hotter and hotter.

Recaps

Monstars vs Khan Artists: Prior to the game, with Daniel Lazzara suspended and not allowed to participate, I honestly thought that Monstars would run up the score on Khan Artists and make this a 3-score lead before the final whistle, but I was wrong. Although it was a 10-point lead and Khan Artists scored in garbage time, the final result remains 49-47 in a game where defence didn’t seem to matter. Paul Lapierre’s first INT was on the last play of the first half which we can just brush aside; no one cares. He took a shot, got picked off; the right thing to do. But the second one, trailing, with the game on the line, he underthrew a deep pass and got intercepted by Quaysie Gordon-Maule who played the ball well and costed his team a chance at staying in the game. Seeing how well Paul Lapierre was able to drive the field, score and put up points, I must say I wouldn’t feel too comfortable if I was Daniel Lazzara this week; if he can’t produce, will his own team bench him?
Braves vs #NR: In an absolute thriller, Braves managed to pull one over #NR as their defence stood tall and made a stop when they really needed them to. With JD Chevalier absent for this game, Braves relied heavily on Georges Gariepy, Jason Courchesne and Matt Lepage to carry the offence and Jonathan Maheu must’ve been real happy with how things turned on. Braves slowed the game down offensively struggling at times and facing multiple 4^th downs, but it didn’t matter in the end as they managed to score when they really needed to and kept the lead. With a 4 point lead, less than 5 plays left, #NR had the ball past mid field and looked like they had everything taken care of. On a 4^th down attempt, with only a few yards left to gain, many would think Cory Pecker would rely on Jaylan Grandison who seemed impossible to cover most of the night out of the snapper position, but he went to the sideline to Theo Ojeaha and Sebastien Simon managed to make a nice play on the ball provoking a PD/incomplete. With great football sense, he turned around to see a ‘catchable’ ball, gripped it and started running it back knowing this game was over. Quite a moment for someone who isn’t a known commodity just yet in the higher division. I have a feeling this might chance real soon.
2HD vs Prospects Squad: After showing up late and being down 24-0 against what seems to be the best team in the division, there was little hope for Prospect Squad who were without their QB on opening night. 2HD was rolling, but only had so much to go on as they planned what felt like 20 seconds of a game. In all fairness, even if this lasted the entire hour, the result wouldn’t have been much different. This new look 2HD is poised for great things this season and Joey Taylor put together a nice team. The one sad part about that game? Injury to Justin Cerantola. Swift recovery buddy, it sucks to see someone go down like that.
Drop The Mic vs LGM: One of the best game of the week turned into an absolute offensive shout out as DTM dropped 52 points on their opponent to take this one home. After jumping off to a very hot start, DTM allowed LGM to claw back in the game and make a considerable comeback to take the lead, but it was not enough to faze Mario Porreca who went back out there and continued to sling the football the way we all know he can and powered through to finish with a whopping 52 points scored against LGM’s mere 39. Yes, 39 is impressive, but, somehow, in this case, it simply didn’t feel like it.

Power Rankings

Monstars (1-0): Their offence looked unstoppable, but their defence was, well, you know. They remain the best team in DivA for now.
Braves (1-0): A strong performance against a tough #NR team. Played smart and found a way to win. All that matters.
Outsiders (1-0): Shocker, Kevin Wyeth is undefeated. All jokes aside, this week’s match should be a great benchmark moving forward.
Khan Artists (0-1): They’ve got the potential to be real special offensively. If they can fix their defensive issues, they’re poised for big things.
Ocean’s 12 (1-0): Dominant performance against a team that doesn’t really belong. Hopefully this will be the confidence booster they needed to take the rest of the season by storm.
#NR (0-1): Considering how they played in Week 1, I have no doubt they’ll be a contender all season.
Spitfire (0-1): Tough first outing and it won’t get any easier.
Freshmen (0-1): Rumors are, they don’t belong in Div A. I’ll wait to see for myself (and give them a few weeks) before I react.

2HD (1-0): They didn’t get to display their full strength in week 1, but I have no doubt they will next weekend.
Meta Mayhem (1-0): I’m quite impressed with how well they played in Week 1 and my expectations were high.
Underachievers (1-0): It feels like Laval’s Finest hasn’t lost a step, just a name.
Victory Royale! (1-0): No Phil Cutler? No problem.
Drop The Mic (1-0): 52 points in their opening week is exactly what I was expecting from DTM, but they need to maintain leads better (At least, according to Moe).
Dad Bods (0-1): They might no longer be the powerhouse we’ve grown to know, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t a tough opponent to play. They’ll bounce back.
Le Sport Campus (0-1): With Mat René at QB, they can be a top contender by the season’s end. It’s just a matter of building chemistry fast and efficiently. They also faced one of the best defence in the division last week.
LGM (0-1): They made a nice comeback in an offensive shoot out, but couldn’t close the game once they took the lead. This ends up being positive and negative at the same time. I’m also ver confused.
Spring Cleaning (0-1): An ugly first outing doesn’t bode well, but I don’t like to overreact over ONE game. Let’s see how the next few weeks pan out first.
Prospects Squad (0-1): All things considered (showing up late, without their QB), I’ll wait an extra week before judging how good these guys are. Let’s see how they do week 2.

Predictions

Ocean’s 12 vs #NR: Ocean’s 12

Outsiders vs Monstars: Monstars

Khan Artists vs Spitfire: Khan Artists

Braves vs Freshmen: Braves

Drop The Mic vs MetaMayhem: MetaMayhem

Dad Bods vs 2HD: 2HD

Underachievers vs Le Sport Campus: Underachievers

LGM vs Prospect Squad : LGM

Spring Cleaning vs Victory Royale!: Victory Royale!

That’s it for me this week. I know it might not have been the longest of articles, but, to be fair, you guys haven’t even started playing yet! I’m looking forward to Sunday and the season’s kickoff. I’ll be scorekeeping Tuesdays in Brossard, feel free to stop by and say hi! Until next time…! Doux jesus, can we stop being late? Kty.

Week 1: Predictable debut