Week 10 Recap and the Lead Up into THE END!

And so it all comes to an end! Everything that teams have been working for wraps up this week. It has been a magnificent 11 weeks and 10 games, and although some teams have fared better than others, it’s about the journey and the friends we made along the way (though also about the playoffs…). Some teams get to have a bye this week and watch from a distance, other teams have to finish off the season this week but know where they stand – whether it’s headed to the postseason or not! 2 teams however, will actually be fighting for that last playoff spot: KISS MY HUGS vs LA SECTE! The winner of this game will be getting the final place in our CO ED 2 playoff run.

9 Teams will not be joining us into week 12, and with a minimum of 6 players per team, it’s like saying goodbye to 72 distant cousins you see once or twice a year! You will be missed, but we can hopefully have another get together next year. That being said, let’s see what happened last week in FPF and who will be taking home the awards!

“WHAT’S THE 411 ‘HUN”:

I’d like to start this off with a small send off to our teams that I hope we will see again in CO ED 3 next season: HOT WINGS, BALLHARD UNIVERSITY, BULLS, TIGHT ENDS, LE ROI DES CARTES, BALLS AND DOLLS, SHOW ME YOUR TDZ, and THE BLACK WOLF! I’ve played against some of you, and have tried to catch a glimpse of the rest! The introduction of a 3rd COED division changes the game for both teams new and old. Although you may not have found success this season, next season should be a different story! Some teams were able to hit the gas closer to the end of the season – I’m looking at you BULLS – and others finished just shy of crawling their way out of elimination! Most of you have games this week, so obviously go out with a bang and show the division a taste of what you can bring next season!

I hate to bring it up, but I barely thought LES RANCEURS would lose 1 game last week, and it turns out that they found themselves on the losing end of BOTH games! I’m fortunate enough to play with Giovani Antonacci on my Tier 4 team, so I know how great of a player he is. He currently has 422 rushing yards and 4 Rushing TDs, finding himself as one of the Top 5 Rushing QBs of he division. However, when you’re playing score for score with a team (as they were against CHEFS BANDITS) extra points will be the deciding factor, just as they were in this game. I believe it was really the females of CHEFS BANDITS that turned the tide in this game! Mariève Girard had a wonderful performance that, despite not ending in TDs, were crucial in keeping the ball and giving Guillaume a great target. LES RANCEURS then faced off against WHO’s GONNA CARRY THE BOATS where Alexandre Szalipszki decided he wanted to throw his hat in the ring for best QB and picked up 5 new TDs. Overall, despite LES RANCEURS being pushed on their back foot last week, they still have enough points for playoffs and are not at risk of elimination – so they can afford to take 1 more loss! Will they be able to right this ship and win their last game of the season? Or is this losing streak the sign of worse things to come in the playoffs – a tough game against MEAN MACHINES will definitely push them to their limits!

I mentioned it last week, so I wont spend too much time on it this week: WE MAY END THE SEASON WITH 2 UNDEFEATED TEAMS!! Both KAMIKAZE and NO PUNT INTENDED play their final games this week against teams that are not push overs! My TOTS are undergoing some injuries and some last minute subs, but we still intend to give it all we can in an attempt to steal back that #4 spot from MEAN MACHINES! On the other hand, NO PUNT INTENDED will be taking on BACK THAT PASS UP, who are currently on a 5-Win streak of their own! Who will be the reigning team at the end of the season? Will we see 2 undefeated teams go head-to-head in the Finals!? Whatever the case, the playoffs for both teams are sure to be entertaining!

THE BLACK WOLF come out on top of the pack, winning their game against BALLHARD UNIVERSITY!! If just a few other things had gone their way during the season, they may have been able to pick up 10-12pts; instead, they are fighting as hard as they can for their 4th win (8pts). This week they play against a TIGHT ENDS team who are looking for their 3rd win and a chance to prove that they don’t belong at the bottom of the pile! Jeff Gay has done what he can in turning THE BLACK WOLFs around, and having just played against him in Tier 4, I know he has the drive and skill to keep the WOLVES heading forward! Despite starting as QB, Rodney Alcime has done a great job in settling back into his receiver position, and with the help of Gabrielle Poissant and Shandy Louis-Jacquet, they have been fighting tooth and nail in every game! Charles-Emile Deveault has done a great job rushing so far and should be looking to add another 1-2 sacks to his tally before the season is through! Good luck to you all against WHO’S GONNA CARRY THE BOATS!

AT LEAST WE TRIED AGAIN have been on a roller coaster of a season! They started wavering mid-season, flip flopping between wins and loses mid season, they finally got a rhythm going and picked up a small streak before losing their last game of the season! It seems the undefeated Winter team of AT LEAST WE TRIED are now struggling to maintain their hold on the division; however, not for lack of trying! Daryll Dorcerly has put up an impressive season, able to use his targets expertly – Maria Mansseri has led this offence with her impressive 9 TDs! Daryl himself has earned a whopping 16 Sacks, giving his defence the time to make some big plays, which Shelder Valéry and Chloe Corbeil seem to be full of! ALWTA can now rest this week, looking forward to Round 1 of the playoffs!

Despite most of the standings already being determined, there are still some big matches in this last week! But perhaps none bigger than KISS MY HUGS vs LA SECTE and the fight for the last playoff spot! KISS MY HUGS had a bit of a rocky season that only got harder when they lost their Quarterback Frank Kaye a few weeks back. Since then, they have been trying to find a replacement for Frank with little success. Having gone on a brief 3 game loss, they were finally given some room to breathe last week against HOT WINGS, but are back in the hot seat this week. I have no idea who will step into the shoes as Quarterback and who will face off against LA SECTE this week, but it is no small task! Alexi Dubois, Devin Daoust, and Abigail Cockerton will need to pull out all the stops and hold their team together during this game!

On the flip side: LA SECTE have also had a hard time getting wins under their belt and that’s without losing their QB halfway through the season. Nicolas Katerelos has been pushing himself and has earned a spot among the top 10 QBs! With Justin Leblanc-Guindon as his go to receiver, LA SECTE have struggled spread the ball effectively despite having great talent on the team! All the ladies of the team (Elyse Bourdages, Marie-Belle Monchamp, and Estelle Quevillon-Lemay) have been killing it on offence, while defensively, Zachary Robledo, Raphael Beauchamp-Desbois, and Julien Gravel have been able to round out the team! In usual circumstances, I would have given the game to KISS MY HUGS due to their chemistry and star power, but with a missing QB, I worry that the cohesion of LA SECTE and Justin’s arm might overpower them! I cannot wait to find out the verdict of this match and find out who will be joining the postseason, but I can tell you that both teams will be coming out with 120% effort!

POWER RANKINGS:

1) KAMIKAZE (A giant leap up from the previous #4 spot! I gotta push them to the top of the list with their current undefeated season. They may not have scored as much as NO PUNT INTENDED, but they have allowed less points!)

2) NO PUNT INTENDED (The team who I thought would be able to hold onto their #1 spot, finds themselves in the current 2nd seat! Jumping up 2 spots in the rankings and maybe even 1 more this week.)

3) TONIX (They are back at it! Stopping their slow descent, TONIX has ensured their #3 spot, not only in my Rankings, but the actual standings as well!)

4) MEAN MACHINES (Beating LES GRANDS CHUMS gives them the same record as the TOTS at 7-2. However, they have been more successful at keeping their opponents points low. I give them the slight edge in rankings, but this week will show me if they truly deserve it, or belong at #5!)

5) WHO’S GONNA CARRY THE BOATS (I don’t know if I slept on this team, but I did not think they would be in my top 5 Power rankings! They have not taken a loss since week, they tied TONIX, and have now beat LES RANCEURS! I’m not sure if their streak can be broken…)

6) MICHAEL SCOTTS TOTS (It hurts to be at #6 when I think the TOTS are better than that, but the calibre of teams in this division is NO JOKE! We got stopped in our win streak and now face the undefeated KAMIKAZE. I still think we are a top 5 team, but other teams have really impressed me….)

7) BACK THAT PASS UP (They did it! They beat the TOTS! Usually, this would push a team over their opponents. However, they have only been able to turn on the heat at the end of the season and have scored less and allowed more points than the aforementioned TOTS! If they can beat NO PUNT INTENDED this week, a real shake up in the standings will be felt and they would shoot up my rankings!)

8) LES RANCEURS (LES RANCEURS fall a few spots after their double loss last week. I was tempted to put CHEFS BANDITS at the #8 spot, especially after their win, but LES RANCEURS have done a great job this season that I don’t think 1 bad week should take away. They NEED to win this week to stay in my Top 8, otherwise, we may see a new team take the #8 spot!)

ZACK’S PICK FOR AWARD WINNERS:

QB – Despite David Michaud’s impressive 43 total TDs, Sanders Armand has surpassed him as of last week! Sanders has been able to record 44 total TDs in only 9 games and will surely put up more this week! Alexandre Szalipszki has been making a wonderful effort to play catch up and is now sitting at 39 TDs in 9 games, but alas, would have needed a few more games to have a fighting chance. I commented earlier that I thought Sanders would be able to top the charts and here he is!

Zack’s Pick: Sanders Armand – NO PUNT INTENDED

OFFENCE – What a race it has been! I honestly still think it might be too close to call, but I have to choose someone! Eric Namts and Chazz Pisanelli are tied with 13 TDs each, though Eric has missed a game and has been able to achieve those 13 TDs in 8 games as opposed to Chazz’s 9. Right behind them both is Justin Leblanc-Guindon, who has accumulated 12 TDs in 8 games and faces off against Eric Namts this week! It would have been interesting to see how things would have changed if Eric and Justin had played 1 more game each, regardless, between the 3 of them, Eric currently leads in Targets (59), Catches (46), Yards (537), and Tied in TDs (13)! Even if Chazz does get 1 or 2 TDs more than him in this last week, I have to give it to the player who has been able to do more with less.

Zack’s Pick: Eric Namts – LES RANCEURS

DEFENCE – I have just been gushing over the defensive performance of Xavier Parent and David Michaud this season! They are almost tied for INTs: Xavier – 12 / David – 11, and PDs: Xavier – 11 / David 10. However, where we start seeing some parity is in Tackles and TDs! Tackles: Xavier – 18 / David – 24 and TDs: Xavier – 4 / David – 6! With stats like this, I would lean towards David Michaud taking this race, BUT, MEAN MACHINES have 1 more game this week against LES RANCEURS, which gives Xavier Parent 1 more chance to pick up some INTs and TDs… Unless he is picking up like 2-3 INTs, or 1 INT and 1 TD, I would still go for David, and against a team like LES RANCEURS, that will be harder than usual. However, all of this talk is without mentioning the man currently on track to obtain a defensive record! Jean-Sebastien St-Arneault has been a terror as a rusher in this division and has put up an AMAZING 26 sacks in 9 games! He even managed to pick up 2 INTs along the way. I am super biased towards rushers and would absolutely make Jean-Sebastien my pick for Defensive player…. However, I do have to acknowledge the feats of those other players and their Pick-6’s. Begrudgingly, even if Jean-Sebastien is the winner in my heart, I have to go with David on paper!

Zack’s Pick: David Michaud – TONIX

2-Way Player – Well, it turns out that as much as I wanted to give Jean-Sebastien St-Arneault the defensive accolade, I actually think he deserves the 2-Way Player award instead! I just spoke about his defensive performance above, and he even got a mention in the Offensive category. By default, I would have to give him the 2-way vote! In a division with so many players, it’s always great to see a Rusher pushing to the top both offensively and defensively!

Zack’s Pick: Jean-Sebastien St-Arneault – KAMIKAZE

FEMALE PLAYER – Every season the league nominates 1 female player as the Female Player of the Year! It was tough going through all the ladies who had fantastic performances since there were so many of them! I’d love to give honourable mentions to a few of them! Eve Charbonneau had a decent defensive performance with 3 INTs and 100 yards on offence! Kayla Gauthier, who had a magnificent offensive season with 8 TDs, but was not able to make a big enough splash on defence to push her into my top 3. My very own TOT: Cristina Ionescu, who had a great defensive performance with 3 INTs, 2nd only to Jasmine Rossie who was able to bring some of her INTs back for TDs! For me it was a debate between Rachel Shea, Geraldine Cabillo-Abante, and Maria Mansseri, who had phenomenal offensive showings and were also able to make an impact on defence! My bias here won out, and I can’t help but give the edge to the player who was able to match the pace of the others, with less games! So, my vote for Female Player of the Year goes to –

Zack’s Pick: Geraldine Cabillo-Abante – NO PUNT INTENDED

ZACK’S FANTASY TEAM OF THE WEEK (WEEK 10):

QB (1): Nicolas Katerelos (BACK THAT PASS UP) – 27 Attempts / 20 Completions (74.07%), 185 Yards, 6 TDs // 1 Rushing Attempts, 3 Rushing Yards

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WR (1): **Justin Gauthier** (BACK THAT PASS UP) – 6 Targets / 5 Receptions (83.33%), 126 Yards, 3 TDs

WR (2): Justin Leblanc-Guindon (LA SECTE) – 6 Targets / 5 Receptions (83.33%), 48 Yards, 3 TDs

WR (3): Joanie Choinière-Émard (KAMIKAZE) – 6 Targets / 4 Receptions (66.67%), 40 Yards, 3 TDs

WR (4): Eric Namts (LES RANCEURS) – 11 Targets / 11 Receptions (100%), 90 Yards, 2 TD

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DB (1): Gabriel Lemonde (KAMIKAZE) – 5 Tackles, 3 INTs, 1 PDs, 1 TD

DB (2): David Michaud (TONIX) – 1 Tackles, 2 INT, 2 TD

DB (3): Chloe Corbeil (AT LEAST WE TRIED AGAIN) – 2 Tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD

DB (4): Maude Lacasse (TONIX) – 1 Tackle, 2 INTs

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RUSHER (1): Fabrice Pierre (BACK THAT PASS UP) – 1 Tackle, 5 Sacks

GAMES OF THE WEEK:

CHEFS BANDITS vs SHOW ME YOUR TDZ

KISS MY HUGS vs LA SECTE (UPSET OF THE SEASON?)

WHO’S GONNA CARRY THE BOATS vs THE BLACK WOLF

LES RANCEURS vs MEAN MACHINES

BULLS vs BALLS AND DOLLS

KAMIKAZE vs MICHAEL SCOTT’S TOTS (CAN’T VOTE ON MY GAMES)

TIGHT ENDS vs BALLHARD UNIVERSITY

BACK THAT PASS UP vs NO PUNT INTENDED

Prediction Record: 58-19-2

I only need 2 more correct predictions to achieve the 60 correct that I set out for myself earlier this season! It is the last week of the regular season, and only 1 spot hangs in the balance! Good Luck to KISS MY HUGS who are fighting for survival! 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 (It helps when I know about you)! 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!