Week 2 Recaps and Week 3 Predictions for Co-ed

The second week of co-ed action got underway Sunday with a matchup in Lachine between two heavyweights: Yin&Yang squared up against 3rd Down for What. While most expected this to be a duel of quarterbacks between Gino Di Fazio and Sara Parker, it was Justin Weir who was at the helm for Y&Y. This gamble did not pay off since Weir threw three interceptions in his team’s loss. While Weir may not have lead his team to victory, he did an admirable job of spreading the ball to all his receivers. Five different Y&Y receivers had multiple receptions. On 3DW’s side of things, Parker also did a good job of spreading the ball. While she may have thrown to everyone, her favorite red zone target was definitely Zachary Brassard. He had three receptions, all for touchdowns. Ultimately, this was a very close game with 3DW winning by just four points. If these two teams meet again, you have to imagine it would be Gino Di Fazio throwing and the result could be very different.

Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce overcame their opening week loss to Black Mamba with a 24-20 win over Party Mix. I think the key to Sriracha’s success was Jean-Felix Marquis getting more comfortable with his receivers. While last week he threw to just one of two receivers or ran, this week he spread the ball and ran less. While he did pass the ball to more receivers, his two favorite targets remained Alexandre Jubinville and Philippe Aussant. Jubinville led the team in receptions with seven for 44 yards while Aussant had five for 23 yards. Once again, their defence was led by the fantastic rushing of Benjamin Dansereau-Leclerc. He had two sacks, but that was not his most impressive accomplishment. Francois Deslauriers loves to run, and Dansereau-Leclerc did not let him run once! That is quite the feat. On Party Mix’s side of things, there was one player who left me and all those watching awestruck. Emma Racine was superb. She made a series of acrobatic catches on offence for a total of 40 yards and score. I remember one play where she leaped in front of a Sriracha player waiting to intercept, caught the ball, juked a defender and scored a touchdown. On defence, she was equally as impressive with five tackles and two defended passes. Despite Racine’s heroic efforts, Party Mix came up just a bit short

 

Week 2 TOTW:

Each week, I name 12 players to the team of the week (TOTW). Since this is co-ed and there always needs to be two girls on the field, both the offensive and defensive team of the week will feature two or more girls. If you are on the offensive TOTW, you cannot be on the defensive one.

Offence

Quarterback: Joshua Vazquez (Kiss My End Zone) 234 passing yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs, 20 rushing yards

Receiver: Jonathan Hared (Kiss My End Zone) 99 receiving yards, 7 receptions, 4 TDs

Receiver: Kenny Boutilier (Michael Scott’s Tots) 83 receiving yards, 6 receptions, 1 TD

Receiver: Abigail Cockerton (Kiss My End Zone) 75 receiving yards, 5 receptions, 1 TD

Receiver: Jean-Christophe Morin-Phaneuf (Midtown) 73 receiving yards, 3 receptions, 3 TDs

Receiver: Emma Racine (Party Mix) 40 receiving yards, 5 receptions, 1 TD

Defence

Rusher: Benjamin Dansereau-Leclerc (Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce) 2 sacks and held Francois Deslauriers to 0 rushing yards

Defensive Back: Alexis Gaumont (3rd Down for What) 3 tackles, 1 PD, 2 INTs

Defensive Back: Constance Millaire (3rd Down for What) 5 tackles

Defensive Back: Felix Martel (Black Mamba) 2 tackles, 3 PDs

Defensive Back: Elodie Gaudet (Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce) 5 tackles

Defensive Back: Jeremy Murphy (3rd Down for What) 3 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 INT

 

Week 2 GOTW:

Michael Scott’s Tots (33) vs Kiss My End Zone (38)

In this game, Kiss My End Zone (KMEZ) got off to a terrific start. Michael Scott’s Tots (MST) got the ball first but KMEZ forced an immediate three and out to give the ball to Joshua Vazquez and their offence. Last week, KMEZ’s offence struggled. It was their first time playing together and it was clear that the timing was not quite there. I had expected the offence to take three of four weeks to start gel as a team. I was wrong. From that first drive it was clear that KMEZ’s offence meant business. They marched down the field and took the lead. On the other side of the field, MST’s offence continued to struggle. They failed to score and KMEZ took the ball back. Joshua Vazquez marched his team down the field again for a second score. This pattern of stop and score continued until KMEZ jumped out to a three-score lead. At that point, MST decided to wake up and start playing. They scored their first touchdown to pull within two-score and keep their chances alive. With the second to last play of the first half, KMEZ extended their lead to 26-6 and it looked like the game was out of reach for MST but in the last play of the half, MST quarterback Evan Ely Nolet heaved the ball deep down the left sideline. The ball looked bound to hit the curtain when a KMEZ defender tipped the ball back into the field of play where it was caught by Zackary Alberts-Gill for a touchdown. Suddenly, it was 26-13 and MST were right back in it.

Despite the last-minute touchdown, KMEZ were thrilled with their first half. Their offence was firing on all cylinders and their defence had managed two stops. While Joshua Vazquez’ four score first half may steal the headlines, I think Abigail Cockerton was KMEZ’s best player.  Cockerton is best known for her safe hands and clean route running. She is not known to be especially quick or great at catching jump balls. On Sunday, not only did she run perfect routes and not drop a single pass, she also outran a defender to the sidelines and raced in for a score. On a convert attempt, Cockerton somehow jumped over a MST defender to snatch the ball out of the air.   

In the second half, MST adjusted to the defence KMEZ were running and I did not have an answer. The result was that MST marched down the field every time they got the ball. At first, it looked like KMEZ’s offence was going to be able to keep up, but then they ran into a bit of trouble. For the first time all game, they did not score on their offensive possession. MST took the ball back, marched down the field and narrowed the gap to a single score. KMEZ’s offence looked poised to respond when they tried a trick play 10 yards out from MST’s endzone. Joshua Vazquez handed the ball of to Jonathan Hared who then scrambled to his right before throwing the ball to the back-right corner of the endzone where Vazquez was waiting. What was supposed to happen was Vazquez catching the ball for six and essentially putting the game out of reach. What actually happened was that the pass was thrown a second too late and Zachary Alberts-Gill picked it off and ran it back most of the field. Instead of KMEZ clinching the game, MST were poised to take their first lead of the game and with three plays left, that is exactly what they did. The unthinkable had happened. After leading 19-0, KMEZ were down 33-32 with just three plays left. Despite the pressure on his shoulders, Joshua Vazquez marched onto the field unphased. With the first of the three plays, Vazquez saw the opposing defence playing way off, so he told everyone to run a hook. He completed the pass to the wide-open Abigail Cockerton. With the second to last play, he decided to roll the dice and go with a running play. He ran to his left. His gamble payed off and he gained 15 yards. With one play left in the game, KMEW were 15 yards away from MST’s endzone. All the receivers went to the right while Jonathan Hared slipped to the left. Hared was wide open and caught Vazquez’ pass for the walk-off touchdown. While it was a great game for KMEZ, they made it a much closer game than it should have been. The trick play on offence as well as their defences inability to adapt in the 2nd half prove that this team and especially their defensive signal caller (me) have some learning to do.

 

Week 3 Predictions:

Drunk Again and Looking to Score (1-2) vs Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (1-1)

Sriracha have finally found an offensive system that works for them while DALS struggled mightily in their last game. Easy prediction, Sriracha should win this one.

Prediction: Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce

Black Mamba (1-1) vs Yin&Yang (0-2)

Don’t let Yin&Yang’s record confuse you. Despite getting off to a shaky start, they have a stacked roster. While Black Mamba may be considerably improved after last year, they do not yet have what it takes to beat a team like Y&Y.

Prediction: Yin&Yang

Party Mix (1-1) vs Michael Scott’s Tots (0-2)

MST are another one of those teams with a deceiving record. Their two losses do not reflect the talent of this team. When they have their full roster, they are one of the best teams in the division. While Party Mix may have experience, they do not have the skill to cover the likes of Rico Tulino and AJ Gomes.

Prediction: Michael Scott’s Tots

Midtown (2-0) vs Kiss My End Zone (1-1)

I still don’t know much about Midtown. On the other hand, I know Kiss My End Zone very well and I know they are trending in the right direction. Their offence started clicking last game and their defence is also starting to come together.  

Prediction: Kiss My End Zone

With that, the 2nd week of co-ed action is on the books and the third week is just around the corner. As always, if you have anything to say come see me before or after my game at Stade de Montreal on Sunday night or contact my by email at [email protected].