Week 4 Recap, and the Halfway Mark around the Corner!

Time seems to fly by when you’re having fun! We already have 4 weeks behind us and are cruising on to the halfway point. I hope everyone has been having a good time despite the intensity of the season – there can be a discrepancy between the top teams and the lower teams, but I’m hoping that the middle of the pack is a great stomping ground for some good ol’ fashioned weekend football. Just a reminder that this season there is no Co-Ed 3 Division, meaning, a lot of teams were crammed together in a more competitive division than usual! Just because you may not be finding success at this point in time, does not mean FPF is not for you! Every season offers something different and next season we will hopefully have all 3 of our Co-Ed divisions back, letting some teams breathe a bit and find their footing.

As a small reminder: November 17th and 18th are the last days in this season, so we are a little more than a month out from starting the most wonderful time of the year: PLAYOFFS! So, let’s take a quick look at who may be joining us this postseason, and who are on track to winning some awards!

“WHAT’S THE 411 ‘HUN”:

Somehow we have a name change! KISS MY SHERIFFs have decided to do away with all the violence and instead, embrace the Carebear in all of us – They will now be known as KISS MY HUGS! Frank Kaye has remained at QB and I think most other pieces are the same, Devin Daoust is still the #1 target on offence with over 100 yards and 4 TDs, while the Dubois’ are right behind him! Jeff Brown is killing it on defence and shows no signs of stopping! I don’t know what caused the name change… maybe they needed an identity change to coast under the radar? Maybe they wanted to surprise people with hugs instead of sundown stand offs? Regardless of the reason, you aren’t fooling anyone! We still know that this is one of the experienced teams that has the opportunity to go 6-4 / 7-3! A big win over BALLS AND DOLLS gives them a positive record of 2-1 going into their bye week! They return with more hugs in Week 6 with a double header against WHO’S GONNA CARRY THE BOATS and TIGHT ENDS. It unfortunately won’t give me much to work with when I do my Week 5 Report cards, but having known most of the players on this team, I know they will be coming out strong!

WE HAVE OUR FIRST TIE!!! CHEFS BANDITS took on LA SECTE on Sunday and both came away with 25 points, despite our new OT rules. Each QB was able to put up 4 TDs, though Dimitri Melsbach of CHEFS BANDITS had to get an early PICK-6 to ensure he got his 4! Justin Leblanc-Guindon was able to come through for LA SECTE and get his defence a turnover and enough momentum to bring in a TD. Despite CHEFS BANDITS’ defence being able to put up a bit more numbers, LA SECTE was able to do the same on offence, spreading the ball to 7 receivers, with 3 of them each recording at least 1 TD! I had initially picked LA SECTE to win as an upset, due to their experience in the league and feeling it was time they came out with a big win, but CHEFS BANDITS once again showed me they are not to be underestimated! Having played them on Monday, I can attest that they are a well skilled team that comes out to win! If you aren’t bringing your A-game, they will cook you up! Sitting now at 2-2-1 instead of the 4-1 that they probably hoped, how will they bounce back in the 2nd half of the season… and will LA SECTE catch a break when they return from their bye week and face off against a winless HOT WINGS? Justin Leblanc-Guindon has done a great job spearheading this team on offence and defence, but will need more support if LA SECTE are to win some of their harder games this season!

Taking a quick look at some of the top players of the division so far: David Michaud is currently leading our QB race with 22 total TDs in 5 games – which is about 4.5 TDs per game (stay with me, I know that .5 TDs are impossible). Sanders Armand is trailing just behind with 20 total TDs in 4 games – which is an average of 5 TDs per game. And my main man David De Andrade who is currently in 3rd place with 15 Total TDs in 3 games – which is also an average of 5 TDs per game! Unfortunately for David De Andrade, he missed one of our SCOTT’s TOTs games and so, will forever be 1 game behind the pack unless he kicks it up a notch. However, if both David Michaud and Sanders continue at their current rate, Sanders might be able to overtake him as the #1 QB spot, seeing as he is currently only 2 TDs behind! This doesn’t take into account the MASSIVE 721 Yards that Mr. Michaud has been able to put up, but in the game of FPF – TDs ARE KING! I’m not seeing too many more QB’s who will be able to pump up their stats enough to catch up to these players, but I haven’t counted Frank Kaye out yet! Good luck to all of you in the hunt for QB of the Year! We will check in around week 6 or 7 to see where we are at.

Continuing on the offensive side of the ball: We once again have a TONIX player near the top of the stack! Mederic Lauzon currently has an impressive 6 TDs and 186 yards receiving in 5 games, which SHOULD grant him the #1 spot, but Justin Leblanc-Guindon said “Hold my Beer”. Justin has been able to put up the same 6 TDs and an even more impressive 248 receiving yards (#1 in the division) in a surprisingly low 3 games! It would be incredibly difficult to maintain this pace (2 TDs and 80 yards a game) for the rest of the season, but if he does, he will most definitely win Receiver of the Year! Jeanslee Alexis, FPF big name and speedster extraordinaire, has graced LA SECTE with his athleticism and is hot on the trail of the receivers – having put up 5 TDs in 3 games and quickly approaching 185 receiving yards! And if all that wasn’t enough, we have Cindy Hardy cutting into the top 5 with only 2 games played! She has put up 4 TDs and 112 yards in only 2 Games, making her the #1 Female receiver of the division, with Rachel Shea from KAMIKAZE doing the same in 3 games. Despite me wanting to give a clear answer or prediction for who I think Receiver of the Year will be, the race is still way too close to call! Don’t let up steam and keep calling for those TDs! Even if Justin is slowly breaking away, it is still anyone’s award!

Let’s flip the script shall we, and take a look at our defensive players: There are a lot of quality performances so far and it’s hard to choose who my favourite are! Special shoutout to Thomas Brassard and Louis Brassard of LES GRANDS CHUMS, who have put up some impressive numbers in just the 2 games they have played. However, what really gets me giddy are the stats that both David Michaud and Xavier Parent are putting up on Defence!!!! Now, to make it clear, no matter how great your performance is in a season, you can only win 1 award! Does this mean David will win QB of the year, Defensive player of the year, or maybe even 2-way player of the year? WHO KNOWS?! But 1 thing is for sure, with 6 PDs, 1 Sack, 8 INTs, and 4 of them turning into PICK-6’s, he has my vote for Defensive player so far! Xavier Parent has done a great job of keeping up with him though; 1 less game played and has still put up 6 INTs, 1 PICK-6, and 4 PDs! This is not to say that other defensive players don’t have great INT stats or PD stats, but returning an INT for a TD is HUGE in my books and definitely wins you extra brownie points.

Last, but absolutely not least: MY RUSHER BROTHER AND SISTERS!!!! As I continue to learn every season: Don’t count anyone out because any game can be a 4 Sack game! With only 4 games in (5 games if your TONIX), the race is still going strong, however, 1 name stands above the rest – Jean-Sebastien St-Arneault! With 3 games played, Jean-Sebastien has been able to record a whopping 8 sacks, well on his way to getting that coveted 20+ sack season! He isn’t alone in his venture! There is a long list of names that have been doing great so far: Alexie Galarneau has 6 sacks, while Darryl Dorcely, Sanders Armand, and your’s truly (me), all have 5 sacks and counting! So, obviously, if Jean-Sebastien continues at his pace, he will most likely be our #1 rusher, but I’d like to give a super shout out to Elodie Baulu!!! Like many others, she has 5 sacks, BUT, unlike many others, she has done that in only 2 games!! Now, NO PUNT INTENDED has actually played 4 games this season, so it seems like she has been missing in action for a few games, but if she returns in full force, I can see her giving every rusher a run for their money! Good Rushing to everyone out there and may remember what Shakira taught us: Hips don’t lie! So pay attention to those lower halves!

We have a new High Score this year! Although NO PUNT INTENDED were able to boost their score to 46 this week, it was actually the MEAN MACHINES who got this season’s highest score yet, by putting up 47 points! BULLS have been struggling this year as a brand new team and MEAN MACHINES were able to take advantage of that. Speaking of big scores – TONIX currently has scored the most points, accumulating 167 points so far! Both SCOTT’S TOTS and NO PUNT INTENDED have scored 138 points (some teams played during the week, and get to have their stats snuck in), and MEAN MACHINES have been able to score 131 points. These are currently our top scoring teams, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything! As an example, BALLS AND DOLLS might be sitting below THE BLACK WOLF in the elimination zone, but THE BLACK WOLF has actually scored less points than them! It isn’t always about how many points you score, it’s also about how many points you prevent! So keep those defences rocking if you want a chance to move up in the world!

Gonna be honest…. My power rankings pretty much stayed the same… so, I’ll update it after all of the double headers this week!

GAME SPOTLIGHT:

AT LEAST WE TRIED AGAIN vs WHO’S GONNA CARRY THE BOATS –

Last week I talked a big game about WHO’S GONNA CARRY THE BOATS having all their games end within a point of their opponents and if they were going to make it a trend. All their games so far have been against strong teams, and looking at their schedule, I don’t see it being any easier as they move forward. Let’s take a look at their game against AT LEAST WE TRIED – one of the better teams in the division:

WGCTB started off strong as Alexandre Szalipszki was able to hit Shayne Major early for an easy TD, but were unable to punch in their 2pt conversion! This wasn’t an issue, however, because their defence was actually able to force AT LEAST WE TRIED AGAIN to punt the ball away after a quick 4 unsuccessful downs. (looking good for the boats!) Roxanne Roy made a great catch to keep their drive alive and Kayla Gauthier brought it all home with another TD for the BOATS, bringing them to an early 12-0 lead in the first half (they missed their converts again…. Have I ever mentioned how important extra points are?) At this point, ALWTA had to kick things into gear and after a few missteps, Darryl was able to connect with Shelder Valéry for a much needed TD, bringing the score to 12-6. This is where things got interesting: Just as Alexandre and the BOATS were marching the field, Carolane Larivière came up big with an interception!!! Feeling the girl power starting to bubble, Darryl trusted Maria Mansseri with a key pass that ended up being a 21 yard TD. Realising they needed to keep the momentum, they were able to get their extra point conversion, bringing them to a 13-12 lead before half time!

Pedal to the Metal, ALWTA started with the ball on offence and quickly took an even bigger lead when Darryl, capitalising on his run game, ran it in for another TD. After Alexandre had a 22 yard run of his own, he was able to keep his team in the game, scoring a TD of his own. The score was now 19-18 with AT LEAST WE TRIED AGAIN in the lead, and they had possession. The BOATS needed a stop and a score to be able to win – which looked like exactly what would happen when Alexandre intercepted Darryl and began marching his way to the endzone! However, Shelder Valéry said “anything you can do, I can do better!” and got an interception of his own, bringing the ball back into ALWTA’s possession!!! Both defences were bringing their all this game, and both teams came up with big stops to prevent ANY team scoring for the rest of the half. And when WHO’S GONNA CARRY THE BOATS finally got the ball back under control, they just didn’t have enough time to get into the endzone for their last needed score! All in all! A fantastic performance by both teams, with a win only possible thanks to an extra point by ALWTA! I’m excited to see what both teams bring to us next!

ZACK’S FANTASY TEAM OF THE WEEK (WEEK 3):

QB (1): Sanders Armand (NO PUNT INTENDED) – 26 Attempts / 15 Completions (57.69%), 167 Yards, 6 TDs, 0 INT, 0 Sack // 4 Rushing Attempts, 68 Rushing Yards, 1 Rushing TD

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WR (1): Jeanslee Alexis (SHOW ME YOUR TDZ) – 6 Targets / 6 Receptions (100%), 116 Yards, 3 TDs

WR (2): Marilou Grenon (MEAN MACHINES) – 5 Targets / 4 Receptions (80%), 85 Yards, 2 TDs

WR (3): Alexi Dubois (KISS MY HUGS) – 6 Targets / 5 Receptions (83.33%), 73 Yards, 2 TDs

WR (4): Geraldine Cabillo-Abante (NO PUNT INTENDED) – 2 Targets / 2 Receptions (100%), 46 Yards, 2 TD

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DB (1): Sebastien Simon (CHEFS BANDITS) – 2 Tackles, 3 INTs

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

DB (3): Dimitri Melsbach (CHEFS BANDITS) – 1 Tackle, 1 INT, 1 TD

DB (4): Rose Boyer (LE ROI DES CARTES) – 1 Tackle, 1 INT, 1 PD

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RUSHER (1): Jean-Sebastien St-Arneault (KAMIKAZE) – 1 Tackles, 3 Sacks

GAMES OF THE WEEK:

It’s almost as if teams don’t want me to ever get a Perfect Score on my Predicitons. Not only did SHOW ME YOUR TDZ give me my only prediction loss, but LA SECTE and CHEFS BANDITS TIED!!!! How could I predict that!? Anyway, another 10 games on the docket, and another 10 chances to be wrong.

LE ROI DES CARTES vs TONIX

SHOW ME YOUR TDZ vs BALLHARD UNIVERSITY

MICHAEL SCOTT’S TOTS vs BULLS (I WON’T VOTE FOR MY OWN GAMES)

AT LEAST WE TRIED AGAIN vs LES RANCEURS

THE BLACK WOLF vs LE ROI DES CARTES

LES GRANDS CHUMS vs NO PUNT INTENDED

SHOW ME YOUR TDZ vs BALLS AND DOLLS

BACK THAT PASS UP vs THE BLACK WOLF

WHO’S GONNA CARRY THE BOATS vs TIGHT ENDS

Prediction Record: 19-6-1 (I won’t count the Tie as a win, BUT it’s also not a loss!)

That’s a wrap for Week 4! This week is the official halfway mark of the season! We get to see some Mid-Season Report Cards on how teams are doing vs how I expected them to do! The 2nd half of the season is about to kick off, so teams should be getting ready for the playoffs and trying to fight their way out of the elimination zone – if possible! 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!