Week 5 Features Closely Fought Games

I was full of praise last week for the four undefeated Flight School teams who sat atop four of FPF Junior’s five divisions. Clearly, my praise was the kiss of death. After four weeks of perfect games and nothing but wins, Flight School 3 lost their first game. I’m sure their coaches will tell you it was the perfect storm. They were missing their quarterback and they were playing the other top team in the division. Enough about Flight School 3 for now. A few other week 5 performances caught my eye. Kevin De Serres-Payne put in a performance we have come to expect from him. He impressed with 161 yards, 4 touchdowns and no interceptions. From Bantam, it was Camron Brown who dazzled me. He led his division with an outstanding 10 tackles to go along with his defended pass. Oh, and not to be outdone, his brother Terrence Brown managed a crucial interception. One of the complaints I have of my shift at Loyola is the fact that I only got to see one Midget game this year. Missing all those Midget games means missing great performances like Nathaniel Peretz’s last week. He managed a tremendous three sacks. Finally, from Atom it was once again Jordel Springer who stole the show. While he may not have been stealing the show as a quarterback this week, he impressed just as much as a receiver. He led the division in all three receiving categories. He had a division high 4 receptions for a division high 80 yards and tied the division high with 1 touchdown reception. Those are pretty impressive numbers. With that, let’s get to this week’s recaps.

Week 5 Recaps:

Bantam

Cyclones (13) vs Rebels (12): The first game of the three I scorekept was an extremely close affair. The Cyclones took an unconventional path to victory since they split the snaps between two quarterbacks. Jahmaal Roach took the majority of those snaps. He completed five passes for just over 40 total yards. On the other hand, Jordy Melnik got even more done in even fewer snaps. Despite just 9 attempted passes, Jordy Melnik passed for ten more yards. Most importantly, he passed for both of his team’s touchdown passes. No matter who was under center for the Cyclones, Tahnyus Steer was the number one target. The young man caught over half of his teams’ targets. He caught a stellar 7 passes to account for 59 receiving yards. Yes, that is more yards than either of the Cyclones managed as passers. He also managed one of his teams’ two receiving touchdowns. The other score came courtesy of a lesser known target. Victor Cadotte caught an 8-yard touchdown pass to lead his team to victory. While the Cyclones’ offence got the job done, it was in fact their defence that was the resounding force in this victory. The most important ability of any defence is to create turnovers and that is exactly what the Cyclones’ defence did. It was their three interceptions that kept the ball in the hands of their offence and eventually, led them to victory. Those picks came courtesy of the talented trio of Terrence Brown, Isaiah Roach and Jordy Melnik. Those three picks were not the only solid defensive performances for the Cyclones. Cameron Brown also had a tremendous outing with his 10 tackles and two defended passes.

Rebels: Through the first three weeks of the season, Zachary Nelson led the Rebels to a perfect record. Their coach had his sights on a perfect season. He was preparing for a showdown with Flight School 4. Sadly, in week 4 all that went astray. In the first three weeks, Zachary Nelson threw three interceptions and nine touchdowns. In the last three games he has thrown 15 interceptions and five touchdowns. I am not spouting off these numbers to criticize Zachary Nelson. I am pointing out these numbers because I want to remind him as well as the rest of FPF that he is a great player. He has the ability to be one of the best passers in the division. However, in past weeks, he has been making uncharacteristic mistakes. If Zachary Nelson can return to the form that he possessed in the first three weeks, then the Rebels can return to being title favorites. On the other hand, if he continues to play like he has recently the outlook is grim for the Rebels. Despite the struggles under center, Tyler Van Frank had a career night. He led his team with 8 receptions for 63 yards. However, he was not able to record a touchdown pass. The Rebels touchdown grabs came courtesy of Jarred Hodess and Jesse Amar. On the defensive end of the ball, it was Mason Flemming who left his mark on this game. His six tackles were impressive, but it was his interception that nearly gave his team the victory. The speedy Jesse Amar also did his best to shut down the Cyclones’ passing attack with his two sacks.

Mosquito

McCaig Gladiators (25) vs Flight School 3 (24): My second game of the weekend was just as entertaining as the first. Maybe this game was even better. These teams went back and forth, score for score and the match was eventually decided in the final few plays. Now, before I start discussing the game, I have to preface it by saying a few things. I would have some very upset Flight School coaches emailing me if I did not mention that Flight School 3 played this game and came within 1 point of winning without their star quarterback. However, the fact that they did not have their quarterback should not take anything away from the outstanding performance the McCaig Gladiators turned in on Saturday. They fully deserved to win this game and even if Flight School 3 had their quarterback, I’m not sure that the outcome would have been any different.

McCaig Gladiators: Like it usually does for the Gladiators, their offence centered around the stellar play of their quarterback Kingston Paquet. While he did not have the best performance of his career, Kingston Paquet got the job done. Despite completing less than 50% of his passes, he accumulated nearly 120 passing yards to go along with three touchdown tosses. The only blemish on his passing record were the two interceptions that he threw. Unfortunately, both of those picks were returned for scores. Kingston Paquet was also able to move the chains with his feet. He decided to tuck the ball and run with it on four occasions. Those smart decisions to run the ball were rewarded with nearly 40 rushing yards and another touchdown. Out of the Gladiators ten completions, 40% found their way into the hands of the elusive Luca Fonsato. The talented young man definitely did his part in leading his team to victory with 63 receiving yards and two of his team’s three passing touchdowns. Luca Swaminadhan did not have a ton of receptions but the he made the one he did have count. In fact, Luca Swaminadhan only caught one pass, but that pass was a thirty-yard touchdown. Rounding out the Gladiators receiving corps was Gianni Di Vincenzo who left his mark on the game with two catches for 15 yards. I was just gushing about Kingston Paquet’s and Luca Swaminadhan’s offensive performances. Well, I hope you are not too tired of hearing those names because they also happen to be the two players who contributed the most on the defensive side of the ball. In fact, both of those players managed an interception that was key to their team’s victory. Not to be outdone, Justin Swaminadhan made his presence felt defensively with three tackles to go along with a defended pass.

Flight School 3: Bereft of their usual quarterback, Flight School decided to split the QB duties between Amani Ho Sang and Olivier Latendresse. Sadly for Flight School, their two quarterbacks were not as efficient as the Gladitors’. The two combined for just over 100 yards as well as one touchdown. It would be hard to pinpoint a single leading receiver for Flight School. Despite their struggles offensively, they did a great job of spreading the ball and making sure all their receivers got touches. In terms of receiving yards, it was Bryan Glassgow who led the charge with 23. Tied for the team high in receptions was Jaxson Edghill and Ricardo Di Zazzo, both with two. While Ricardo Di Zazzo left his mark offensively, he made an even bigger impact on defence. The young man recorded five tackles and most importantly, an interception that he ran back for a touchdown. He was not the only member of Flight School’s defence that managed an interception. That interception came courtesy of another familiar name, Bryan Glassgow. He also returned his interception for a score. If Flight School can build off of their strong defensive showing I see now reason why they will not return to their winning ways very soon.

With that, yet another week of FPF action draws to a close. This weekend, I will have to miss my games at Loyola but you will be in the capable hands of my colleague Chris Dagher. Don’t worry, I will still write an article next week but the format might be a bit different since I will not have seen the games.