Week 6: Weekend Recaps, Monday Night Previews and Post Malone

Hey FPF community,

Welcome to the week 6 edition of my Monday article. The Post-Superbowl portion of the schedule has started and teams look to position themselves for the playoffs while others look to climb themselves out of the hole they’ve dug themselves. In this week’s article, I’ll be recapping games from this Friday’s major snow fall, including Lockdown vs. New Wave, Broke Boys vs. Clinkers and The Crew vs. The Commission. I’ll end the article by previewing tonight’s matchup between Suicide Squad and Kings of the North and Brotherhood Lite vs. Ducks and Cover. Nothing on my mind this week, except that POST MALONE is coming to MTL this Sunday, performing his Runaway Tour!! Can’t wait for a sick show on Sunday night! Onto the recaps…

 

Weekend Recaps

Lockdown vs. New Wave (Div 5B)

Coming into this one, all the FPF media experts predicted a New Wave victory. Even though this is what ended up happening, it was fun to see Lockdown push New Wave to their limits. While the 41-31 final score suggests a more disparate game, Lockdown actually were in this game untilthe final 5 minutes or so. Here’s how this battle went down…

Tom Gatehouse actually started the game as QB for Lockdown, and was able to connect with Doug McKernan for a 26-yard score. While Jared Gallant throws a very tight spiral , his first drive was all about his 29 rushing yards that drove them down the field, on his way to responding to Lockdown’s TD with a 1-yard TD to snapper Mike Fitzpatrick, his first of 2 on the night.  

The 1st half took a turn when Dylan Cernik picked off the regular QB for Lockdown, Riot, and took only 1 play for Gallant to hit Cernik with a 13-yard TD strike to go up 13-7.

Lockdown needed to score on this possession as we were nearing the end of the half, and they would be starting on defense in the 2nd half. They were able to drive the ball down the field with the combo of Steven Alberico (snapper) and Shawn Fontaine. They got so close in fact, that a 16-yard catch-and-run, ended at the 2-yard line as Fontaine fumbled the ball on his way into the endzone. 4 downs from the 2-yard line to punch it in… first play, a big 3-yard sack by Gianni Johnston, his 2nd on the drive as Riot was waiting for Fontaine’s route to open up. This is where Riot was obviously looking to go to Fontaine for the score, and everyone knew it. New Wave put their best DB in Nic Gorenc on Fontaine and, result? The next 3 plays went incomplete to Shawn Fontaine as Lockdown was unable to punch it in.

Starting the drive with 1min 30s left in the half, Gallant ends up throwing a pick at midfield, whose pass was short to his intended receiver. Well read by Fontaine, he was able to bring it back to the 5, so again, another 4 downs in the red zone for Lockdown to tie the game. Riot went back to Fontaine for a quick 3-yard slant, and ultimately punched it in to Tom Gatehouse for 2 yards. Interestingly, on the extra point, Riot was picked off, and a penalty was called on Lockdown, giving the chance for new Wave to go for 1 or 2 as the DB was deemed unable to have returned the pick for a pick-1. Fortunately for Lockdown, Gallant couldn’t complete his pass and the score at halftime was tied at 13.

The game took on a good pace to start the 2nd half, and even worse tackling as Gianni Johnston took a simple hook 32 yards en-route to a 3-yard TD Gallant pass to Tyler Doucette and even converted the XP to go up 20-13. Lockdown responded on the very next play Riot went deep to Fontaine who was almost double covered, but was able to tip the ball to himself over Gorenc and slide his way for the remaining 7 yards into the endzone. The key however was that Lockdown could not convert on their XP, so they were still down by 1.

Through a couple of chunk plays on their next drive, with a 14-yard pass to snapper Fitzpatrick and a 16-yard run by Gallant, New Wave only took 5 plays before Gallant once again Tyler Doucette for a quick 3-yard TD pass. Like their last drive, Gallant converted on the single XP to now be up by 8.

The next series for Lockdown really changed the trajectory of this game, as it seemed they were driving the ball down field, first with a 13-yard slant pass to Nick Hajaly, a 6-yard completion to McKernan, and then what seemed like would be a first down catch by snapper Alberico, but he couldn’t corral the ball, and it went right into Spencer Fitzpatrick’s hands for the pick. Gallant would go on a drive that would chew off more valuable time off the clock, but not before a nice run by Cernik from the left side of the field to the right side of the field ended with Shawn Fontaine playing lazy flag defense, instead opting for the CLEAR shove of Cernik out of bounds to impede his progress upfield. Honestly, I was very surprised at 3 things: 1) The play resulting in only a 5-yard penalty, 2) how Fontaine managed to escape a UR penalty, and c) how composed New Wave stayed on the play. I guess it helps when you end the 6-play drive with a TD to go up 34-19.

As the game continued, Lockdown got exactly what they needed: a quick score. Looking at the Play-by-Play, you would think Riot took a deep shot to Steve Alberico for the TD. Nope, Alberico was able to take a 5-yard hook, evade the tackle on 2 defenders, doing his best Jerome Bettis “Bus” impression, and out ran the New Wave team up the sideline for a big score. Having to go for 2, but missing it, Lockdown would need to stop New Wave and score on their next offensive possession for the tie.

Unphased by Lockdown closing the gap, Gallant comfortably hit Mike Fitzpatrick for a 40-bomb of his own; having 2 sideline hooks on the left and sending Fitzpatrick on a corner route over them, he was all alone for the score. That pretty much wrapped this one up in an exciting 9pm game at Lachine.

 

Final score: New Wave 41 – Lockdown 31

 

 

 

Broke Boys vs. Clinkers (Div 5B)

This was a big game for both teams as Broke Boys came in at 1-3, wanting to avoid going 1-4, and the Clinkers want to improve on their 2-2 record.

On the first series, with the Clinkers on offense, it was the Broke Boys playing some strong defense, notably against Charles Presser. On a fly down the sideline, Mat Campbell got his hand on the ball to stop a big play, and on the out route, Evan Young got his hands between Presser’s to prevent the completion. In typical Marc-Andre fashion, the first drive was a long one, including a key 4th and 2 play, where he hit snapper and controversial Facebook commenter (haha, gotta have fun with it) Tony Khoury for the first down, plus a 5-yard holding penalty on Mat Campbell. MA finally ended the drive with a 2-yard score to Khoury, but not without controversy.  Tropic Thunder players Emre Sagir and Tyler Grondin from the sideline were convinced that M-A was sacked, and started voicing their thoughts, until they thought to themselves “Damn, we’re playing next on this field, we probably shouldn’t get the refs hating on us”. Call stood for the TD, with no successful convert.

The Broke Boys did not panic at the time taken off the clock, as a short 8-yard crossing route to Campbell opened up Liam Barclay for the 32-yard corner route TD; a nice read by Cameron Wilson. With their convert also unsuccessful, the game was tied early 6-6.  

The next drive saw Marc-Andre read the Broke Boys defense well, hitting Phil Aussant on back-to-back post routes for 16 and 12 yards, and hit Eric Cantin on a delayed out route for the 8-yard touchdown.

Once again, the Broke Boys took almost no time off the clock to advance to the 5-yard line, as Cam Wilson hit Mat Campbell on a skinny post as Campbell leaped over the defender and came down with it.  After 2 completions though, Wilson forced one in, where the ball got tipped and was picked off by #27 Eric Cantin; a big redzone stop for the Clinkers. Having scored on his last 2 drives, Marc-Andre was feeling confident, and was able to move his team out of his own 10-yard line with 21 yards on 3 plays, and a 5-yard DPI call on Campbell. After Marc-Andre did a surprising slo-mo spin in the backfield that caught just about everyone off guard; both on the field and sideline, he ended up throwing a floater on Phil Aussant’s corner route, which was picked off by Evan Young, preventing the Clinkers from going up 2 scores before the half. 12-6 score for the Clinkers at halftime.

The next drive didn’t start off great for Cam Wilson, as he got sacked for 9 yards by Nic Cloutier, a yard shy of giving up the safety.  That didn’t faze Wilson, as on the next play, rolling right, he hit Liam Barclay for another huge play, this time going for 28 yards. Bringing his team all the way to the 1, the Clinkers redzone defense stepped up big time as they stopped the Broke Boys on 4 downs to prevent the score, the last play, a nice bat down by Eric Cantin, although the stats didn’t register it, I did!Marc-Andre, once again, cool under pressure at his own 1, methodically drove down the field to the Broke Boys 8. But once again, strong defense was the overarching theme in this game and Marc-Andre overthrowing Charles Presser was picked off by Evan Young at the 1.

As a theme developed in this game, both teams were able to drive down the field usually starting at their 1- or 3-yard line, but could not seem to punch it in, usually getting picked off or turning the ball over on downs. But on this particular drive, Wilson spread the ball beautifully, hitting Evan Young for 17, Barclay for 9, Otis Copeland for 7, and eventually Mat Campbell on an 8-yard crossing route for the TD. Unable to convert the XP, the game was tied 12-12.

Marc-Andre once again had a chance to play Brady/Manning and drive down the field for the go-ahead score. In just 2 plays between Cantin and Khoury, they bundled together 35 yards. The latter, the 14 yard gain by Khoury was a strange play, as he toggled the sideline, flag still on his waist, the ref blew the whistle that he was out, so everyone stopped, but Khoury and the ref exchanged looks, and got a signal from the ref like “well… keep running”, so he did and went into the endzone. The ref looked at the sideline, looked and walked up to Khoury and the front of the endzone, pulls on his flags, like what is sometimes done on touchdown scores, and I was fully expecting the ref to (strangely) call a touchdown, but didn’t. I think the Broke Boys would have lost it had the ref called a TD, as there was a clear whistle to blow the play dead. In the end, he didn’t and the gain was for 14 instead of 5. Still, a strange play I just had to mention.

Now at the 5, is where the game was decided. For the last couple of plays, the best defender of Broke Boys, Tysen Otis Copeland was going man on the Clinkers best receiver in this game, Phil Aussant. On 3rd down, with Aussant running a corner route to the back left of the endzone, Copeland makes a sick jump to undercut it and BRINGS IT TO THE HOUSE FOR 6! The Broke Boys were so close to going 1-4, but instead, their defense showed up, shutting down Marc-Andre in the 2nd half for a huge 18-12 win.

 

Final score: Broke Boys 18 – Clinkers 12

 

 

The Crew vs The Commission (Div 3)

Before I get into this one, it wasn’t too pretty for The Commission, so the last thing they probably want is a long recap of what likely seemed like an eternity of a game.

I will mention however, since The Crew would love for me to go on and on and on about this game, that The Crew is an incredibly skilled team on all facets. I was wowed by their speed, athleticism, smarts, quarterback, receiver, and DB play; just about nailing everything to build a sick roster.

While early in the game, it seemed like it would be a shootout, with both The Crew and The Commission easily moving the ball in what looked like would be a battle between Mikael Paiement (The Crew) and Kevin Donnet (The Commission), it quickly went down hill for The Commission and it was smooth sailing for The Crew.

Tied at 6-6, Jean-Samuel Coderre hit Mikeael Paiement with a nice pass over the middle on an in route and Paiement took it for 6 as he shook a defender and dipped his for a 40-yard scamper to the endzone.

Ben McMahon started the game at QB for The Commission, playing without their regular starter, Corey Walwaski. I love watching McMahon play the QB position, but he struggled mightily in this one after starting the game 5/5 for 40 yards and the TD. On his second drive, he had the deep left open on a go route but put it a little too inside and was picked off by #2, Robin Messier.

Capitalizing on the turnover, The Crew would go on to score to go up 19-6. On this drive is where I was impressed with The Crew’s speed, notably #15 Hugo Lussier, taking a 5-yard out route for 19 yards upfield.

The same occurred on The Commission’s next drive, pick by McMahon, turned into a TD drive for The Crew. Next was a safety as McMahon couldn’t escape the Paiement pressure. If you’ve seen McMahon shake and bake, to say that McMahon couldn’t weave his way out of a rusher is a big testament to Mikael Paiement as a rusher, taking great angles on McMahon.

It was much of the same the rest of the game, as The Crew had a 36-6 lead at halftime and never let McMahon get them back into the game. In fact, Kristian Cerantola came into the game at QB and led one drive for a score to Hasani Worrell, but even Cerantola was sacked and picked off in this game. The Crew’s defense was very strong in this one, finishing with 4 picks and 3 sacks.

 

Final score: The Crew 43 – The Commission 12

 

 

Monday Night Football Previews

Kings of the North (2-3) vs. Suicide Squad (4-0)

Both of these Div 6 teams started the season at 2-0, but have taken opposite trajectories since then.

Suicide Squad, led by Alex Noel at Quarterback, has put together another 2 wins to remain perfect on the season at 4-0, while Kings of the North have dropped 3 straight, including being shutout in back-to-back games and outscored 63-0.

Phil Aussant, making his debut at the quarterback position this season, like Noel, started with some early success, but was pulled in his last outing in favor of Dany Ostiguy, after Aussant went 4/14 for 13 yards and 2 INT’s. That was in week 4. In week 5, Ostiguy got the start, but faired only marginally better, going 11/29 for 64 yards and also throwing 2 INT’s. It seems Kings of the North have a Quarterback issue that requires immediate attention. Whether it is Dany Ostiguy, or Phil Aussant at QB, they need make sure that Sean Thomas Furlong gets more involved in the offense against Suicide Squad. The guy is an underrated receiver and has great hands and runs his routes well enough to get open often.

While it appears that Noel is trying to be a pocket passer, on the defensive side of the ball for KOTN, Marc-Andre Blais needs to contain the shifty Noel at QB and make sure he doesn’t extend the play and allow his Suicide Squad receivers to get open. In addition to Blais’ pressure, Ostiguy, Gladu and Desjardins, the mountain pillars on defense, will need to create turnovers to give more opportunities for their offense to operate with if they want a chance at dethroning Suicide Squad.  

While uncertainty and question marks have been left on KOTN’s side, Alex Noel is leaving no doubt that he is clearly able to excel at the QB position. With 18 TD’s in 4 games spread across 7 different receivers, Noel is distributing the ball like a pro. Even though he’s thrown 4 INT’s, he’s made up for them with 4 INT’s of his own on defense (and 5 PD’s that maybe could have been intercepted as well!). Expect much of the same ball distribution so that the Kings of the North defense is left in the dark as to where the ball is going. When it does reach Gabe Wiseman’s hands though, KOTN will need to gang tackle him and make sure he doesn’t escape.

Give me Suicide Squad in this one, with a more reliable, steady lineup over the Kings of the North that are rapidly losing their kingdom.

 

Prediction: Suicide Squad 34– Kings of the North 6

 

 

Brotherhood Lite (3-1-1) vs Ducks and Cover (1-2-2)

The Brotherhood Lite Squad look to add another W after beating K-Squad by 3 points, 21-18 last week against a Ducks and Cover team that is surviving on their 2 ties, cannot afford to lose, and look to close the gap between them and the Brotherhood Lite to 1 point in the standings.

Ducks and Cover are moving up from Div 6 last Winter and are finding it a tough adjustment after being placed in 5A and not 5B and not having Karim Sy-Morissette in their lineup. Renaud St-Laurent will need to be the big man on offense if his team is going to pull off the upset tonight, and Mat Domon is going to have to play as close of a perfect game, a game like the finals against EZW in Spring 2018, where he went 24/28 for 233 and 7 TD’s. Domon will also need to get Free Agents Tabari Yearwoord and Ralph Blanchet involved in the offense tonight and let them make plays. Funny enough, I think these Free Agents can make an impact on the defensive side of the ball as well, Blanchet with the sacks and containment of Quaysie Gordon-Maule (easier said than done), and Tabari Yearwood creating turnovers.

For Brotherhood Lite, they have the clear athleticism advantage and need to turn this game into “my guy vs. yours”. The Majid brothers, along with Josh Malyk Cenacle are leading the charge for the WR’s while Quaysie is mixing in the runs and pass very nicely to keep defenses on their heels. They will need to play a game similar to their week 2 matchup vs. Tough Lungs as I see similarities between Tough Lungs and Ducks and Cover (with the exception of Justin Lerner, very few teams have a Justin Lerner and the Ducks are not one of those teams). Limit the big plays from Renaud St. Laurent and make sure to tackle him early, as for a big guy, he hits freight train speed pretty quickly!

The Brotherhood are a funny team when it comes to scoring. In 4/5 games, they’ve scored 20 or more points in either the first or second half, but never both. Last week was a comeback win down 12-0, putting up 21 in the 2nd half. They have proven to be able to win games that they find themselves ahead in, and are never out of a game they are losing.  Give me Brotherhood Lite tonight, 27-19.

 

Prediction: Brotherhood Lite 27 – Ducks and Cover 19

 

If you made it ’till the end, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the analysis as much as I enjoyed writing it. I’m always open to new ideas, suggestions, or shoutouts, so feel free to email me @ [email protected], or message me on Facebook (I’m pretty sure I’m the only Ignacio Valdes-Manzanedo on FB in Montreal). If you feel like you prefer talking FPF over a pint, I sometimes host trivia, and often attend trivia as a player at NDG’s own local pub, Honey Martin, on Tuesday nights. Come swing by and we’ll analyze divisions, teams and game strategy!

Cheers,