Categories: DivisionDivision ADivision BMen'sSpring

Week 7: Who stepped up when it really mattered

Big plays when it matters.

When it’s all said and done, we’ll look back at key performances from “those who count most towards the cap” and talk about how they’ve impacted this game or that game and how they’ve turned their seasons around. This week was no different as guys like Jacques Void, Jacob Bernett and Anthony Vendrame really kicked it up a notch for their teams.

With that in mind, there’s still 3 weeks left of football and plenty of big moments to be seized and witnessed. I’ve grown accustomed to seeing the biggest plays later down the stretch in higher divisions; please do not disappoint me Division A/B.

Let’s get started.

 

Week 7

Monstars display great strength and stun Top Guns, DA Finest get their revenge on Braves, Rare Bears fight off their recent slump, Kings and QUAN continue to derail, Lightweight improves to 5-2, STL loses a second straight game, Coyotes are finally looking like the team we’ve anticipated and 6-R displays exactly why they cannot be taken lightly.

 

Thoughts of the Week

  • STL has now dropped two straight. I’m confused.
  • Yes, I’ve predicted STL to lose this week. I stand by it.
  • When Jordan McLaren and Jelani McLaren shows up for Drop The Mic, they turn into top tier contenders. Will they be playoff eligible?
  • The stat line shows Kyle Lebofsky with 3 catches for 4 Tds; most impressive thing I’ve seen all week.
  • Some could debate my weeks aren’t entertaining enough according to my last comment, but we digress.
  • Jonathan Garfinkle played three games without shorts. Sure, he had thighs and YES we’re allowed, but I mean.
  • Thank you Justin Smolar for finally having a jersey; we can officially keep track of your stats now. By the way, most weeks they were quite impressive.
  • With 12 touchdowns and 3 interceptions in 4 games, one could say Anthony Vendrame has been a real game changer for Lightweight.
  • Even as he moves up divisions, Rich Humes continues to be one of the most elusive Qbs in this league.
  • Rod Mashtoub’s ability to run in the backfield and “toy” with the rusher to buy time may just be the key to Monstars’ success this season.
  • In his first Div A game, Juwan Edghill had an instant impact going off for 86 yards and 3 Tds.
  • Division A’s playoff picture is as unclear as it gets. Division B, on the other hand, is really starting to gel together.
  • Unless Broccasion wins next week, there’s a very likely scenario that sees them being eliminated before week 9 even begins.
  • KGP is the closest team on the outside looking; don’t sleep on them.
  • Could QUAN’s and Kings’ terrible divisional record be their downfall this season?
  • Rod Mashtoub is slowly creeping up towards an award worthy season. Could he really walk away with it?

 

Recaps

Division A

  • DA Finest vs Braves: The game was moved to 11PM on a Sunday night. Brutal, right? Most of the involved players didn’t feel like showing up at such a late hour and the first few drives showed, but everyone quickly got into the game and it was a spectacular one. The real Finest emerged with Kishon being as involved as possible calling his defence and Kevin Wyeth being, well, Kevin Wyeth. Jonathan Maheu struggled a bit more than what we’ve grown accustomed to see distributing the ball and missing a few deep throws he usually shines doing and it appeared to be the downfall of Braves on Sunday. In fact, after a turnover on downs, Mike Pierrecin jumped one of Kevin Wyeth’s passes and brought it back for six which gave his team momemtum and tied the game right back up, but Finest would not be denied too many times as Antoine-Dansereau Leclerc had a huge impact finishing the night with 2 touchdowns. When push comes to shove, in the redzone, no one can rivalize the Wyeth-Moore connection as Akked came down with some of the game’s biggest catches to either move the chains or punch 6. With 3 plays left, Braves simply couldn’t muster up the offence to score and tie the game after a penalty gave them, technically, a 4th play. DA Finest takes this one 32-26.
  • Rainmakers vs Rare Bears: I’ve talked about this game plenty last week saying how neither teams can afford this loss and Rare Bears took heed as they showed up with a 10 man roster ready to compete and take back their contender status. There was no stopping Rare Bears’ offence as Marco Masciotra tore Rainmakers’ defence on every but one possession (where he threw an INT to Bobby Mikelberg in the redzone), but aside from that it was very lopsided. Terrence Adams clipped Ryan Kastner’s throwing hand early and it really seemed to have took him off his game as he couldn’t throw as comfortably as usual. Marco Masciotra came out of nowhere on 2 of his interceptions early in the game to turn the tide in his team’s favor and really take an imposing lead early. Although it was the Rare Bears’ show from start to finish, the story of the night occured slightly later on: on Marco’s third INT of the night, as he ran it back for 6, something seemed to have popped in his hamstring as he went down at the 1 with apparent injury; hopefully it isn’t too serious. Theo Ojeaha took over at QB and both of his throws were very impressive to keep his team from backing down. In a night that saw Rare Bears be the dominant force they should always be, Rainmakers couldn’t seem to find any sort of comfort in what they’ve displayed for the closing hour of Week 7’s game.

 

Division B

  • Six Fast Guys Minus Ryan vs QUAN: In all fairness, 6-R destroyed QUAN due to roster inconsistency. I, originally, picked QUAN to pull off the upset here, but without Jamil Springer and Ryan Perry, this team simply isn’t the same. Alex Holowach tried his best, but his receiving corps was no match for the brutal force that is 6-R and an early 26-6 deficit at the half was not going to be overcame. James Nowakowski showed up late (almost at half time) and QUAN did not have a roster able of competing. Nonetheless, Alex Holowach made some pretty good throws to punch in 3 touchdowns and his offence worked well against what 6-R threw his way, but in the end this game was over by halftime. Tempers flared in frustration with the situation and it sucks to see people lose their cool, but there’s a reason we have referees at the fields to deal with these sort of situations.
  • Coyotes vs OTF: I only caught glimpses of this game, but it looked like an absolute barn burner as Coyotes and OTF were all tied up for most of the night going back and forth trading touchdowns. I’ve mentioned quite a few times how Coyotes isn’t the same team when Sammy Feder is present and this week showed exactly that. In fact, when the game was on the line, he threw a very nice ball to Jacob Bernett who dragged his toes on the sideline to turn a tie game into a 7-point lead and OTF were marching once again. After scoring on the last play of the game to the back of the endzone, OTF decided to go for 2 points and the win. Crossing patterns saw Dariusz Golebiowski go up for a ball that was, most likely, intended for Kendal Mayers crossing in the back of the endzone and he simply couldn’t haul it in. The deflected ball went off into the back wall and saw Coyotes survived a scare as they win this one 32-31.
  • Lightweight vs Incredibles: In one of this week’s best games, both teams went toe to toe with each other trading off turnovers and touchdowns. With a funky start to the game, Liam Mahoney was intercepted by Antonin Desgent on a tipped ball that his receiver couldn’t quite haul in and Lightweight went 4 and out after I bubbled a snap and lost about 9 yards (good thing it wasn’t a safety). Press the reset button and the game got on the way. Incredibles lost no time to fire away and Liam Mahoney showed just how good he can be when he’s sitting in the pocket picking apart safeties. With 3 plays left before half, Lightweight got back on offence after Incredibles tied the game at 18 and a deep throw to Francois Hogue moved the bags into Incredibles territory before I connected with Anthony Vendrame to go up 25-18. The opening drive of the second half saw Lightweight drive the field and score chewing off 9 minutes on the clock after multiple 4th down conversions and got us a 32-18 lead. Incredibles struck back after a turnover on downs and got the 2-point convert to tie the game at 32. Following a lightweight score on 4th down, Incredibles had 5 plays to win it. They marched down the field, got to the redzone, but Chris Milard couldn’t haul in a high pass and Lightweight walked away with a win too close for comfort.
  • Kings vs Rich & Famous: On a night that saw Kings tear it up offensively for the first 30 something minutes of the game, they came up short against a Rich & Famous team hungry for a much-needed win. Without Vinny Gualano and Steve Sanner, R&F did the best they could with the players they had at hand and it ended up being more than enough to overcome Kings’ display. After saying how Mathieu Rene doesn’t use Jacques Void enough, he fed his receiver immensely for 151 yards and 3 Tds as no one seemed able to cover Jacques on deep patterns for the entire hour. With a 21-19 lead at half and a pass rush that kept getting to Rich Humes, Kings were in a very good position to take this one, but everything changed in the 2nd half. In fact, the forever elusive Rich Humes managed to break the rush and make plays with his legs on key downs to move the chains and allow his offence to stay on the field and take back the lead. After taking a 5 point lead late in the 2nd half, all R&F had to do was stop the deep threat to get the win and, on the last play of the half, as Kings were set to attempt a miraculous jumpball, Mat Rene’s ball hit the ceiling at Brossard to take away any sort of hopes in a miracle. Rich & Famous walks away with a 39-34 victory.

 

Players of the Week

Division A

  • Frederic Viens (Monstars): With 83 receiving yards and 5 Tds on 8 catches, there’s no doubt he deserves his place here this week. Well done.
  • Rod Mashtoub (Monstars): Although some could say Fred Viens’ performance allowed Rod to look good, trust me, he did it all on his own on Tuesday night. With a pick-six on defence to cloes out the game, one rushing TD and 8 passing touchdowns, he legit scored in every way possible.
  • Marco Masciotra (Rare Bears): His presence here is for his defensive prowess finishing the game with 3 interceptions by his lone self. Quite the impressive feat in Division A nonetheless.

 

Division B

  • Jacob Bernett (Coyotes): 85 receiving yards, 3 Tds and a pick on defence. What more can you want from him?
  • Jacques Void (Kings): 3 receiving touchdown is impressive by itself, but the 151 receiving yards that came with it really stole the show on Tuesday.
  • Rich Humes (Rich & Famous): Although the stat line doesn’t really tell the tale, his 61 rushing yards (and a rushing TD) were an absolute difference maker in his team’s victory this week. He also threw 5 touchdowns along the way.

 

Power Rankings

Division A

  1. DA Finest (5-2): Fighting back Braves to maintain their #1 seed proves why they sit atop the division right now.
  2. Monstars (4-3): This week’s display against Top Guns shows great potential.
  3. Braves (3-4): There’s no doubt these guys are serious contenders this season.
  4. Rare Bears (3-4): Finally out of the bottom seed, Rare Bears are on the rise if Marco can come back healthy.
  5. Top Guns (3-4): This week’s outing is to be taken with a grain of salt as they missed key pieces and still managed a decent comeback.
  6. Rainmakers (3-4): From a remarkable start to a serious slump. Can Daniel Lazzara revive this team’s playoff hopes?

 

Division B

  1. Six Fast Guys Minus Ryan (6–1): This week’s dominance came against a team that didn’t deploy the right roster. Nonetheless, they closed out the game early and dominated from top to bottom and deserve the top spot.
  2. STL (5–2):Back to back losses is worrisome. Can they end the slump this week?
  3. Lightweight (5-2): Very close win over Incredibles sees us climb one more spot.
  4. Coyotes (4-3): I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; this team isn’t the same when Sammy Feder is playing QB.
  5. Incredibles (4-3): Having more than 6 guys could’ve changed the outcome of this week’s game in their favor.
  6. Drop The Mic (4-3):If this week’s roster could show up more frequently, they’d be higher on my list.
  7. Rich & Famous (4–3): This week’s performance against Kings shows real potential. Can they keep it up?
  8. OTF (2-5): Heartbreaking loss shows they can hang with the best of them.
  9. QUAN (2-4-1): Who is QUAN? This rollercoaster roster is really hurting them.
  10. Kings (2-4-1): The amount of FPF veterans on this team should overcome the small mishaps, but it simply isn’t. Their defence is struggling.
  11. KGP (2–5):They’ve won convincingly against Broccasion this week, but that won’t be enough. They need to maintain the streak alive for, at least, one more week.
  12. Broccasion (1-6):Unless they REALLY turn their season around this week, this might be the end for them.

 

Matchups to Watch

Division A

  • Akked Moore vs Jordan McLaren: Without Marco Masciotra in the lineup due to a possible injury, Jordan McLaren will have to lineup against Akked Moore and try to restrain Kevin Wyeth’s favorite target’s production. Is it possible?
  • JD Chevalier vs Danny D’Amour: The last time these two guys faced off, JD Chevalier had a monster game. Can he repeat the feat?
  • Ryan Kastner vs Isiah Allard: If Ryan Kastner plays this week, he’ll have to find ways to avoid Isiah Allard’s pass rush. He did it last time as he posted 47 points against Monstars.

 

Division B

  • AJ Rashkovan vs Rich Humes: Once again, Rich Humes continues to show great elusiveness and it is the key to his success. Can AJ Rashkovan rush him with the right angle to tip the tide in his favor?
  • Anthony Brisebois vs Kyle Lebofsky: Even with Kyle playing Anthony Brisebois, his QB will look his way on key downs and feed him many targets. Can Kyle Lebofsky make plays early to help his team muster momemtum?
  • Patrick Chenard vs Yadel Meshesha: Lining up naturally against one another, it’ll be a fantastic matchup to keep an eye on most of the night. Justin Smolar depends on Yadel to keep the chains moving, but Patrick Chenard is a top tier corner for a reason.
  • Alex Nadeau-Piuze vs Francois Deslauriers: Alex Holowach loves to checkdown to his snapper when the play isn’t exactly what he anticipated and that’s when Alex Nadeau Piuze comes into play. If he can take away his checkdown, we might see the QB struggle.
  • Rod Mashtoub vs Phil Cutler: Phil Cutler loves the deep throws and has a very nice ball, but Rod Mashtoub is a seasoned safety and doesn’t allow much over him. Can he be the playmaker his defence needs in this week’s must-win?
  • Sasha Papich vs Theo Ojeaha: This matchup is the most exciting one; who else can play against each other and attempt to restrain the other? They also will line up in front of each other naturally. Can either of the two really slow down the other’s production?

 

Picks of the Week

Division A

  • DA Finest vs Rare Bears: DA Finest
  • Braves vs Top Guns: Braves
  • Rainmakers vs Monstars: Monstars

 

Division B

  • Rich & Famous vs Coyotes: Coyotes
  • Broccasion vs Six Fast Guys Minus Ryan: Six Fast Guys Minus Ryan
  • Drop The Mic vs OTF: Drop The Mic
  • Lightweight vs QUAN: —-
  • Kings vs KGP: Kings
  • Incredibles vs STL: Incredibles

 

That’s it for me this week. Hopefully this is what you’ve all grown to love and expect out of me for your weekly readings. If it isn’t, you can send any sort of formal complaint to Paolo Della Rocca via twitter (@PeezeFPF) so I can keep tab and act like I didn’t know about it. Otherwise, if you have any comments, feel free to hit me up either via emails ([email protected]) or twitter (@DagenaisFPF). Until next time.