Categories: DivisionDivision 4ADivision 4BMen'sWinter

Week 7’s recap and a look ahead at Week 8’s action

Upset City.

The last line says it all. For those of you who read Yannick Doston’s article (Can be found HERE), you’ll realise by the emphasis he puts on those upsets just how tricky D4 was this week. This is also why I love this division; every week feels like March Madness.

Let’s get started.

 

Week 7

With teams like The Tide, Mud Dogs, The U, Backyard Bullies, Flying Weasels and 2 ties, there’s very little doubt that D4 is proving to have greater parity than most would have anticipated.

With only 4 (3 for some) games left, expect playoff standings to be officially present in my articles starting next week along with accessible via Facebook / the internets.

Until then, you’ll just have to believe me when I say it’s anybody’s game.

 

Thoughts of the Week

  • Special Shoutout to Jonathan Chevalier (Golden Flashes): this guy’s a dominant rusher. What he managed to do last week impressed pretty much everyone watching.
  • I co-hosted this week’s D4 podcast with GM Kolethras; we broke down what happened in Week 7 + talked about all those teams on the bubble. Give it a listen. (Can be found HERE)
  • Brent Callender’s latest instagram post about fried stuff making him smile made me laugh. Well done, Brent.
  • D4A has only one team left undefeated (Still Still Teamless, although they’ve tied). D4B has only one team left undefeated (The Alpha T’s). Can anyone knock the status off either teams this season?
  • With only 3 winless teams (Past Our Prime, Vikings, The Expendables) remaining, I’m confident we will not have any by week 11’s end.
  • Man, Renovations are time consuming.
  • The multiple Games of the Week this season has been an absolute highlight of Winter 2017. Amazing job Lance!
  • I can’t believe how very little games happened in Lachine this week. Stop hiding from me!
  • The U’s only loss of the season came in Dustin White’s absence and yet, their defense was quite impressive. I’m officially a fan.
  • That’s back to back weeks that I’ve seen Daron Migdesyan (Small Giants) make plays for his team. He’s having himself a pretty impressive season.

 

Recaps

Division 4A

  • Golden Flashes offense struggled to get anything going on Saturday night against a gritty Junkyard Dogs defense (filled with subs). Hinsley Adams is a tremendous rusher and Cedric Nuckle wasn’t ready to force so many hurries that his offense couldn’t seem to get anything going. Add a bad case of drops from his receivers (Yannick Doston couldn’t seem to find the sideline) and we’ve got ourselves a story. Although Wade Jr Shallcross played really well (and so did Jonathan Chevalier), the result came down to Flashes’ offense struggling to move the chains. It was only a matter of time before Jacob Bernett who would find the endzone and people continue to underestimate Alexandre Noel as a snapper. Overall, a good outing for Junkyard Dogs and a night to forget to the Flashes.
  • ZOO got away with one on Monday night against No Name who almost pulled off a pretty impressive comeback if it wasn’t for small miscues. The night started off real sloppy for No Name who couldn’t seem to move the chains, but their offense found themselves in the 2nd half after a Jonathan Grizzley interception to give Michael Roy a shot at redemption. With a beautiful throw down the sideline to Johnny Symonds (over Francois Raymond nonetheless), the lead was cut down from 22-13 to 22-20 and we’ve had ourselves a nail bitter. ZOO’s offense couldn’t keep Michael Roy off the field long enough and No Name were back with a chance at victory with 3 plays left in the game. Sadly, 3 wasn’t enough to get it done as ZOO’s defense stood tall and ZOO walked away with a pretty close one; a win they desperately needed.
  • Nonna’s Sauce shocked many faces by shutting out Frosty Bronsons in the 2nd half and securing their win on Monday night. In fact, although they had a 15-12 lead at half, the game was far from over, but their defense adjusted well and James Nowakowski simply didn’t know where to go with the football to give his team a chance. The Cecere brothers were as good as I remembered them to be, Joel Malkin continues to impress and Marc Nadeau emerged on my radar as a true dual-threat talent. Unless Frosty Bronsons can find their offense again, their slump might be the end of their season whereas Nonna’s Sauce found themselves at the perfect time to make a push into the playoffs; with so many talented players on both teams, it’s tough to imagine any of them going down easy in the next couple of weeks.

 

Division 4B

  • Small Giants suffered from an early deficit due to being late to their game on Saturday night and it was just enough for Les Blues Branleurs to maintain a lead and go home with a W instead of an L. In fact, starting the game 6-0, LBB enjoyed a good first half before Small Giants adjusted defensively and shut them out in the 2nd half. LBB’s a much better team when Minh Ton-That is there to help and Saturday was no different. If they can fix their small miscues offensively, LBB could have a decent shot at the playoffs this season. Although Small Giants only loss by 2, being late is no excuse. There’s also a saying that if 6 points was enough to decide the game, you didn’t outplay your opponents properly (I don’t personally believe in such saying, but it’s what I heard).
  • Rancerz found ways to stop The Alpha T’s offense, but the small offensive miscues costed them dearly as Jesse Dupuis nudged 2 interceptions on defense and led his team to a 26-18 victory on Wednesday night. In fact, the emergence of Kory Dugas Beaulieu offensively was a nice feature as TAT continues to impress. Facing a strong defense, Jesse Dupuis was able to play conservative and avoid too many mistakes (he did throw one interception, but he got 2 back, so no foul there) and ran when he needed to. Rancerz are slowly creeping up on teams and everyone knows I’m on the bandwagon (That 5 yard hook turned into 40 yrd TD from Riccardo Desrosiers was amazing), but it might be too little too late if they can’t muster wins in the last stretch.
  • After a few rough weeks for STL Cougars, they’ve now enjoyed back to back offensive domination as they crushed The Expendables this week. Classy dudes, they took their feet off the pedal in the 2nd half, but there’s only so much one can do when you’re up 34-0 at half. Although The Expendables’ Donald Mathurin managed to juke the entire STL Cougars’ defense for a 40yrd run (quite the impressive feat, must I add), their offense couldn’t seem to get anything going all night and it felt like a really long night. Unless they can find themselves a QB and/or dual threat player, it’s bound to be a pretty long rest of the season.

 

Players of the Week

Division 4A

  • Wade Jr Shallcross (Golden Flashes): Regardless of the loss, he gave everything he had for his team with 101 receiving yards, 2 Tds and the sole interception his team got. Great game Wade.
  • Jordan Moses (5-Star): Another impressive week for Jordan Moses who finishes with 180 combined offensive yards, 5 passing TD and a pick-six. Well done.
  • Louis-Philippe Paquette (Les Maloudes): Have Les Maloudes found their new rusher? 4 sacks, 1 tackle and 3 Pds. Hot damn.

 

Division 4B

  • David Beltrami (Gators): Pulling off the defensive hat-trick (3 interceptions) and adding a TD offensively, he left it all on the fields.
  • Karl Forgues (Jagerbomb): 2 interceptions + 2 offensive Tds. Serious baller over here.
  • Jordan Mitchell (Blue Chips): With 246 combined yards, 6 combined Tds and a 153.0 QBR, is there any stopping Jordan Mitchell this season?
  • Erminio Iadeluca (STL Cougars): 8 passing Tds, 211 yards, 150.3 QBR. He destroyed the opposing defense.

 

Power Rankings

Division 4A

  1. Still Still Teamless (5-0-1): Still the best team in the division.
  2. Les Maloudes (6-1): Very impressive victory over The Tide this week. I was already on the bandwagon, but can I move closer to the front?
  3. 69ers (5-1): Currently bolstering the best record in their conference. Can we stop sleeping on 69ers please?
  4. The Commission (5-2): Next week’s game will set the tone for their playoff ranking. I’m looking forward to it.
  5. The Tide (4–2): Can they fix it before it’s too late?
  6. TOPSZN (4-2): What an impressive way to win.
  7. Backyard Bullies (4–2): Back to back losses; I’m officially worried.
  8. Flying Weasels (4-2): Will their season come down to their Week 11’s matchup or can they run the tables?
  9. Eskimo Brothers (3-2-1): With all their pieces offensively, Ebros have one of the best offenses in the division.
  10. Gotham Knights (3-3-1): A tie, really?

 

Division 4B

  1. The Alpha T’s (6-0): The last undefeated team in Division 4B.
  2. The U (5-0): Losing a close one without your QB isn’t too drastic.
  3. A-Squad (6–1): Great way to bounce back.
  4. Get Off My D (5-1-1): This defense continues to impress.
  5. Blue Chips (5-1): Don’t sleep on Blue Chips; trust me.
  6. Team Ethnik (5-1): Slowly creeping up my rankings with every passing week.
  7. Jagerbomb (4-2): Very impressive offensive outing from Jagerbomb this week. Keep it up.
  8. Mud Dogs (4–3): The slump continues. So does the drop in my rankings.
  9. Obamacare (4-2): By win over The U, but their offense isn’t what it should be at this point.
  10. Game Changers (4–2): Tough loss this week. Can they bounce back?

 

Picks of the week

Another week, another bad performance. Division 4B was upset city all over and my prediction took my nose dive with it. Luckily, I did well in 4A to right the ship and manage to tie Yannick Doston. I mean, I guess this one’s going the distance.

 

Division 4A

Frosty Bronsons vs Golden Flashes: Frosty Bronsons

69ers vs Les Maloudes: Les Maloudes

Bad Case vs Big Tds: —-

Still Still Teamless vs Backyard Bullies: Still Still Teamless

The Commission vs The Tide: The Tide

Damps 25/8 vs Eskimo Brothers: Eskimo Brothers

Gotham Knights vs TOPSZN: TOPSZN

Aztec Sasquatches vs Past Our Prime: Aztec Sasquatches

5-Star vs Nonna’s Sauce: 5-Star

Nobodies vs ZOO: Nobodies

No Name vs MVE: MVE

Junkyard Dogs vs Flying Weasels: Junkyard Dogs

Division 4B

The U vs Vikings: The U

Blue Chips vs Les Blues Branleurs: Blue Chips

Falcons vs Mean Machine: Falcons

Small Giants vs A-Squad: A-Squad

V-Cieux vs J’s: J’s

The Expendables vs Sphinx: Sphinx

The Expendables vs Falcons: Falcons

Team Ethnik vs Get Off My D: Get Off My D

Gators vs Mud Dogs: Mud Dogs

Jagerbomb vs Obamacare: Obamacare

The Alpha T’s vs Game Changers: The Alpha T’s

Green Lantern Corps vs Rancerz: Rancerz

Sandlot Saints vs STL Cougars: STL Cougars

 

That sums it for this week’s article. It’s always a pleasure to write and hear back from you guys. After all, the content is meant 99% for you. I keep a percent for me; ranting here and there is fun after all. You can always reach me via twitter @DagenaisFPF or via email ([email protected]). I’ll be at Lachine every Sunday night and Hebert every Wednesday night scorekeeping so you can stop by and chat. Don’t hesitate. Until next time…! I hope you didn’t eat all those donuts Eagle; you’ll earn yourself diabetes in no time.