Week 8 Recap: Let the Playoff Talk Begin

Just three weeks of regular season play remain before the co-ed playoffs kickoff. That may not seem like it means all that much in a five-team division. But don’t let the small number of teams fool you – the only thing guaranteed at this point is Confirmed Positive and Served With Girls’ spot in the postseason. But even for those two, there is still seeding to be determined.

For Party Mix and It’s a Match, as much as a playoff spot appears assured, now isn’t the time to rest on your laurels – as unlikely as it may seem, three straight wins from Flamboyant Dragons is entirely possible. That would mean one of you isn’t moving on to the postseason. And who wants to miss the postseason?!

 

Recaps

It’s (Not) a Match

A strong defensive showing from It’s a Match in their first matchup with Confirmed Positive gave hope for another gritty game the second time around. After all, that first game – coming in Week 2 and finishing 19-6 in CP’s favor – was just François Éthier’s first at QB this season. Surely he and his teammates would give us a better offensive showing this deep into the season, right?

Well, as the 36-6 final score in this one suggests… the answer to that question is a resounding no.

As hard as the It’s a Match defense battled defensively, they simply were no match for CP’s explosive offense in this one, as top two-way player Alexis Labonté was absent and top receiving threat Lovinski Gelin showed up with the team in an 18-0 hole right before halftime.

Meanwhile, it was business as usual for CP, with QB Vanessa Birri discovering yet another toy at her disposal in Maxime Patterson. Patterson, playing just his second game for CP (and overall in PF), finished with 7 catches for 100 yards and 2 TDs. Pat who? Jacques who?

 

Dragons’ Winless Streak Drags On

The first two drives to Party Mix’s win over Flamboyant Dragons over the weekend was all I needed to get a feel for how the night was going to go for these two teams. Party Mix’s first offensive drive went as follows: a couple of easy dink and dunk passes off the hands of QB François Deslauriers to those of such receivers as Camille Fortier-Marineau and Audrey Le Templier, culminating in a touchdown to a wide open Jonathan Goulet on a post route.

For Flamboyant Dragons? An overthrown pass by Guillaume Fontaine intended for a wide open Laurence Gagnon, a sack, a dropped pass, and a punt.

The score was 19-0 for Party Mix before the Dragons scored on a 40-bomb from Fred Mallette to a streaking Guillaume Fontaine. When the clock hit zero, the scoreboard read 39-19 in Party Mix’s favor.

As much as Flamboyant Dragons struggled to contain Party Mix’s three-headed monster until the deficit became too large to overcome, the fact they were indeed able to slow it down at least in the second half does leave hope for a more promising finish to the season for the Dragons than the way they started it.

That’s particularly so if they choose to move ahead with Fred Mallette at QB, he of Bruizers and Warhawks fame. Mallette was rarely off-target – with the vast majority of his incompletions being drops – and was able to strike a good balance between hitting Fontaine deep and deking out rushers for long scampers down the sidelines. Might Mallette and Fontaine’s flipped roles be enough to play spoiler in the final three weeks of the season?

 

Playoff Picture

This section courtesy of Simon Dagenais. Yes, it’s true – when he’s not busy setting records for the most multiple-interception games, Simon can actually be a pretty helpful guy.

 

Co-Ed Division

Conference A	Team	GP	PTS	Wins	PA
1	Confirmed Positive	6	10	5	84
2	Served With Girls	5	8	4	104
3	Party Mix	6	6	3	120
4	It’s a Match	6	4	2	117
5	Flamboyant Dragons	5	0	0	195

• Co-Ed division will see 4 out of 5 teams make the playoffs.
• Although Flamboyant Dragons haven’t won a game yet, there’s still time for them to turn things around and make the playoffs.
• Confirmed Positive and Served With Girls have clinched playoff berth.  

Power Rankings

1. Served With Girls (4-1): Don’t worry; I haven’t forgotten who your last win came against.
2. Confirmed Positive (5-1): That moment when expectations are so high that you get heckled by your own teammates after an incomplete pass… while up by three scores. Relax a bit, Pat – I think Vanessa’s got it under control!
3. Party Mix (3-3): Two wins in a row, two strong performances from QB Deslauriers in a row (9:0 TD-INT ratio in that span). The result of low competition, or a new-and-improved Party Mix team? Saturday’s battle versus Confirmed Positive can’t come soon enough.
4. It’s a Match (2-4): Average PPG in games 1-2-3: 31. Average PPG in games 4-5-6: 12.7. This team needs offense, and it needs yesterday.
5. Flamboyant Dragons (0-5): Am I the only one curious to see what this team could do with Fred Mallette at QB full-time?

 

Predictions

Flamboyant Dragons vs. Served With Girls  

Confirmed Positive vs. Party Mix

 

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That wraps up Week 8 of the Co-Ed Division. Questions, comments, criticism? Let me know on Facebook or on Twitter @JBlanchFPF. See you at the fields!