Weekday Quarterback (D3) – Week 1

Well, it has been quite a long time in between articles for me and due to some technical issues this week, it took even longer to get this posted for you guys. Regardless of those issues, we are up and running again and so is the winter season of FlagPlus Football. As usual, we have a great season ahead of us with what plans to be another fantastic finish. Before we get into the thick of things this week I want to start by letting you all know that these articles are designed to please the readers, and the only way we can make them more entertaining is if those of you who read each week, come and offer up your suggestions for what you would like to see. In other words, do not hesitate to stop me on the weekend and let me know some of your ideas. I may or may not steal them from you and take the credit while at it. Without further delay, let’s get to what was a busy weekend in week one, and look ahead to the important matchups of the upcoming weekend. Let’s start with the headlines from the past week.

Dirty Birds Fly High in Week 1

After a disappointing loss by many of the Dirty Birds team members in the Spring Division C Championship game, you might expect a bit of a letdown in the first game of the following season, yet the core of the team would not allow it and some players even exceeded expectations in a 38-27 victory over the new look Darkhorses. After what was a tough game for Gordan Hogan in the final game of the spring, it was obvious to those of us in attendance that Hogan was not going to let that game get to him. He was an absolutely dominating force against the Darkhorses last weekend, and established himself as one of the biggest difference makers in division three, very early on. Hogan had three catches for 81 yards and three touchdowns to go along with his two interceptions and one tackle, which Hogan described as the “perfect form tackle”. All joking aside, teams better keep their eyes open when Hogan is on the field, because if you don’t, you can plan on getting burned. Jon Young and the Bisharas were their usual reliable selves in the victory and this team looks dangerous going forward. On the other side of the coin, Jason Edwards was the best player on both sides of the ball for the Darkhorses and in all fairness to the Darkhorse team, they will probably do some damage this season, based on what looks to be a very strong defense led Edwards and Wesley Joseph.

S.W.A.T beats up on last season’s Division Three runner up

Should there be any surprise that a Gino Difazio led team looked strong early in the season? A roster consisting of some great athletes blended in with seasoned veterans of the league are looking like they could be a threat to win it all once again and with Gino Difazio leading from the sidelines in week one, we can only imagine the difference he may make if he gets on the field in the coming weeks should he choose to play D3 instead of D1. Nathan Thompson was behind center last weekend for SWAT, and he looked fantastic with five touchdown passes to only one interception. With guys like Don Shepherd, Shawn Haney and John Lyristis to throw to, Thompson could have a fantastic statistical season and as long as their defense creates some turnovers, I would expect nothing less than a top seeding heading into the playoffs. SWAT put up 36 points against a team that had a great run to the finals last winter in division three. VPC did not look as though they could handle the athletic ability of SWAT last week and even though Robbie Robinson can be the great equalizer of talent, they will need more from the supporting cast if they plan to make it deep into the playoffs again this season

Monarchs send strong message to rest of the league

Watching from the sidelines, I thought the Big TDs were going to get a big win versus a Monarchs team that has been lost in the D2 shuffle for a few seasons. Tom Cesari, Jamil Springer, David Cesari and company looked to have assembled another strong squad, and will most likely continue to be dangerous throughout the season thanks to their big play capability, but they were unable to put enough points on the board in week one. The Monarchs seemed to be really amped up and they channeled that emotion with the help of game breaker and quite possibly FPF’s best-kept secret, Stephane Chartrand, who had a remarkable seven catches for 166 yards and three touchdowns. It seemed like every time Chartrand touched the ball, something good happened for the Monarchs. The scary thing is that the Monarchs did not even reach their full potential as guys like Renaldo Jordan and Stephen Free were not huge factors in this game. When everyone gets going, this team is going to be extremely dangerous and having some question how soon they will be back in D2.

Can the Cobras be a contender again?

The Cobras and DIP were involved in a shootout this weekend and anyone who saw it on late Sunday night, would have been impressed by both teams’ offensive attacks. Alex Lever has been developing into a great quarterback for a few seasons now and was close to really establishing himself as a winner in the spring, as he led Prestige World Wide to the finals of Division B, but was stopped in his tracks by his former “student” Gianni Settino. He also had a great season for the Kings in Division A at receiver. That being said, Lever was great last summer, in all facets of the game, and now that he is back with the Cobras they become an instant contender. What makes the Cobras so dangerous is the fact that they spread the ball around. Lever threw for five touchdown passes in week one, each one to a different receiver. Look out for that well balanced attack because it will take a great team effort on defense to stop the Cobras. While DIP scored 25 points, and hung in there against a strong team, they need those victories because they tend be one of the teams fighting for a playoff spot at the end of each season. Pablo Savard looked strong for DIP behind center, but they will need a more consistent effort from their defense if they want to be considered a serious playoff contender. Either way we can all look forward to hearing from DIP, particularly Julien Hebert, over the next 10 weeks and perhaps even longer.

Game of the Week

Maniax vs Monarchs

Both of these teams looked great last week and this will probably be the most entertaining matchup of the week, if I had to choose one game to watch. The Maniax are still missing a few guys right now, yet they did not seem to have too many issues in their first game. Once they are at full strength they will be one of the top contenders in the league. Who knows what Tony Khoury has up his sleeve for this team? I already spoke about the Monarchs but if they get the same performance they did last week then this should be a great matchup.

Pick: Watching both these teams last week I would say they are dead even but I will pick the Maniax on a hunch. Maniax win 34-28.

It should be another great weekend of football so make sure to bring your best game this weekend as next week I will release the first power rankings of the season. Hope everyone had a great week and I look forward to the slate of games ahead.