Weekday Quarterback (Div D) – Week 6

            Every time I walk in to the Catalogna Soccerplexe this summer, I am shocked to hear the result of one or two games in division D. We are yet to have a week where everything goes exactly the way we expect it to. It is testament to all of the players in this league and how far some teams have come in just a few weeks. It is always a pleasure to hear that a team that has struggled in the past gets a big win or even their first win, as we had this weekend. I hope you guys are enjoying yourselves so far this season because the way things are going right now; it looks like we could be in for one hell of a finish to the Division D regular season.

 

Headlines

            Monstars sneak away with a victory against the no longer unbeaten Cowboys

The Monstars pulled of the biggest upset of the weekend with an unbelievable 27-25 victory over the then undefeated Cowboys. How did they do it? Well let’s start by saying that the Cowboys were missing their leader and QB Jon Moodie, which definitely gives this game a bit of perspective. That being said, the Monstars found ways to win this season without their starting QB, so they will not feel bad stealing one from a top team like the Cowboys. Derek Soles gave a valiant effort for the Cowboys and did throw 4 touchdown passes but his completion percentage of under 50% hurt the Cowboys strong offense. Credit should be given where credit is due and the Monstars deserve credit for playing strong enough defense and getting the points they needed to win this game. Andrew Funamoto played perhaps his best of the season with 4 touchdown passes. Full marks go to Monstars rusher Ryan Aridi for recording the game winning sack and safety to pull off the upset. Congratulations to the Monstars who have now made themselves a serious contender. Will they be able to keep it going? We will find out this weekend as they face another undefeated team in the Eagles.

 

            Patriotes overcome the never say die attitude of the Golden Eagles

The Patriotes were able to maintain their undefeated record with a 46-32 victory over the Golden Eagles on Sunday night. Both QB’s were excellent but once again, Etienne Chauvin came out on top. Chauvin threw for 160 yards and 7 touchdowns while Kevin Lubin threw for 132 yards and 4 touchdowns. Lubin also added a touchdown on the ground. Two fantastic teams really went at each other in this game but the difference was that Chauvin continued to protect the football. He once again went without an interception. Mathieu Belanger was unbelievable at receiver for the Patriotes in this game as he made 10 catches for 108 yards and 4 touchdowns. It is hard to beat a team playing so well on both sides of the ball right now. The Patriotes and Eagles continue to be the teams to beat in Division D but the Golden Eagles are still a darkhorse that can win this thing.

  Snookers get their first win of the season against the Tyrants and find a leader in the process

Just when it looked like the Snookers were completely slipping and had no chance of doing any damage this season, they show up and beat one of the division leaders. The Tyrants have had a successful debut to the season and I don’t think anyone would have picked the Snookers to win this game, but they seemed to have found a new leader in Vartan Demirdjian. Demirdjian did enough to get his team a win. He threw for 117 yards and 3 touchdowns in the victory. It was not the best performance from a QB this weekend but it was enough to his team in the win column which is exactly what this team needed at this point in the season. The other side of this story is not a pretty one. The Tyrants know this is not an acceptable loss when you are trying to win a division title. You cannot afford to lose game to a team playing so poorly. They need to have more of a killer instinct and should have put this game to bed in the first half. It will be a long week for Tyrants to think about this loss while the Snookers will be looking to get another win very soon.

 

The Gauntlet

            What will be the best game the rest of the way this season in Division D?

I have two games that any fan or player in Division D should watch in the coming weeks. The first game takes place this weekend between the Golden Eagles and Mongoose. Mongoose is trying to win their division while the Golden Eagles cannot afford two consecutive losses at this point in the season. Two of the best athletes in the division will go head to head as Jason Lachapelle of Mongoose will try and contain the shifty Kevin Lubin. I can see this one going down to the wire. The second game that will undoubtedly be exciting as well as critical will be the Eagles and Patriotes game that takes place in week 10. Both those teams could be undefeated at the time and the winner could see themselves locking up the number 1 seed in their conference. It will put the best defense of the Eagles up against the best offense of the Patriotes. Expect a great game that week.

 

            With four weeks left in the season can the Warhawks or Affreux pull a Love Cows and win their division?

            I’ve watched both of these teams in the past couple of weeks and I do not get the same feeling from either one of them that I got from the Love Cows late last season. The Warhawks have a very tough defense but they just can’t find ways to punch the ball in when they need it most. They had a great shot at upsetting Maximum Carnage last week but could not get any points late in the second half and actually ended up turning the ball over that led to 6 points for the opposition. They need to find ways to be creative and get points particularly late in games. Affreux continues to be an anomaly for me. They put up a great fight this past weekend against a good X-Men team but were unable to pull off the upset, losing by just 2 points. I think confidence is the main reason this team cannot shock the league and win 4 straight games. They seem like they know that no matter what they do, they just can’t get a break.

 

            What does Park X Streets need to do to get their game back in order?

Park X Streets are struggling and a big part of that problem is the fact that they are missing key players for some important games. Putting up only 2 points this weekend is a disgrace for this team. They are better than that and even though they were up against a very tough opponent they need to show more fight than they did. Park X Streets needs to go back to the basics and do what they do best which is run the ball every couple of plays and then try and open up the big play for Niko Zarmalias. That’s what made them so successful last season and it is what will get them out of their slump this season.

 

Power Rankings

1.      Eagles (6-0) – The Eagles get this spot ahead of the Patriotes because of the fact that their defense has held teams to 41 points in 6 games. That is an astonishing number in FPF

2.      Patriotes (6-0) – The Patriotes logically fall to second even though they could easily be in the number 1 spot. It will be hard to separate these two teams until they play each other so we can see where they really stand. This offense may be the only one that can put up points on the Eagles.

3.      Mongoose (5-1) – Mongoose has now got a break because the Cowboys lost to the Monstars this past weekend. It gives them a chance to get back in the race and win their division. These are not opportunities to waste.

4.      Cowboys (5-1) – A loss to the Monstars is tough but they know that without Jon Moodie it was a completely different game. I see the Cowboys bouncing back very quickly and putting a lot of points on the board this coming week.

5.      Monstars (4-2) – The only team that bugs me each week to move them up the standings. Well you finally have moved into the top 5. Andrew Funamoto will have to continue to play well and be even better next week as they face off against the stifling Eagles defense.

6.      Golden Eagles (3-3) – I know this team is only 3-3 but their division is the toughest in all of Division D and they gave the Patriotes a good fight this past weekend. I still see them as a team that can beat anyone on any given weekend.

7.      X-Men (4-2) – The X-Men need to be a lot better than they were this weekend against Affreux if they want to continue to climb these rankings. They were very good to start the season but maybe some teams are starting to catch on to the idea of covering Nicholas Abelhauser a little better. That could change the mentality of the X-Men offense.

8.      Tyrants (3-3) – The Tyrants lost a heartbreaker to the Snookers this weekend and I think that one will sting for a few weeks. If this team does not win their division you can be sure that they will remember that loss to a team that they know they should have beaten. John Kaliotzakis continues to perform well for them but they need some other guys to step up and establish their position atop their division.

9.      Maximum Carnage (3-3) – Maximum Carnage got a real scare against the Warhawks this weekend but got some clutch play from Brian Mongeau, who had a pick 6 to lock the game up. They will need better play in the first half of games because it was too close against a team without any wins. Michael Mendell (the guy who always yells “here here here” as a play fake) needs to perform better as well. He has played in the league before and should know what it takes to win games.

10.  Lockdown (3-3) – It was either Lockdown, who I have been tough on, or Park X Streets who really let me down this weekend. It is time for Lockdown to get their shot in the top ten and see if they can continue to climb led by Gianfranco Renaudo. A very tough opponent awaits them this weekend in the Patriotes. Can they keep it close or even upset the high flying offense led by Etienne Chauvin? It is going to take their best performance yet.

 

Who Impressed?

1.      Mathieu Belanger – 10 Catches 108 yards and 4 touchdowns

2.      Danny Bellemare – 12 for 18 for 129 yards and 5 touchdowns

3.      Andrew Funamoto 15 for 30 for 160 yards and 4 touchdowns