Weekday Quarterback (Div D) – Week 7

            I’ll begin this week with a little bit of bad news for those of you who enjoy the article and sit up at night refreshing the FPF website waiting for updates. I will be outside the country next week which means this will be the last article you see from me for two weeks. Do not fret however, as the WEPL will still have all your Division D coverage with Moe Khan and Rehan Sarwar. I am sure there are some people who are glad to hear that they will not have to read my idiotic ranting and raving. Now that we got that out of the way, let’s get going with this past week’s action beginning with some headlines.

 

Headlines

            Mongoose solidifies their spot amongst the elite with a victory over the Golden Eagles

In what everyone expected to be the best game of the week, Mongoose pulled out a hard fought victory over the suddenly sliding Golden Eagles. Last week I mentioned that the biggest matchup in this game would be Jason Lachapelle versus Kevin Lubin and that ended up being a big part of this game story. Lubin went 5 for 13 for 42 yards and an interception before taking himself out at QB. Lachapelle had two sacks before moving over to cover Lubin at wide receiver. Lachapelle’s numbers may not be astronomical this week but the job he did of matching up against Lubin was the difference maker in this game. Alex Gaudet had a strong game on both sides of the ball for Mongoose and that was the difference for his team. Gaudet passed for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns while rushing for another and had 2 tackles an interception with a pass defended on the defensive side of the ball. Mongoose will be happy with this victory while the Golden Eagles are now in a desperate situation and must win a couple in a row to keep themselves in contention.

 

            Recruits get their first win of the season after calling in some reinforcements

The Recruits finally got that elusive first victory on Sunday as they beat the up and down Maximum Carnage team that continues to look for long periods of consistency. While the Recruits will be extremely pleased with this victory, some of the Maximum Carnage players will cry foul after realizing that three new players were inserted into the lineup for the Recruits. Steve Barnes played his first game of the season for the Recruits and was a major part of the success they had this past weekend. He was a threat with his arm, his legs, his hands and whatever other parts of the body you can think of. If these new players continue to play the next couple of weeks then maybe the Recruits can muster up a few more wins. None of them will be eligible come playoff time but perhaps the Recruits see it as chance to try out some players for next season. Maximum Carnage continues their up and down season. Consistency has been a problem for them, which is not uncommon for teams that are new to the league. I still think that with a little bit of luck this team can do some damage in the upcoming weeks.

            Time Bombs finally explode and put up 37 points on the Warhawks

Chris Rivest finally gave us the performance we have been expecting from him for the past few weeks. While the Time Bombs have been struggling of late, they finally found a blowout win that they needed to give them some confidence late in the season. Most people expected a better performance from the Time Bombs this season but it just has not happened the way they would have like it to. Chris Rivest has missed a few games which obviously hurt this team but no one could have expected this kind of disaster for them. This was a huge turn around for them as they scored a lot of points on a Warhawks team that looked like it was poised to get a victory thanks to its stifling defense over the past few weeks. Rivest passed for 154 yards and 6 touchdowns. The Warhawks will go back to the drawing board and after speaking to Joel Watson, I am confident that this Warhawks team can get it together in the near future. Whether that means the next few weeks or next season is still not clear but the Warhawks clearly do not lack any heart.

 

            Cowboys get back on track with a victory over the suddenly faltering Park X Streets

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that someone in the FlagPlus brain trust mentioned to me that he thought the Park X Streets were overrated and that it was only a matter of time before they completely fell apart. I debated that comment a few weeks ago saying that this team would be fine and they would get their act together in a week or two. Right now I have no argument and I have to agree that we have seen perhaps the end of Park X Streets for this season. After losing two consecutive weeks and putting up only 14 points during that stretch is embarrassing for a team that lost only twice last year during the Division 5 season. The Cowboys did what any good team does and that is bounce back after a tough loss. It was clear that the Cowboys were not going to let that loss to the Monstars affect them for very long and took the game to Park X Streets this weekend even without starting QB Jon Moodie. Kory De Nie continues to be a dynamic defensive player and now leads the division in sacks. Vince Mancini was his usual solid self and it was all they needed to win against a team that seems to be defeated at this point in the season.

The Gauntlet

            Has Nicholas Abelhauser solidified himself as the runaway winner of the receiver of the year award?

            If you had asked me this question a few weeks ago I would have told you that there is no way Ablehauser loses this award. After looking at the numbers this week it seems as though there is someone hot on his trail. Mathieu Belanger is now tied with Abelhauser in catches and touchdowns and only trails him by 61 yards. These two guys are going to fight it out the last couple of weeks to see who wins this award. You might have to give the edge to Belanger because of the fact that he was Etienne Chauvin throwing him the ball.

            Will the Golden Eagles get back on track in the following three weeks and maintain their playoff spot?

            There is no doubt in my mind that this team will turn it around in the next few weeks and head into the playoffs comfortably. If you look at their remaining schedule it should be a cake walk to solidify a playoff spot. With games against Snookers, Time Bombs, and Park X Streets, it looks like the best time to go on a run. They should probably win all three of those games and it would be shocking if they did not win at least two of them. The time is now for guys like Alex Guertin and Kevin Lubin to show that they can lead a team when things get tough.

 

            Can Mongoose climb into the elite category and matchup against the Patriotes or Eagles?

Mongoose has played extremely well this season despite their loss to Maximum Carnage. A good way to compare these three teams is to look at the point differential for all three. The Patriotes are + 131 and the Eagles are + 149. Those are both extremely good numbers and it is the reason that we continue to think of these two as the best teams in the division. That being said, Mongoose is really not far behind them at this point with a differential of + 112. I won’t say that Mongoose is there just yet but if they can win their last three games of the season that would go a long way and could potentially give them the confidence to beat either of those two teams if they were to meet in the championship game.

 

Power Rankings

1.      Eagles (7-0) – Still undefeated and don’t look like they will lose in the next two weeks.

2.      Patriotes (7-0) – See above for reasoning

3.      Mongoose (6-1) – A great win over the Golden Eagles and it seems as though Mongoose has put all the pieces together again. 3 more wins and this team will have exceeded expectations.

4.      Cowboys (6-1) – They proved that they can bounce back from a tough loss and used that to motivate them this week in an easy win over Park X Streets.

5.      Monstars (4-3) – The Monstars have earned this spot. They continue to play hard every week and even though they lost to the Eagles last weekend I still consider them to be one of the most improved teams in Division D

6.      Golden Eagles (3-4) – A few tough opponents over the past few weeks have led to consecutive losses for the Golden Eagles but like I mentioned previously, they will get back on track and should win at least 2 more games to finish above .500.

7.      X-Men (5-2) – The X Men were a lot better this weekend and proved they could still beat up on teams below them if they play to their potential. That being said, they don’t deserve to move up a spot for beating a 1 win team.

8.      Tyrants (4-3) – The Tyrants won easily but have it was disappointing to find out they have been using a player who does not belong in Div D at this point. They are going to have to do it without Adrian Kellman for the next few weeks so that will be a test for them.

9.      Lockdown (3-4) – Lockdown lost a blowout game to the Patriotes but really that should not surprise anyone. They still are a much improved team and could make the playoffs with a win this weekend.

10.  Park X Streets (3-4) – I put Park X Streets in this spot by default but they could easily slip out of this spot with another loss. Someone needs to grab this team by the horns and get them together.

 

Who Impressed

1.      Chris Rivest – 154  yards passing and 6 touchdowns

2.      Chris Kokorian- 5 catches for 54 yards and 4 touchdowns

3.      Sebastien Pereda- 2 tackles, 3 interceptions and 2 passes defended