Hello to all and welcome to the spring 2018 season of FPF Junior. For those of you who weren’t with us last season, I am Alexi Dubois. I am a former FPF Junior player. I was part of the very first Junior season back in the winter of 2016. I played for three seasons before graduating on to the adult leagues and I still hold great memories of my time in the Junior league. Evidently, I was not able to entirely give up the league because I will be writing weekly articles. Starting in week three, I will also be scorekeeping the games in Kirkland. If you have anything you want to see me include in the articles please come up and see me during the games.

 

After a long break between the winter and spring seasons then two weeks of tryouts, the spring season is finally upon us. Week one kicked off with three games at the Stade de Montreal before closing out the week at Lachine where I was scorekeeping. This week, I watched the Dusters and Buffaloes, the Falcons and Wolverines as well as the Mustangs and Spartans kick off their seasons. The Falcons vs Wolverines game was a very interesting one. Since these were two pre-set teams, it was great to see some new faces in the Junior ranks. Without further delay, let’s jump right into the recaps from this first week of action.

 

Week 1 Recaps

• Dusters (21) vs Buffaloes (0)

The Dusters proved that they were a force to be reckoned with during the winter season. With a similar core group of players returning for the spring season, we can only presume that they will be even better with some experience under their belt. They started off their season with a statement win over the Buffaloes. Perennial all-star quarterback Adam Malinoff picked things up right where he left them last season with an impressive 135 yard game. He completed 70% of his passes and racked up 3 touchdowns. One difference from last season was his ability to spread the ball. On his way to victory, Adam Malinoff connected with five different targets. His top two targets on the night were Russel Bienstock and Matthew Fixman who both finished the game with four catches and a touchdown. Russel Bienstock had the slight edge when it came to receiving yards with 46 compared to Matthew Fixman’s 34 yards. The Dusters third touchdown grab came courtesy of another Matthew; Matthew Eiley who capped off his opening game with two catches for 40 yards and a touchdown. Unsurprisingly, the Dusters offence already looks like a well oiled machine. They have their checkdown guy in Matthew Fixman, solid hands in Russel Bienstock and a deep threat in Matthew Eiley. Add to that production from the likes of Jared Lach and Ben Liquornik and you have a formidable offensive machine.

The Dusters defensive unit definitely did their job as well on the night. Leading that group of defenders was Zachary Arbel-Wood who tallied up 3 tackles to go along with his defended pass. Andrew Backler also left his stamp on the game with a defended pass as well as 3 tackles. The one thing the Dusters were unable to do on the night, was create turnovers. While in this instance they still managed the shutout and the win without any interceptions, it speaks to the abilities of their defence. It is an issue they will have to address. I saw them lining up with two safeties clearly identifiable. If they could switch up their pre-snap looks in order to confuse their opponents, it could definitely help them in the future.

On the Buffaloes side of things, despite the loss, they definitely showed promise. They had three receivers with multiple catches. This ability to spread the ball is an extremely important one in FPF. If you keep on going after the same receiver, your opponents will clue in very quickly to what is going down and shut down one of your most talented players. We all saw what their receiver, Zachary Nelson, was able to accomplish last season in the Musketeers run to the championship game but the Buffaloes avoided forcing the ball to him. Nicholas Koussaie and Jonah Lazarovitz also completed passes to Michael Glazer, Jacob Wilson and Tyler Van Frank. Critically, the Buffaloes also avoided turning the ball over. We have all seen just how lethal Adam Malinoff is under center and limiting the amount of touches he has in a game is a key to victory. Sadly, on this occasion despite not turning over the ball, the Buffaloes were not able to escape with the victory.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Buffaloes were led by the outstanding rushing of Tyler Van Frank. The young man finished the game with three tackles and two sacks. Rushers very rarely make the head lines in FPF just because a sack is such a hard feat to accomplish. Most rushers I know would be happy to limit opposing quarterbacks to a few rushes and hurried passes. Tyler Van Frank not only limited Adam Malinoff to 16 yards on the ground but was in his face on most throws and sacked the Dusters QB on two occasions. I could not talk about the Buffaloes defence without mentioning Jacob Wilson and his 5 tackles or Cody Burah with his two. The Buffaloes definitely have all the building blocks in place for a great team, they now just need to fall into place.

I would also like to give a shout out to the coach shared by the Dusters and Warhawks. He spent a very busy afternoon rushing between fields trying to coach both of his teams which were playing at the same time. While he couldn’t actually be in two places at once, he did his very best to.

 

• Falcons (28) vs Wolverines (0)

From the moment the Falcons showed up in their pristine matching red uniforms, you could tell that they meant business. Even during the warmups, it was clear they were here to win. In their first few minutes of FPF play, it was apparent that they needed to adjust a bit to the league and its particularities. Notably, the smaller pitch. Once they made those adjustments, they looked like a well oiled machine. QB Isaac Insaidoo was whipping the ball downfield with a velocity to make even former FPF Junior greats like Avery Lalla blush. He connected fourteen times for a total of 182 yarda and 4 TDs. If that’s what Isaac Insaidoo could do in his first FPF game, it’s scary to think about what he will be able to accomplish by week 8. It was impossible not to notice wide receiver Tristan Pelletier. His athletic route running and surprising speed created separation on just about every snap. Couple those athletic gifts with the accuracy of Isaac Insaidoo and you have an unstoppable duo. Not to be outdone, Paul Salangre also left his mark on the match with 6 receptions for 55 yards.

Defensively, Jedeiah Ward was key to the success of his team. He tallied up four tackles and even more impressively, two picks. In a possession driven league life FPF, getting the ball back into the hands of your QB is key to victory. Adding to that ball-hawking secondary was Djovahno Sanon who got a pick of his own. Guillaume Tessier nearly managed a few picks but had to content himself with a couple of PDs. Finally, to round out that defense, rusher Japhet Pidi who was in the opposing quarterbacks face all game long managed a sack. I’m not sure FPF Junior has ever seen a team like the Falcons. Their potential is near limitless.

The Wolverines, on the other hand, did not get the start they had hoped for but there are positives nonetheless to take away from this game. I know I am repeating myself here but the most important thing the Wolverines did was spread the ball. Playing against an elite team like the Falcons, you cannot give them any clues as to who the ball is going to. You need to keep them honest. By completing passes to 6 different players, they did just that. The only Wolverine on the night with two catches was Noah Bloom who finished the game with 14 receiving yards.

On defense, it was once again that team formula that did the trick for the Wolverines. Seven different players managed to get on the scorecard for them. Leading those 7 was Jake Newman who finished the game with an impressive 4 tackles and a defended pass. Jason Danker also put in a strong showing with two tackles and most importantly, an interception. However, none shown brighter than Zachary Leiba. Somehow, he managed to pressure the opposing QB all game, rack up 2 sacks and also pick off his opponents all in one game’s work. While things may have gotten off to less than an ideal start for the Wolverines, they have the right mindset in place as well as the talent to make an impact in their conference.

 

• Mustangs (19) vs Spartans (6)

After taking the winter season off, Coby White and the Mustangs made their return to FPF Junior. They picked right back up where they left off with an impressive win over the Spartans. On his way to victory, QB Coby White completed 10 of his 17 attempts for a total of two touchdowns. He added to his passing accomplishments with two rushes for a combined total of 17 yards and a touchdown. By far, his preferred target on the night was the sure handed Max Kadanoff who caught five passes for a total of 34 yards a score. Not far behind him was Oren Arbel-Wood who caught three balls for 23 yards. If there is one knock against this Mustangs offence it’s their tendency to launch the ball and hope for the best. On two occasions, they threw up these prayer balls and both were picked off by the Spartans secondary.

To add to the 19 points their offence put up on the board, the Mustangs did a great job at limiting their opponents. They were facing off verus the extremely mobile Nicholas Di Maulo. Despite the opposing quarterback’s strong instinct to run, they limited him to only 37 yards over his four attempts. Even more impressively, they shut down his passing limiting him to only 4 completions for a total of 44 yards. That defensive effort was headed by Evan Stern who managed to bat down three balls. Adding to that defensive group was Oren Arbel-Wood with 4 tackles and Schimmy Cans with 2 defended passes. The Mustangs did enough to win in their opening week and with a few adjustments, they could be a contenders in the Varsity division.

Despite their limited offensive output, there are still positives to take away from the Spartans game versus the Mustangs. Most notably, was the play of Erica Dubois. After two seasons as a rusher with a total of 1 catch for eight yards, Erica Dubois made a spectacular TD grab in her very first game of the spring season. Her hands popped out of nowhere at the back of the end zone to snag the 14 yard catch and her teams only score of the game. Another receiving threat to look out for on the Spartans is Olivier Gauthier. He was open deep on a few occasions and was just slightly overthrown by his quarterback. Had those passes been on target, the outcome of this game might have been very different.

On the defensive side of the ball, Olivier Gauthier showed why he is a perennial contender for two-way player of the year. The talented young man caught more interceptions than he did catches. He finished the match with two picks and just as many tackles. The Spartans rushing was also in good hands with Jacques Boutin who limited the time the opposition had to throw all game and even managed to bat down a pass. The Spartans failed to capitalize on their opportunities and that eventually cost them the game. However, with more star players set to join the team in week two and growing chemistry, this team could definitely make waves in the varsity division.

 

Week 1 Team of the Week

Offence

• QB Isaac Insaidoo (Falcons): 182 passing yards, 4TDs
• RB Simon Boudreault (Thunder): 122 rushing yards, 1TD
• WR Noah Smallwood (Tar Heels): 7 receptions, 64 receiving yards, 1TD
• WR Ashtin Philistin (NS Lions): 5 receptions, 80 receiving yards, 3TDs
• WR Spencer Fitzpatrick (Knights): 6 receptions, 133 receiving yards, 2TDs
• WR Tristan Pelletier (Falcons): 5 receptions, 91 receiving yards, 2TDs

 

Defence

• Rusher Zachary Leiba (Wolverines): 2 sacks, 1INT, 1PD
• DB Olivier Gauthier (Spartans): 2 tackles, 2INTs
• DB Kingston Paquet (Sooners): 1 tackle, 2INTs, 1PD
• DB Jaden Frenette (Thunder): 7 tackles, 1INT, 1 sack
• DB Zachary Cyrenne (Sun Devils): 1 tackle, 3PDs
• Jedeaiah Ward (Falcons): 4 tackles, 2INTs.

 

With that, the first week of the 2018 FPF Junior spring season is on the books. This was only the first chapter on a long road to the championship. For all those teams who get things started on a winning note, congratulations. You have found a recipe to success. However, do not rest on your laurels because all those teams who have yet to win want nothing more than to knock you down a notch and experience the W for themselves.

So long for now, see you all on Sunday for week 2 of FPF action!