Westpark Boys Shock Wolfpack; Mercenaries Get First Win

Welcome to crunch time! This is where some teams crumble and where some teams rise to the occasion. These final four weeks are crucial not only to get into the playoffs and for seeding, but also for momentum heading into the playoffs. No one wants to enter the playoffs on a losing streak; you want to head into the playoffs with all the momentum in the world and having fixed the kinks. This is also the time where teams reveal their true colours and we start to get an idea of who the legit contenders are. Week 8, let’s go.

 

RECAPS

Westpark Boys Shock Wolfpack Behind Masterful Defensive Performance

 

Westpark Boys 37 (1-5) Next Week: vs. Dirty Dawgs (1-5)

Wolfpack 23 (4-2) Next Week: vs. Les Eudistes (2-3-1)

Just a few weeks ago, the Westpark Boys were the joke of division 3 getting blown out weekly. Now, after adding Leon Holder at quarterback, things have taken a complete 180 turn. After coming close to beating B.D. Bandits a week ago, the Westpark Boys took it to Wolfpack completely outplaying them while forcing count ‘em…FIVE interceptions, one of which was brought back to the house for six. The Boys held an 18-7 halftime lead and never looked back. Leon Holder in his second start was efficient and mistake-free to lead his new team to their first win of the season. Wesley Joseph was the team MVP as he hauled in four receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown as well as a pick-six on defense.

Westpark Boys will shoot for two in a row when they face off against the 1-5 Dirty Dawgs, a team that ranks dead last in defense this season. Wolfpack will look to rebound against the pesky Les Eudistes squad.

 

F.O.E. Hold On; Metamayhem All But Done

 

F.O.E. 26 (5-1) Next Week: vs. Les Buddays (1-5)

Metamayhem 25 (1-5) Next Week: vs. Mongoose (2-4)

In my Game of the Week, I had predicted a close F.O.E. 27-26 victory over Metamayhem. Turns out I was pretty spot on but the game ended in dramatic fashion….foreshadowing here. The Metamayhem defense finally showed up to play and held Kevin Lubin to under 50% completion percentage and also picked him off once. However, their offense struggled for most of the night and only managed 19 points until the last play of the game. After F.O.E. had scored to go up 26-19, it all came down to one final play for Metamayhem, who were possibly playing for their season. Receiver Jeremy Anderson got the ball from Alex Holowach and launched a Hail Mary down field. The ball floated in the air with players trying to get in position to out-jump others. Out of nowhere, Alex Ganter, who was having a huge game, somehow came down with the ball in the end zone for an incredible touchdown. He finished the game with 11 receptions for 133 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately, the game was not won, nor even tied as Metamayhem were still down by a point. The miracle catch was all for not as the ball fell harmlessly to the ground incomplete on the convert. Final: 26-25 F.O.E. and a heartbreaking defeat for Metamayhem who will need another miracle to get into the postseason.

 

Mercenaries Get First Win Behind Dominant First Half

 

Mercenaries 41 (1-4-1) Next Week: vs. Ball Busters (5-0-1)

Past Our Prime 31 (1-5) Next Week: vs. Grip N Rip (4-2)

After getting completely embarrassed last week in a 38-0 loss, the Mercenaries came out of the gates firing on all cylinders. The offense was moving the ball and Shawn Haney returned an interception for a touchdown as the Mercenaries headed into halftime with a massive 28-6 lead. Past Our Prime refused to go away and clawed their way back into the game with a few interceptions of their own and an offense that was scoring at ease. However, it was too late for POP as the Mercenaries held on for a 41-31 victory, their first (official) one of the season.

The Mercenaries may not be heading to the playoffs, but this was a moral victory and one that may instill some confidence moving forward for a team looking to play spoiler. As for Past Our Prime, their rough season continues as they dropped to 1-5 on the year and are almost a lock to miss the postseason for the first time in quite some time.

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Award Frontrunners and Projections:

 

QB of the Year: Ineligible: Rod Mashtoub – Laval’s Finest (Div 2), James Floreani – Predators (Div 2)

Frontrunner:

Daniel Lazzara, Sea Assassins (6 GP, 1346 yards, 35 TDs, 3 interceptions, 127.3 QBR)

Challengers:

Pascal Murray, Wolfpack (6 GP, 1391 yards, 34 TDs, 9 interceptions, 107.4 QBR)

Liam Mahoney, Fun Boys (6 GP, 1080 yards, 28 TDs, 5 interceptions, 111.1 QBR)

 

Projection: Daniel Lazzara

Prior to this week, this was essentially a two-horse race with Lazzara and Pascal Murray. Then, one horse (Murray) fell off the wagon big time with an awful performance in which he threw a whopping 5 interceptions. Although the Sea Assassins face a few tough defenses in their last four games, Lazzara will have to completely collapse not to win this award. Again, the Sea Assassins are built to score a lot of points to their style of play on both sides of the ball and even though he might not light up the scoreboard in these final games, I believe the lead is insurmountable.

 

WR of the Year: Ineligible: Pat Jerome – Triple Sixers (Div 2), Jean-Daniel Chevalier – Wolfpack (Div 2), Quaid Johnson – Sea Assassins (Div 2)

Frontrunner:

Francis Lapointe, Wolfpack (5 GP, 28 rec, 391 yards, 11 TDs, 14.0 YDS/rec)

Challengers:

Dave Chitayat (5 GP, 24 rec, 315 yards, 11 TDs, 13.1 YDS/rec)

Cedric Nuckle, Mongoose (6 GP, 41 rec, 417 yards, 9 TDs, 10.2 YDS/rec)

 

Projection: Francis Lapointe

We caught a glimpse of what the Wolfpack offense looked like without Lapointe in the lineup and it was not pretty. The Wolfpack were held to their lowest point output of the season against a winless team and the offense committed 5 turnovers en route to a blowout loss. Combine his massive impact and role in the offense and his great numbers, I see no reason for Lapointe not to win this award IF he plays the remainder of his team’s games.

 

Defensive Player of the Year: Ineligible: Terrence Adams – Ball Busters (Div 1), Pat Jerome – Triple Sixers (Div 2)

Frontrunner:

Gabriel Wiseman, Snatchers (5 GP, 12 TKL, 5 INT, 3 PD, 2 TDs)

Challengers:

Louis-Phillip Thibodeau, La Sauce (5 GP, 5 TKL, 5 INT, 1 PD)

Vince Nardone, Fun Boys (6 GP, 11 TKL, 5 INT, 6 PD, 1 TD)

 

Projection: Gabriel Wiseman

Wiseman has been a game-changer on the Snatchers defense this season. While I thought the team didn’t have enough playmakers to be competitive in this division, Wiseman has really stepped up and provided a much-needed spark. Taking into consideration the Snatchers’ soft schedule and playing quarterbacks who are prone to throwing interceptions regularly, Wiseman has a great chance to capitalize and pad his already impressive stats.

 

Two-Way Player of the Year: (Ineligible: Quaysie Gordon-Maule – The Brotherhood (Div 1), Pat Jerome – Triple Sixers (Div 2))

Frontrunner:

Vince Nardone, Fun Boys (WR: 6 GP, 26 rec, 334 yards, 7 TDs, 12.8 YDS/rec ——DEF: 11 TKL, 5 INT, 6 PD, 1 TD)

Challengers:

Liam Mahoney, Fun Boys (QB: 6 GP, 29 Total TDs, 5 INTs, 1168 Total Yards, 111.1 QBR—– DEF: 16 TKL, 3 INT, 3PD, 1 TD)

Joey Vizzi, Jumpmans (WR: 5 GP, 27 rec, 368 yards, 8 TDs —DEF: 20 TKL, 2 INT, 3 PD)

 

Projection: Vince Nardone

Nardone plays on a great overall defense, is the most experienced player, and is the leader of his defense. Taking that into consideration and the quarterbacks his team plays, he has a really solid chance of padding those stats on defense. On offense, he has emerged as a top weapon for Liam Mahoney and has eclipsed 100 yards receiving in two of his last three games.

 

FPF Fantasy – Player vs. Player

QB: Karim Chaoul (Triple Sixers) vs. Mark Belvedere (B.D. Bandits): The Triple Sixers and B.D. Bandits defenses have been good as of late. I just like Karim Chaoul’s short efficient game to be more effective in this matchup as he’s shown to be more consistent than his counterpart. He also gets to throw to Pat Jerome, a luxury Mark Belvedere does not have.

WR: Jordan Allard (Grip N Rip) vs. Darren Bicknell (Past Our Prime): While their yardage totals are similar, Bicknell has a big edge in touchdowns and has been Craig O’Brien’s go-to-guy all season; Allard is not Gualano’s go-to-guy but has put up some good numbers. So why am I siding with Allard in this matchup? In a game where Vinny Gualano will bring his A-game to beat his former team, I think he’ll spread the ball all over the field and that means Allard will be involved. Gualano also knows O’Brien’s offense and his reliance on Bicknell. Due to this, Gualano will gameplan around this and  find a way to limit the damage Bicknell will cause.

D: The Brotherhood vs. Killer Instinct: The top two defenses face off and I think #1 will get the best of #2. I like the explosiveness of The Brotherhood offense more and I like Theo’s chances of breaking contain more often against the KI defense more than I like Nathan Taylor’s chance against The Brotherhood D. That being said, Ojeaha has been more prone to throwing interceptions than Taylor so we’ll see!

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Survivor Pool Week 8 Picks:

The Fun Boys dominated the Snatchers while the Triple Sixers kept G.M. alive. Here are our expert picks for week 7:

*Not permitted to pick team we play on

*Once you pick a team, you cannot pick them again

Paolo Della Rocca: Sea Assassins

G.M. Kolethras: Fun Boys

Vince Nardone: Sea Assassins

Justin Blanchard: Sea Assassins

James Floreani: Eliminated

Simon Dagenais: Eliminated

David Della Rocca: Eliminated

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Week 8 Game Predictions

 

James’ lock of the week: Sea Assassins

The Sea Assassins will kill you if you can’t sustain drives and give them the ball back. These two teams have history together but that was with Francois Raymond at the helm. With Cory Kennedy taking the snaps now, there will be opportunities for turnovers for the Sea Assassins defense and they will capitalize. The top-ranked offense doesn’t need the extra possessions but they will have an easy time coming out on top in this game.

Prediction: Sea Assassins 38, La Sauce 19

Lock of the Week Record: 5-1

 

Game of the Week: The Brotherhood vs. Killer Instinct

This is the game of the week, possibly of the season, in division 3. Ultimately, this game will decide who gets first seed in conference A. With the top two defenses in the division, the game should be a fun-to-watch tight low-scoring affair.

Key Matchups:

Theo Ojeaha vs. Nathan Taylor– Both quarterbacks have come a long way and have played well this season. Both are backed by incredible defenses but which quarterback will be able to move the ball efficiently and score enough points?

The Brotherhood defense vs. Killer Instinct defense – As I mentioned, these two teams own the two best defenses in the division. Both allow less than 20 points/game, which is an incredible stat. The Brotherhood allows 16.83 points/game while Killer Instinct allows 19.33 points/game. Which defense can make more plays and set their offense up in good field position in a game that figures to be a tight defensive battle?

Nathan Taylor buying time vs. Quaysie Gordon-Maule – Gordon-Maule is the fastest rusher in the division. With a secondary like The Brotherhood owns, you must hit quick short timing routes or buy time with your legs to open things up. Having a guy like Gordon-Maule chasing you around in the backfield won’t allow for that.

 

Prediction: I see this as a race to 20. In a game of that will be tightly contested all night, I see both offenses struggling to get much going but I think the difference will be that Theo Ojeaha will be able to buy more time with his legs than will his counterpart Nathan Taylor, and that ultimately will be the difference.

The Brotherhood 20, Killer Instinct 13

 

Matchups	James’ Picks ATS	Peeze’s Picks ATS	James’ Picks Straight Up	Peeze’s Picks Straight Up
F.O.E. (-5.5) vs. Les Buddays	F.O.E.	F.O.E.	F.O.E.	F.O.E.
The Brotherhood (-0.5) vs. Killer Instinct	The Brotherhood	Killer Instinct	The Brotherhood	Killer Instinct
Dark Moose Returns (-2.5) vs. Game Changers	Dark Moose Returns	N/A	Dark Moose Returns	N/A
OTF (-5.5) vs. Nuggets	OTF	OTF	OTF	OTF
Ball Busters (-7.5) vs. Mercenaries	Ball Busters	Mercenaries	Ball Busters	Ball Busters
Grip N Rip (-5.5) vs. Past our Prime	Grip N Rip	Past Our Prime	Grip N Rip	Grip N Rip
Dirty Dawgs (-3.5) vs. Westpark Boys	Westpark Boys	Dirty Dawgs	Dirty Dawgs	Dirty Dawgs
Laval’s Finest (-3.5) vs. Predators	N/A	Predators	N/A	Laval’s Finest
Triple Sixers (-3.5) vs. B.D. Bandits	B.D. Bandits	B.D. Bandits	Triple Sixers	B.D. Bandits
Mongoose (-1.5) vs. Metamayhem	Metamayhem	Metamayhem	Metamayhem	Metamayhem
Sea Assassins (-9.5) vs. La Sauce	Sea Assassins	Sea Assassins	Sea Assassins	Sea Assassins
Wolfpack (-3.5) vs. Les Eudistes	Wolfpack	Wolfpack	Wolfpack	Wolfpack
Jumpmans (-0.5) vs. Snatchers	Jumpmans	Jumpmans	Jumpmans	Jumpmans
Fun Boys (-5.5) vs. 2HD	Fun Boys	2HD	Fun Boys	2HD
Last Week’s Record	8-5	5-8	10-3	8-5
SEASON TOTALS	44-34	44-34	51-25-2	46-30-2

 

Power Rankings:

 

1. The Brotherhood (5-1) – They did exactly what I expected them to: come back with a vengeance and dominate. Now comes the big showdown vs. Killer Instinct. Can they put up enough points against a defense as good as their own? (Last Week: 1)

 

2. Fun Boys (5-1) – The defense gave Simon Dagenais fits all night picking him five times. That’s impressive in any game but coming in, Dagenais had only thrown four interceptions all season. Way to turn it up. This team’s stock keeps rising. (Last Week: 2)

 

3. Killer Instinct (5-1) – They took care of business in a tight defensive battle. They struggled some on offense only putting up 20 against a team with no quarterback but the real test comes this week against The Brotherhood. Can the offense put up enough against the top-ranked defense? (Last Week: 3)

 

4. Laval’s Finest (5-1) – They caught a break facing a Mongoose squad without their quarterback and they took advantage. Now comes a big divisional showdown with the Predators. (Last Week: 5)

 

5. F.O.E. (5-1) – They held on against a tougher-than-their-record-suggests Metamayhem team in a game I expected to come down to the wire. The defense continues to carry the load. (Last Week: 6)

 

6. Ball Busters (5-0-1) – They keep squeaking out non-impressive victories against subpar competition, but the important thing is that they are winning. The defense has been bailing them out of late; they’ll need to step up if they want to make a deep run in the playoffs. (Last Week: 7)

 

7. Wolfpack (4-2) – What a letdown against a winless team after such a huge win. Some people will point to the fact that they were missing their top two players. I don’t buy it. That’s not an excuse for looking as awful as they did. Pascal Murray looked absolutely lost without his two guys and that is concerning. Throwing five interceptions is unacceptable and in doing so, you give your team no chance to win the game. (Last Week: 4)

 

       8. Grip ‘N’ Rip (4-2) – Great way to respond. The one time I go against them in my picks and against my gut, they come out with an all-around great performance. The defense was head and shoulders better than it has been of late. (Last Week: 9)

 

9. Dark Moose Returns (4-2) – This team is so frustrating. They can look unstoppable at times while they look totally out-of –sync and unimpressive for large spurts. After jumping out to a quick 24-0 lead following three interceptions, they let the Jumpmans back into it and it nearly cost them. Can’t have that lack of focus against top teams. (Last Week: 8)

 

10. Sea Assassins (4-2) – They dismantled a struggling team while the defense gave up less than 20 points for the first time God knows how long. Good on them. (Last Week: 10)

 

Just missed the cut….

 

Triple Sixers (4-2) – When your defense forces three interceptions and allows less than 100 yards through the air, you’re in a fantastic position to win the game. They needed that victory too because they have a tough schedule the rest of the way.

 

Predators (4-2) – The offense was nearly unstoppable when it didn’t hurt itself, with four terrible drops all in the first few drives and an interception. On defense they stepped up when they needed to on the final drive when part-time rusher Alexandre Noel batted the ball in the air and picked it off on the last play of the game to seal a big victory.

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Things We Learned

• C’mon Man! of the week: Pascal Murray and Simon Dagenais. Throwing five interceptions in one game is extremely hard to do. Congrats for accomplishing this feat and giving your team zero chance to win. C’MON MAN!!!

• Westpark Boys do belong in division 3….with a capable QB. Congrats to them on their first win!

• Daniel Lazzara can thank the Westpark Boys defense for all but guaranteeing him some more hardware at the end of the season for QB of the year.

• GnR aka 2HD 2.0 > 2HD

• B.D. Bandits are who we thought they were. They can beat the teams they should beat and pull out an upset here and there, but have not shown that they can measure up to the top contenders.

• After six games, Fun Boys rank 5th offensively and 5th They are the only team to rank in the top 5 on both sides of the ball.

• Ball Busters are the only team still without a loss.

• Les Eudistes became the second team (Dark Moose Returns) in division 3 to win a game without their starting quarterback.

 

Best of luck to all teams for week 8! If you want to reach me for any inquiries or to disagree with me, feel free to hit me up at [email protected] or DM me @JFloMusicMTL on Twitter.