With the marathon week behind us, we look forward to the last two weeks of the regular season

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, welcome to Week 8 of the FlagPlus Football Jr season. After this Saturday, there will be only one more week left in the regular season before the most glorious time of the year- playoff time. Before we get to that point however, there are so many questions we have left to answer.  Most notably, will Hurricanes go undefeated? And, will the Tigers’ 38-38 Week 3 tie with the Buckeyes be the only blemish on their record?

Due to the power outage out the Stinger Dome on January 9th, that saw one game stopped prematurely, and another not even played, last Saturday we had a mini marathon of games as we had 5 matchups in total. What made the situation eve more unique is that because of the make-up contests falling on Week 7, we saw repeats of the same matchups.

The first game to kick things off was the Tigers and Buckeyes tilt. The fireworks started early as Tigers Quarterback Trey Bentley connected on two first half touchdown passes to Kaiden Dewey and Lukas Manolikakis, while running one in himself on a beautiful 28-yard run.

The Buckeyes offense which really struggled in the first half, pulled it together in the second, as QB Jaden Edghill connected on passes to several receivers including Malcolm De Potter who scored his first TD of the year. Edghill also hurt the Tigers’ defense with his feet as he had an outstanding 57 yards on just 4 carries. Unfortunately for his team, it wasn’t enough as the Tigers went on to take 18-6.

Next game up was the Crimson Tide versus the Hurricanes. Coming into the game, the ‘Canes were missing a few of their regulars due to exams (I never thought in my writing career, that I would be mentioning that as a reason to miss a game.) Much to their credit, however, the team didn’t seem to miss a beat, as QB Gianni Frassetti was giving his teammates both old and new ones, a chance to make plays – and they did. Adam Mahrouse in particular who I mentioned last week was now receiving a regular spot in the team’s offense because of the trade of Juwan Edghill a few weeks back, made his presence felt once again on O, as he put up a game-high 8 catches for 81 yards and 1 TD.

For the Tide, dropped balls killed them in this one. Their best player, and arguably the best WR in FPF Jr, Reece Woods, dropped at least two would-be TD passes. Speedy WR Jayden Hogan who was kept off the stat sheet, dropped at least 2 as well. Malik James also dropped some balls on the sideline. The Tide WRs had a bad game overall, and did nothing to help their QB Avery Lalla.

The one bright spot however, was the play of Jose Castro. After scoring a TD in both games last Saturday, he continued the trend against the Hurricanes catching 6 passes for 68 yards and 1 TD. His brother Diego also stepped up his game, as he recorded a pick-6 of Grassetti to go along with a game-high 7 tackles.

Those performances weren’t enough however, as the Canes took round 1 34-24.

Round 2 was different but similar to the first round 1. Where the Canes struggled a bit on defense earlier in the afternoon, they turned up the intensity after the break and as used their Hurricanes used a smothering D to shut down the Crimson Tide.

For the second game, and the second week in a row, Tide connection of QB Avery Lalla and WR Reece Woods struggled to make an impact, and just like the first matchup, the team’s entire receiving corps couldn’t find a way to pick up the slack.

On offense, Canes’ QB Gianni Frassetti picked up where he left off in game 1, as he continued to torch the Tide defense. In two games he had a Saturday to remember, as he threw for a combined 418 yards and 10 TDs with only 2 picks. Pretty impressive.

The Tigers and Wolverines also faced each other 2 times in a row on Saturday. Powered behind the arm and legs of Trey Bentley who only had an amazing 5 incompletions, (I think it’s safe to call him the best QB in the Junior Division) the Tigers, just like the Hurricanes, swept their 2-game series as well.

The junior Tigers also got a standout performance from Lukas Manolikakis who had a game-high 4 receptions for 91 yards and 3 TDs. He even added two tackles on defense just to show he’s one tiger who definitely has some bite.

 

High Five

Trey Bentley (Tigers)- If he plays like he did last Saturday, he might have to for more triple headers. On O he threw for a combined 383 yards and 10 TDs. He also ran for a 28-yard TD.Yes, I know that the stats maybe skewed a bit because of the continued game, but you can’t hold that against him.

Lukas Manolikakis (Tigers) – somebody had to catch all those touchdown passes from Bentley, and Manolikakis was glad to do it, as he doubled his TD production in one game. Let’s see if he can build on those solid numbers next weekend in the regular season finale against the Wolverines.

Camdyn Jeremiah (Wolverines) – Although his team struggled offensively, you can’t place any of the blame on Jeremiah’s shoulders. The young two-way stud had a heck of a Saturday afternoon, as he had 8 tackles, an interception, and an incredible 5 carries for 140 yards and 3 TDs.

Malcolm De Pooter (Buckeyes) – The most talkative, and arguably the funniest kid in all of FPF Jr, finally backed up his gums with his play, as he had a really good day as a receiver for his squad. He not only led his team in yards per catch, but he also scored the Buckeyes’ only touchdown. If the speedy De Pooter can focus just a bit more on the game, he could become a serious threat for his team.

The Hurricanes – Down two staring Defensive Backs, and a starting Receiver, they shook off the absences, and came through with two important wins. They close out the regular season with back-to-back games against the Longhorns. Can the Canes go undefeated? Tomorrow’s first game versus the Horns’ will give us a lot of answers.

 

Matchups

Juwan Edghill vs the Hurricanes

It’s been almost a month since the trade that saw Edghill go from the Canes to the Longhorns. The trade worked out well for both parties, as Edghill moved to a team that gave him more of an opportunity to showcase his talents as the number 1 option on offense, while for the Canes, it gave more playing time on offense to other players. Saturday will be the first time both sides have squared off. This should an action-packed game with tons of highlight plays.

 

Jaeden Edghill vs the Wolverines’ Defense

The time these two teams met up, Edghill was running down the right sideline on the last play of the game, looking to score what would have been the game-winning touchdown before Wolverines Defensive Back Hayden Lebel-Latter channeled his inner Luke Kuechly and made a game-saving tackle inside the 5 yard line. Let’s see what happens this round.

 

Reece Woods and Avery Lalla vs the Longhorns Defese

Woods has wowed everybody, especially yours truly ever since Week 1. The last few weeks however, the connection has struggled to build chemistry and as a result have put up much more down-to-earth numbers. In a crucial game against the Longhorns, will we see the numbers we saw earlier in the season, or the less impressive numbers we’ve seen lately?

 

Picks

Longhorns (Jr.) vs Hurricanes (Jr.) – Longhorns

The Hurricanes look like they can’t be stopped, but they are far from perfect. Also, the Edghill factor can’t be ignored. If the Canes are to lose a game this season, it kind of feels like it will happen here.

 

Buckeyes (Jr.) vs Wolverines (Jr.) – The Wolverines

The Wolverines appear to be the better team at this point. If their defense can find a way to contain the run, they will get the win. I say they do.

 

Crimson Tide (Jr.) vs Longhorns (Jr.) – Longhorns

The Tide can’t help but get out of their own way lately. The Longhorns only win of the season has come over the Crimson Tide. I say they make it two wins here

 

That’s it for this week. I will see you guys on the sideline this Saturday.

If you loved the article, hated it, or simply felt I left something out, don’t be shy. You can shoot me a tweet at @BADNEWS51.