Division A: Receiver of the Year

Hey everyone, I hope you have had a great week! With the extreme heat and downpour of rain we had recently, flag has been not easy to play in these conditions. Regardless, we are about to start the Week 9 games tonight, inching our way to the post-season. This week, I’ll be looking at the candidates for receiver of the year. As much as defence plays a huge part in flag football, it’s become more of an offensive game for most of the time. Many athletes in Division A are two-way players and are able to put insane numbers when they have the ball in their hands. Before we look into who I have in the running, let’s go through my Week 8 predictions.

One Stop – Braves
Game Info: Friday July 1, 10:00pm, Laval
Prediction: One Stop 14 – Braves 45
Final Score: One Stop 26 – Braves 34
Even with the loss, I was impressed with One Stop. I had a chance to watch a few early plays from this game as I was leaving Laval and Michael Caparelli was definitely more composed than what I’ve seen of him in Division A this season. One Stop had a chance to tie the game late and after a tough 4th down grab by Jahnai Lewis, James Drysdale would pick off Caparelli in his end zone to end the game. AJ Zeppetelli had a great game with over 120yds and 2 TDs as well as Charles Cossette with 111yds and a TD himself. Jonathan Maheu threw 5 TDs, three of them to Drysdale. This was another game that Braves were able to win, despite being close to the end, showing off their resilience in close games. If this is the type of game One Stop can produce, especially as this was against Braves, they can make several games competitive and sneak their way into the playoffs.

One Stop – PartyCrashers
Game Info: Sunday July 13, 4:00pm, Laval
Prediction: One Stop 26 – PartyCrashers 39
Final Score: Postponed, will be rescheduled
This game will be rescheduled as this game didn’t occur due to the pouring rain and lightning we had Sunday afternoon. I was suppose to have a game at the same time as this matchup and due to the weather moving late, the game only got postponed right when players were already at the field. Unfortunately, FPF couldn’t do anything as they have to play through many conditions and postponing a game is the last resort as then they would have to find a field and time to reschedule these games. Several players weren’t happy but at the end of the day, players and staff safety comes first but at least this game will be played at a later date.

The Infantry – The Jamesons
Game Info: Sunday July 13, 10:00pm, Laval
Prediction: The Infantry 41 – The Jamesons 32
Final Score: The Infantry 56 – The Jamesons 38
This was a statement win by The Infantry who have made significant improvements after starting the season 0-3 and now are on a 4-game win streak. Kevin Wyeth played great as he only had two incompletions and threw 7 TDs. Jaylen Greaves had four of those Wyeth TDs and the defence played great as they got two pick-6s; one from Quaysie Gordon-Maule and the other from Matt Bond. Outside of the two pick-6s, Jeff Rosenblatt didn’t play bad himself. He had 6 TD thrown with Paul Lapierre and Adam Malinoff each having a pair. The Jamesons defence weren’t able to contain The Infantry receivers and that was the main thing. As I’ve mentioned earlier for The Jamesons, it really comes down to who is actually playing each game as this game had Anthony Brisebois and Daniel Mancini absent who I felt that if one of the those guys were there, it could help especially on the defensive end. Jordan Panetta was on the roster in this game but has no stats on either side of the ball so perhaps an injury or DNP. The Infantry took care of business regardless and are the hottest team in Div A outside of Braves and have turned their season around when it mattered most.

Award Race

Receiver of the Year

Prediction: Felix Boutet

Contenders: Jeremy Murphy, Charles Cossette, Jerome Hovington

With the large pool of talented WRs in Division A, it’s not easy to standout for this award. Based on how the stats are looking today, here are my top 6 nominations for the award. Anthony Drysdale from Vultures has been efficient with his targets. Leading his team in TDs and being a consistent red zone target for Ben McMahon will be vital for a Vultures’ post-season run. With this great season, I do think his opposition brings more firepower for their cases. James Drysdale has been nothing but great for Braves, especially in the absence of his teammate, Jeremy Murphy. In games without Murphy this season, Drysdale averages 75yds and 3.5 TDs a game. Due to the limited games he’s played and the fact that Murphy does take a huge volume of the offence when present does hurt Drysdale’s chances but everyone knows the talent the Team Canada athlete possesses. My first contender is Charles Cossette who is a deep ball threat who uses his speed and size to create mismatches across the field. He has over 33% of Caparelli’s yards and is near the top in every receiver stats. Even with One Stop’s struggles, Cossette has been a bright spot all season. Next up is Jerome Hovington from Idaho Udapimps. If Jerome was the sole receiver on Idaho, he has the talent to win this award but with so many talented receivers on the team, it’s hard to have 2 of the top receivers but Idaho is very close to do so. Hovington will catch anything in his vicinity and use his speed to cut corners for extra yards. He’s been a solid receiver for Ohanessian this year and has worked great in any situation. I do think the other two receivers have a better shot at winning the award over him but he’s right there. My runner up is Jeremy Murphy. If you look at the stats, the Braves standout leads the major categories so why do I not have him win the award? Murphy hasn’t played for Braves in Div A in over a month and even though his numbers are amazing, there’s the uncertainty of how many games he will play until playoffs. With 15 TDs and leading the league in yards per game by nearly double, if he plays 2+ more games, the award should be his. Who I do have winning the award is Hovington’s teammate, Felix Boutet. Being 2nd in Div A with 10 TDs and leading with over 20 yds a catch, Boutet is able to burn the best defenders across the field and has the ability to make defenders miss even if they are in close proximity. With 3 games left, I predict Boutet to leap over Murphy in yards and TDs because I value reliability and Boutet has only missed 1 games compared to Murphy’s 3.

Week 9 Predictions:

Vultures – One Stop
Game Info: Friday July 13, 9pm, Laval
Prediction: Vultures 38 – One Stop 30
The experience of Vultures, especially with the connection between McMahon and Drysdale will keep them in control. For One Stop, the key for the upset is to contain McMahon and take advantage of Vultures’ weaker defence compared to the rest of Division A. Charles Cossette needs to have an impact on both sides of the ball if One Stop wants the upset and Caparelli needs to avoid turnovers and sacks in key moments.

Idaho Udapimps – Vultures
Game Info: Sunday July 20, 4pm, Laval
Prediction: Idaho Udapimps 40 – Vultures 28
Idaho Udapimps lost a tight contest to Braves in Week 7 and would be hungry to build from that game. The start power that involves Boutet, Hovington, Manu Allard-Roy among others will be tough for Vultures to control. Vultures will need to force Ohanessian to make mistakes. Tackling will be key on defence and McMahon will need to keep control of the ball, allowing Idaho defenders to make mistakes during coverage to pull off the win. An upset can occur if AJ Gomes is in the lineup and has a huge game both sides of the ball.

Braves – Party Crashers
Game Info: Sunday July 20, 6pm, Laval
Prediction: Braves 38 – PartyCrashers 36
Last time these 2 teams played, Braves won by 3 in Week 4. This rematch should be a close one if both teams are sending their full roster. Braves have proved that no matter how close the game is as time is winding down, they are able to defend against their own goal line or get points when it matters. Murphy and/or Drysdale will have a big game, I’m sure of it. Mendel Joseph will have to be a big factor on both sides of the ball for PartyCrashers. Emerson Peterkin and Louis-Philip Thibodeau can both play huge complementary roles to Jeanslee Alexis, especially if this game comes down to the wire.

Week 10 Predictions:

The Jamesons – PartyCrashers
Game Info: Monday July 21, 10pm, Stade de Montreal
Prediction: The Jamesons 32 – PartyCrashers 42
The Jamesons won the last matchup in week 1 against PartyCrashers 36-30. PartyCrashers had a rocky start but have built momentum towards clinching a playoff birth. Rosenblatt will need his key receivers present such as Brisebois, Mancini, Lapierre and Panetta. The chemistry PartyCrashers has can be too much if the continuity of The Jamesons isn’t at this game. Joseph should be involved on both sides of the ball so it will be key that The Jamesons defenders are focused on him especially. Turnovers will be key and I find that PartyCrashers are coming into this game more hungry and can win the turnover battle.

Idaho Udapimps – One Stop
Game Info: Tuesday July 22, 7:30pm, Marie-Victorin
Prediction: Idaho Udapimps 44 – One Stop 32
Idaho Udapimps faced One Stop in Week 5 and won 40-22. This game should be closer as One Stop will be fighting for their playoff lives where I think Idaho Udapimps will be in a better spot by the time of this matchup. Caparelli would need to avoid the several ballhawks of this Idaho defence like he did in Week 5 but the One Stop defence will need to contain the fire power of Idaho Udapimps. I expect Hovington and Boutet to have huge games, both proving their cases for receiver of the year respectively. If AJ Zeppetelli can be on the roster for this game, he’s always a game changer for One Stop with his connection with Caparelli and make this game much closer than some may think.

Closing Remarks:
That’s all for this article! This rounds out the Week 9 article and also includes my overview of the Receiver of the Year race. Next article will be about the final award as we are inching towards the end of the regular season. The latest episode of the FPF 1st & Goal podcast is up below and you can see Brent Bodkin talk about the world of FPF, including a special guest from Braves’ own Jonathan Maheu. Reminder that playoffs are approaching and to have playoff eligibility, you will need to have 5 games played or have a medical note approved by an appropriate doctor in order to be exempted. Thanks for reading this article and if you have any questions or suggestions, you can always email me at [email protected], message me on instagram @keyoncyrus or message me from the FPF Facebook page.

[Article Finalized on July 18, 5:00pm]