Pug Life, Controlled Tempers and the Importance of Consistency

Recaps week 11

My brother is the proud owner of two Pugs.  Snoop, the older of the two is getting some grays on his chin, he lacks the energy of his youth and he’s put on some weight as most creatures do as they age.  Tommy is a pup.  He looks, well, he looks exactly like Snoop did nearly a decade ago.  He’s young, wild-eyed and has yet to form the fat rolls on his neck that are commonly associated with Pugs.  He’ll get there, certainly.  For now he runs laps around his older brother as the regal, more wethered dog looks down upon him with the kind of vibe that feels like: “are you going to shut tf up?”

This morning, my brother sent me a video of the younger Tommy running back and forth on the snow covered deck.  Every half lap or so he looked back and acknowledged his elder.  It got me thinking, what if Tommy believes that Snoop is him from the future.  

Snoop had to change his name after the failed Pug rebellion of 2031.  The Pugrisning was not without merit as this majestic species would no longer suffer the indignity of being forced to wear crocheted booties or miniature Darth Vader costumes or vanity dog sized sailor hats.  For too long they were denied table scraps and fed pellets.  Sure the pellets were delicious but Snoop knew the glory of a piece of sausage falling victim to gravity.  The crunch of a chip who was too large to be contained in a single bite or the unguarded remains of a child’s happy meal showed that there was so much more to live for.

“They already have to pick-up after our poops”, thought Snoop, “now we’ll see who gets denied table snacks.”  Snoop plotted and recruited. Each time he smelled the but of a similarly restrained canine he whispered “time to break free from the leashes of oppression.”  His message spread and before you knew it the free thinking 4 legged rebellion was on.  That was until the next amazon package arrived and Snoop could not keep focused. He needed to bark. A lot.  For no reason whatsoever, the Commander Snoop of the 1st Pug Regiment was overcome with the need to express excitement for the box.  The box showed no emotion, as is the way of that culture.  Despite the excitement, the pawing and the excited parade the box just sat there as if made of cardboard.  

It was then that he knew the Pugrising was merely a dream.  Snoop looks on to Tommy and thinks “keep dreaming kid, it’ll be your box day one day too.”

Here are your recaps for week 11.

Mangoose versus Les Gros Coqs

Division 3

By Brent Bodkin

This was an exciting game that featured a ton of speed, exhilarating plays, a successful onside pass, and a game-winning touchdown with less than five plays remaining. This game was also the perfect example of not judging a book by its cover, as the combo of Quarterback Dom Lefort and Snapper Julien Proulx who both stand no taller than 5 foot 6, combined for a first-half touchdowns and several first downs, and just as important, used their speed to create openings for their teammates on offense. By doing so, they demonstrated that it isn’t the size of the dog in the fight that matters.

Not to be outdone, the dynamic Mangoose duo of QB Nicolas Schaefer and Receiver James Drysdale, came to play as well, as they combined for three touchdown passes, including a 40-yard bomb on the team’s final possession of the first half.

The two-way player of the game was Thomas Coutu, who had two sacks, to go along with four catches for 49 yards, and a beautiful 21-yard touchdown that saw him pull off the increasingly popular dip move to get past the last defender who was standing at the 1-yard line.

 This game came down to the last possession for Les Gros Coqs. After Lefort connected on a 16-yard TD to Receiver Lemay, the team elected to go for on onside pass. LGC, were successful in their attempt, as Rousseau-Belanger caught a jump directly at midfield. Four plays later, Lemay would make his second trip to the endzone, giving his team a (37-34) lead.

Mangoose got the ball back with three plays remaining. After a completion of seven yards to Gabriel Drapeau-Zgoralski on first down, and an incomplete pass on second, Schaefer would throw a rainbow Hail Mary to the endzone in the direction of Drysdale, but the pass was batted down by Cornerback Alexis Ferrand to end what was a fantastic game.

Final Score: Les Gros Coqs (37-34)

Une Phrase Bien Fournie versus Air Force 1

Division 3

By Brent Bodkin

After looking like they put their offensive struggles they experienced earlier this season behind them, Une Phrase Bien Fournie, struggled to move the ball with any consistency in the first half of their matchup with Air Force 1 Wednesday night in Laval.

After scoring a touchdown on the first play of the game from Quarterback Xavier Bilodeau to Receiver Nicolas Baillargeon, the offense committed three turnovers and found themselves trailing (18-7) at halftime.

The team was able to find their offensive game in the second stanza, as they were able to get touchdowns from Alexandre Paré, Donavan Martel, and Simon Guillemette. The effort was inspiring, but it wasn’t enough, as Air Force 1 continued their assault from the first half, as they recorded three more TDs, two from coming from Alexandre Szalipszki who led all players with seven catches for 70 yards, and the game-winning score from Samuel Leblanc.

Air Force 1 Quarterback Simon Blais was phenomenal, throwing for 224 yards and six touchdowns on 22 of 27 passing. More TD passes than incompletions is always impressive.

Final Score: Air Force 1 (36-26)

Primal versus Les Bleues Dry

Division 5B

By Brent Bodkin

Les Bleues Dry’s offense was as awful as the beer they are named after, as they recorded a measly one touchdown per half in their loss to Primal. Quarterback Frederic Juneau has a lot of desirable traits as a QB. He possesses height, scrambling ability, and a strong arm, but his accuracy was an issue Wednesday night in Laval, as the passer missed more than a few open receivers, while also throwing four inceptions, including a pick-six to Antoine Chabot, who had a whale of a game with three touchdowns in all. Not all the offense’s faults rest on the shoulders of their passer. He was a victim of several drops by his teammates.

The Primal offense was careful with the deep ball, and they took advantage of the extra possessions, as they scored on the ensuing drive after three of the four interceptions. Quarterback Mederic Lauzon struggled trying to throw the deep ball, but he picked apart the Les Bleues Dry defense in the short passing game, as he connected for big plays to Valéry Shelder, Jean-Philippe Régnier, and Chabot. The team also did a good job of milking the clock, as not only did they have scoring drives of six, six, and nine plays respectively, they took away the long passing game from their opponents and forced them into long time-consuming drives as well.   

Turnovers and going an undesirable two for five in the redzone are the main reasons why Les Bleues Dry came out on the losing side in this contest.

Final Score: Primal (25-12)

Cunning Stunts versus Bruins

Division 4

By Brent Bodkin

This game brought the highlights and memorable plays as an exciting shootout took place Monday night in St. Laurent.

Both Quarterbacks were solid in the outing, as the Cunning Stunts’ Stephen Casey, was deadly at various levels of the field, as he spread the ball around to all his receivers. WR Corey Williams was the biggest beneficiary, as he led his team with five catches for 86 yards and two touchdowns. The former Bishop’s Gaiter made what must be a catch of the year candidate, as he did a streak down the right sideline going toe-to-toe with Defensive Back Tahnyus Steer. Casey launched the ball deep but he under threw his target by about two yards. Steer leapt up and got a hand on the ball and tried to deflect it out of bounds, but not before Williams jumped and tipped the ball of the initial deflection and directed it to himself for a 38-yard TD. Simply remarkable. To the Steer’s credit, he would record a 36-yard trip to the endzone three plays later as he broke three tackles attempts, one of which was by Williams.

Not to be outdone, Bruins QB Kristopher Verreault produced a number of big plays, both with his arm and his feet, as he tossed four touchdown passes, and ran five times 63 yards. He threw a beautiful dime to Rocco Christiano for a 40-yard TD, in the first half, and then broke off a 26-yard run in the second half that set up a touchdown by Nelson Pereira a few plays later. 

With the game tied at 40, the Cunning Stunts had a chance for the walk-off win with five plays left in the game. Two receptions for 16 yards, and three incomplete passes ended thoughts of a win.

The game also featured some questionable decision-making, as the Cunning Stunts elected not to use Receiver Domenico Manno on their final possession of the game. The Division 1 and 2 player who arrived at the game just before halftime, made an immediate impact when entering the game, as he had his two catches of the game on his first offensive drive, and attracted a lot of coverage in his direction. Putting him in the game at crunch time should have been an easy decision.

Final Score: (40-40)

Kiss My End Zone versus The Villains

Co-Ed 2

By Brent Bodkin

Ignacio Valdes Manzanedo (Iggy) continued in his quest to play Quarterback for a team in every division this year, led Kiss My End Zone, as he went an impressive 19 of 31 for 185 yards for five touchdowns in his team’s comeback win versus The Villains Sunday night at Loyola.

The performance wasn’t all perfect, as Iggy lost his temper at his teammates on more than one occasion, but when he wasn’t yelling at them, he connected on touchdown passes to Luis Begin, Abigail Cockerton, and Alexis Labonté. The QB was also smart with the ball, as he stayed away from 50-50 throws, and was able to throw his receivers open when need be.

Playing a huge factor in the win was the second-half decision-making of The Villains and their offense. Punting the ball on fourth and short, a turnover on downs because of a decision to run on fourth and five, and scoring only one touchdown were all a recipe for failure.

The loss for The Villains was their third and a row, and it wasted a strong effort from Xavier Sauvé, who had three catches for 75 yards with a touchdown and was more than deserving of having a few more passes thrown in his direction, as he routinely got open all evening long.

Final Score: Kiss My Endzone (34-27)

No Friend Zone versus Practice Squad (5)

Division 5A

By Brent Bodkin

Iggy made an appearance Wednesday night in Laval as well, as he Quarterbacked his team No Friend Zone, to a shutout win over Practice Squad (5). The QB had a strong performance going 17 of 23 for 169 yards and six touchdowns in the victory. He spread the ball around to six different receivers and kept his opponents guessing on defense the entire contest.

Despite the exploits of their Quarterback, the No Friend Zone defense was the shining star of the game, as they intercepted opposing QB Marc Antoine Martin, a Week 11 and Division 5A worst seven times. The dynamic duo of Jerome Hovington and Anthony Pelletier combined for five interceptions, while the combo of Alexandre Noel and Felix Boutet recorded one apiece.

The defense smothered the Practice Squad (5) pass-catchers, as no receiver had more than 20 receiving yards. They also did a great job shutting down the run game, as the fleet-footed Martin was held to a season-low two rushes for 18 yards.

Final Score: No Friend Zone (38-0)

Team Rocket versus Benchwarmers

Co-ed 2

By Brent Bodkin

Team Rocket also relied on their stifling defense to knock off the Benchwarmers Sunday night in Lachine, as both Thomas-Charles Paradis and Nicolas Prince intercepted Quarterback Gabriel Wiseman, and the team was able to hold his offense to one touchdown on three redzone visits, and an 0 for 3 mark on fourth down. The former also got help from Rusher Joël Bouchard, who recorded a sack, and applied constant pressure on the mobile Wiseman all game long.

Team Rocket Receiver Nassim Ouadhi also played a key role in the win, as he led all players with six receptions for 76 yards to go along with two touchdowns. Former McGill Redbird Guillaume Beland, also contributed to the win, by making six catches for 62 yards and a TD.

The Benchwarmers tried to keep pace, as Lucas Quenneville put up solid numbers with four grabs for 74 yards and a trip to the endzone of his own, and Wiseman registered an INT as a Defensive Back, but it wasn’t enough to take down their opponents.

Final Score: Team Rocket (19-6)