Bryan’s top-7 Division 5 teams and more

Division 5 did it again. In fact, this may have been the best one yet. It featured numerous jaw-dropping moments, controversial calls and a fair share of intriguing match ups. Hard to not follow this division—even for those who are in the outside looking in; and for your reading pleasure, here is a look at the top teams on my radar as we near the midway part of the season.

Form never formal, an art form, not a mural. Manipulating phonics, put them into sonnets. This week’s agenda is as followed:

Power rankings: Top 7 teams

Chalk one up for the Mad Bears and Tyrants

A few predictions

 

Power rankings: My top 7 teams

This is not an attempt to predict which teams will finish with the best win percentage this season. The premise is solely to examine the ones that have been the most dominant and impressive thus far. In other words, the teams you do not want to see appear on your weekly schedule. My rankings are based on all data at my disposal including schedule, win percentage, points scored and yielded, chemistry on the field and roster to name a few. Here are my lucky number seven. Feel free to hit me up on twitter @BryanMongeauE if ever you agree or if you fell that your team got snubbed. Just remember, I can’t include every team on this list and doesn’t mean that I think these teams will win it all either…but they are certainly on the right track.

 

1. Gators (5-0)

 

Here’s the deal. As of right now, the Gators are the best team. Plain and simple. Can they be beat? Of course. Same goes for every team out there in our division. But they deserve to be sitting on the throne after 5 weeks of action. For a team that mainly consists of a bunch of new players, it is impressive to see them have this type of success. Long-time face of the franchise Eddy Martinez is certainly doing a good job getting his troops ready week in and week out. It is worth noting that Matthew Horobec has also been contributing on offence, while it continues to be a total team effort on defensive side of the ball. Zach Brzbzingil looks like he’s trying to make up for lost time after having made his season debut last week. He had two tackles and a rare interception against Jean-François Marquis on their way to squeaking out a one-point victory over Tomahawk Nightmare. Much like Will Ferrell reverts to his old dark personality as Detective Allen “Gator” Gamble in the Other Guys, Gator don’t play no %*$#

2. Tomahawk Nightmare (4-1)

 

The same way Aaron Rodgers told Packers fans: “R-E-L-A-X”…am telling you to do the same. Yes, Tomahawk Nightmare’s 4-game win streak is now a thing of the past. Here’s to new beginnings! I fully expect them to have better numbers in the following weeks. This team has posted over 30 points in every game this season. Mathieu Cauchon and Olivier Savage certainly provide offensive fireworks. Although you can argue that this team had a relatively easy schedule to open up the season, they pretty much steamed rolled over their opponents. They faced the Gators last week and it could have gone either way. Despite tossing two interceptions, the team still had a chance to win, which is impressive considering that their defence failed to intercept the opposing quarterback and swing momentum back in their favor. Tough opponents are in their cards, so we shall see their true colours in the near future. I still think they are for real.

3. Golden Flashes (4-1)

 

Make it 4 in row for the Golden Flashes. Back-to-back victories against worthy opponents in KGP Lite and Les Verges Folles is a pretty good way to get your club’s name featured on this list…or at the very least become the topic of conversation when the question of who are the top dogs in our division arises. Jonathan Chevalier, who spent most of his FPF days with the Mongoose, as well as Alexandre Guertin, most notably from Lockdown and the Golden Eagles, have led the charge on offence accounting for the vast majority of the offensive receptions. They are big guys with good hands and certainly have a knack for finding the soft spots in a zone defence. It is worth mentioning that Golden Flashes, a team with one of the best records this season, have struggled to throw the ball. Despite a mediocre passing attack led by Yannick Doston, they are getting it done. It’s still a quarterback league. Usually teams without a quality pivot wander from week to week with mixed results. But there are other ways to win games. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. They continue to impress me.

4. The Gryphons (5-0)

 

You may be asking how on earth can I rank an undefeated team at the no. 4 spot. Well for starters, much of that is due to their schedule. At the halfway point, only one of their opponent has been above the .500 mark. We’re still not sure how strong the Gryphons will be against a quality opponent. Some questions were answered as they handed the Goats their only loss this season, but the great debate has yet to reach a conclusion in my opinion. Their week 8 and week 9 matchups against The Pack (1-4) and Venom (0-4) respectively, should once again translate into two more easy wins. Now I am not trying to take anything away from the Gryphons. There has certainly not been a lack of quality performances in their wins. Not easy to go undefeated at the midway mark. They deserve credit for that and have been winning big. As a result, they certainly deserve a spot on this list. With a victory next week against We Dem Boyz, I will feel more confident in their ability to make a splash in the playoffs and will gladly move them up my power rankings.

5. Les Verges Folles (4-1)

 

Shutting out your opponent, checked. 19-0 victory over the Rednecks in week 2. Beating a top tier contender, checked. 37-34 victory over GG’WP’ in week 3. Their only loss of the season, came in the absence of their starting quarterback, Shawn Lafortune, who did not play against the Golden Flashes. Hard to say what would have occurred, had he been behind center. In any event, this team possess players that can have breakout performances in every game. Look no further than Kyle Greenbaum’s monster outing last week. 4 touchdown grabs for 132 yards. Shawn Lafortune’s 6 TD performance with 0 interceptions in week 3. Vincent Morissette, who did it all on defence in the season opener, putting his name in every statistical category, recording a game-high 5 tackles, one sack, two interceptions and two knock downs. Case in point.

6. Sphinx (4-1)

 

This team has not had it easy facing some stiff competition. In fact, some of their contests resembled an undercard of an epic slugfest on the field. Yet, more often than not, this team was left standing. Having traded their traditional black uniforms for blue ones, the Sphinx are back to their winning ways. With one of the strongest defences in the division, their unit has only surrendered 70 points in 5 games. That is not a number to be taking lightly. Almost forgot to mention that they have amassed 17 interceptions and returned 6 of those to the house thanks to Julien Laporte, Frédéric Leclerc, Raymond Barisselle and Philippe Cloutier. Talk about jumping routes and being aggressive to the ball. This technic can make you or break you…safe to say it seems to be working for the Sphinx.

7. Green Lantern Corps (4-0-1)

 

After watching this team struggle in their season opener, Green Latern Corps have undergone an impressive transformation. Their victories against Butterfingers and Road Warriors were expected. In week 4, they controlled the game and handed TDs and Beer their first loss of the season. With big names on this team, it has been the unsung heroes making a difference in recent weeks. Antoni Borowczyk and Jerson Previllon have been coming on strong and have provided their QB Mendy Cardichon with more weapons on the offensive unit. Previllon is also making strides on the defence and is steadily becoming a sack machine. He already has double digit sacks at the midway point of the season. Having yet to lose a game, this team is peaking at the right time. It is a good thing that they managed to rack up some victories, because their remaining schedule will be anything but a walk in the park.

 

Chalk one up for the Mad Bears and Tyrants

Yes, it took a while, but the Mad Bears may have found a reason to be a little happier after finally tasting victory for the first time this season. The same can be sad for the Tyrants. Welcome to the club gentlemen. The Mad Bears edged out V Nation in a 13-12 thriller Having tied and been the losing end of one-point game themselves, I can only imagine that it makes this win that much more satisfying for them. As for the Tyrants, this veteran team sneaked into the win column with a 25-21 victory over les Loups.

Don’t compare yourself to other teams, but rather compare yourself to the team you were a week ago. Are you heading in the right direction is the question you better be able to answer. Obviously, these two teams are seemingly better than they once were having finally put it all together and earning a much needed W in the process. They are on the right track. Hopefully for them, this can serve as a confidence booster and help them pick up a few more wins to potentially end the season on a positive note.

 

A few predictions

 

Tomahawk Nightmare vs Sphinx

The Gryphons vs We Dem Boys

Keyport Lock vs Old Guns

Rednecks vs The U

Jagerbomb vs Cougars