Division 5A Midseason Report

Vacations really have a way of messing with you. While getting away can be relaxing, coming back can almost feel like an extended hangover. I would argue that I am more exhausted now and I spend more time catching up on everything that I missed while I was away that it takes away from the vacation all together.

Yes, I realize that it sounds a bit ridiculous and it may seem like I am rubbing in the fact that I was on a beach for most of last week, however I really do feel thrown off. It’s strange that I have not released an article in so long and it’s been tough getting back into the routine. That being said, it was nice to get away and it’s equally as awesome to be back.

Here is the mid-season report on all 28 teams in Division 5A. If I call you out or “deflate your tires” if you will, well then step up and prove me wrong.

Enjoy!

 

Grading System:

What can I say – just like everybody else, I’m trying to learn from my boss. This is why you’ll notice I share a similar grading style to Peeze, if you’re able to get past his lengthy intros. Kidding, mine tend to ramble on too. Anyways, the grade is a reflection of how you measure up to expectations. If I had high hopes for your team before the season and you are currently undefeated, you’ll get the boring B or C grade. If you are far exceeding expectations or falling well below them, you’ll get an A or F respectively. These make the most sense to me and well, why fix what ain’t broken. Otherwise, if the grade matched your record that would be a quite boring read don’t you think?

 

Conference A

Greendale Human Beings (5-0)

Grade = A-

This team caught me slightly by surprise and now looking back, I am not sure if they should have. They have an extremely talented QB in comparison to the division that he’s playing in and I am sure that his rating should improve after this season. Will it be Danny Aylward’s last season in Division 5? Their MVPs so far have been the QB and his brother Brandon. Brandon leads all other receivers in the division with 437 yards and 12 TDs and has played 1 less game than a few of them. Throw in his 13 tackles and 3 INTs (which are 2nd and 1st on his team respectively) and you have a candidate for both WR of the year and Two-Way player of the year. In my humble opinion, the reason this team is undefeated is due to guys like Alex Joltopuf and Greg Kritselas stepping up and providing depth. 4 receivers on the team have at least 3 touchdowns and they can still beat you if you lock in on Brandon Aylward.  With the schedule they have to close out the season, I honestly don’t see them slipping.

Players to watch: Brandon Aylward, Danny Aylward, Alex Joltopuf

Predicted Record – 10-0

 

Hot Boys Hotline (5-1)

Grade = B

Coming off their first lost where the team did not quite look like themselves and Tom Gatehouse made a few costly turnovers, I fully expect this team to bounce back. Gatehouse accounted for almost half of his interception total for the year in that game, but as a whole, his 21TD to 5INT ratio is excellent. Just like their pink jerseys, this team can often be flashy and try to do too much, but when they are on, they are on. Gatehouse does a good job spreading the ball around and has a good core of leading receivers in Edwouard Valmé, Shawn Fontaine and Vadim Chernyak. They have been fantastic defensively up until late and will need to find their rhythm again against a good remaining schedule. They had a talented roster coming into the season and have executed well, but I still think that they can improve down the stretch.

Players to watch: Tom Gatehouse, Edwouard Valmé, Vadim Chernyak

Predicted Record – 8-2

 

Smokin’ Axolotls (4-1)

Grade – A

After two solid wins, they got back to their close game ways but fell up short against Dope Boys in Week 6. Jordan Rossie is having a solid year at QB but has a few more INTs than I’m sure he would like. Rory Semerjian is playing like one of the best receivers in the league and already has over 300 yards receiving and 9 TDs (ties him for 5th in the league). The story for these guys, though, is their defensive. They have amassed already 12 INTs as a team, including 1 for a TD. Chris Brockwell deserves a lot of the credit for the defensive performance, leading the league in tackles with 23 and has 2 picks, including a pick-6 and 4 knockdowns to add to his resumé. They have a tough schedule here on out and will need their defense to step up and for Rossie to avoid turnovers to give them a chance to win. Sounds like a common formula right?

Players to watch: Jordan Rossie, Rory Semerjian, Chris Brockwell

Predicted Record – 8-3

 

Half-A-Stars (4-2)

Grade – C-

Although the team is made up exactly as their name suggests, the part of their team that are All-Stars should be carrying them, yet they have stumbled twice now. They have beaten good teams and also lost to good teams. Andrew Langburt has been excellent and so was Jeremy Rosenberg when he had to step in. The combination of AJ Rashkovan and Bryan Fuchs has been outstanding and the team as a whole has no fundamental flaws. Nothing really stands out from their two losses, they simply just got beat. They need to stick to the things that work well for them and not get fancy or crumble under pressure when they are forced with some adversity and I strongly believe they have the talent to surprise people down the stretch. The losses are a wash as they can beat any team on any given night, they simply aren’t quite meeting the expectations that I had for them before the season. They remind me of the Packers in the sense that they are always in games and are a great team on paper, but sometimes they can just fall short. Here’s to hoping that they can close out 2018 with a championship.

Players to watch: Andrew Langburt, AJ Rashkovan, Bryan Fuchs

Predicted Record – 7-3

 

Buffalo Wild Wings (2-3)

Grade – D

I got a firsthand look at this team last week the day after I got back from Cuba. They are a solid, athletic team with a bunch of weapons on both sides of the ball. The missing piece? They are lacking a consistent Quarterback. I believe that Tristan Rinaldis is their guy and he can burn teams on the ground, however he tends to look deep too often and had the tendency to over throw his receivers. Speaking of receivers, they have had so many different guys suit up for them that I encourage you to check out their roster – you may just have a few stats there yourself that you didn’t know about. Kidding aside, if you take a look at the stat sheet from their last game against yours truly, you’ll see that their defense got to me and this will be the key to their success. For this team to be successful moving forward, they will need to find some consistency. Funny story about these guys though – We were both wearing black, however I would imagine they each spent upwards of 50$ each on their jerseys, and the Mavericks showed up with a few subs and obviously none of our jerseys matched. Well, it seemed as though they would prefer to lose the game than to hide their fancy jerseys. Even after both the score keeper and Ref advising them that they needed to wear pinnies (being the away team), they continued to complain. To avoid taking up more time, our side agreed to wear them. That being said, even after torching us on the field, it was hard not to throw a little trash talk their way.

Players to watch: Tristan Rinaldis, Guillaume Renaud-Dumont

Predicted Record – 5-5

 

Les Albatros (2-3)

Grade – B

I will go out on a limb and say that Les Albatros have the toughest schedule in all of Division 5A. Their 3 losses come against 3 teams that are currently a combined 15-2 so I don’t particularly blame them at all. Rather, consider this team as one of the better teams of tier 2 of the division. To be clear, they’re like the St-Louis Blues. They are not perennial Stanley Cup contenders, however they are one of the better teams in the league when you compare everybody else. They are a solid team with all around good players without a superstar per se and have a tough defense without doing anything fancy. They can benefit from Nicolas Rosconi playing better from the quarterback position but ultimately I do not know if they have the tools to compete against the top 4-5 teams in the division. They have two games coming up against Hot Boys Hotline and Hurricane SZN which will help determine their season.

Players to watch: Steven Provias, Raphael Isseri-Guertin

Predicted Record – 4-6

 

Mud Dogs (2-4)

Grade – D

This is another team that I have had the chance to play against and they we’re a much tougher opponent than their record shows at 2-4. They have been much better lately, winning 2 in a row and even before that, their losses came against two tough opponents in Greendale Human Beings and Smokin Axolotls. Marc-Antoine Jetté has been playing very well, albeit a few more turnovers than he’d like and they have a very good receiving corps including the likes of Olivier Laberge, Julien Laberge and Alexandre Chevalier. This is a team that has many options to beat you and play a tough, physical defense. Like their quarterback, they are known to make a few costly mistakes at the wrong times which have led to their losses and seem to be vulnerable in the middle of the field as their safety often plays very aggressive and teams have taken advantage. I don’t know that I see them as being a contender if they can squeak into the playoffs, but they have the tools to create a few upsets. Then again, if they get hot, who knows what they can accomplish.

Players to watch: Marc-Antoine Jetté, Olivier Laberge, Julien Laberge, Alexandre Chevalier

Predicted Record – 5-5

 

10 Guys, One Cup (2-3)

Grade – D

These guys fall into this middle tier of teams in Division 5, Conference A that just seem to not be playing to potential. It really shows just how competitive the division is this year. They are a team stacked with FPF vets but just can’t seem to get things going in the first half of the season. Both of their wins come against sub .500 teams and they are a much better group than their record indicates. Daniel Lazzara should be more present on offense and defense and has been relatively invisible besides his big defensive game. As good as Justin Lerner and Daron Migdesyan have been as well, I expect more from both of them who have 5 All-Star appearances between them. I strongly believe that if they can back their way into the playoffs that they can compete, however they must be just as disappointed as I am with their showing so far this year.

Players to watch: Justin Lerner, Daron Migdesyan, Daniel Lazzara

Predicted Record – 5-5

 

Dope Boys (2-3)

Grade – D-

To be transparent, this grade has a lot do to with my matchups with this team in the past. I’ve had some extremely competitive games with this team and they have an excellent core of players, which is why I am surprised that they sit at 2-3. They’ve played some games without Eric Lalonde at QB which yielded mixed results. They just got a huge win against Smokin Axolotls with Xavier Comtois at QB and may want to consider keeping the same formula moving forward. Robbi Dejean is a dangerous receiver that doesn’t seem to be used properly yet which should help take some of the load off Felix Menard. Overall this team has been underwhelming and while they have made a few plays here and there, they have not done it consistently enough and their mishaps have been too frequent.

Players to watch: Felix Menard, Robbi Dejean

Predicted Record – 4-6

 

Bobby’s Boys (2-3)

Grade – D-

Coming off a huge win against Smokin Axolotls, could that have been the turning point of their season? Matt Petrone is a seasoned FPF vet with enough experience to will his team into the playoffs and a supportive cast of Anthony Da Silva, Alex Apostolakis and co. is more than most teams have. I guess that the big surprise is simply seeing names that are associated with a lot of success in higher divisions, come together and have far less success in a lower one. It really is true that you are only as good as your weakest link and maybe the issue is depth here, but ultimately all that I know is that there is potential for much better results here. With Petrone’s 81.9% QBR, he is doing much better on defence which is to be expected and has already amassed 4 interceptions in 5 games. Da Silva and Apostolakis are the only bright spots on offense though and hopefully we see a few changes moving forward.

Players to watch: Matthew Petrone, Alex Apostolakis, Anthony Da Silva

Predicted Record – 5-5

 

Rednecks (2-3)

Grade – C

Just when you think you can predict a team or game, Rednecks go out and squeak by 10 Guys, One Cup. I don’t want to say that their wins have been lucky, however this team has been anything but flashy in the first half of the season and the fact that they have losses against teams like Dope Boys and have given the Warriors’ their only win worries me. Darick Fogues has just as many sacks as he does TDs which is not the best recipe for success and no receiver really stands out from the pack. Nicholas Livanos and Frédérick Stumpf have been reliable but not extraordinary and they play defense well, but they have still managed to give up more than 30 to both Buffalo Wild Wings and Dope Boys who are both below .500. This team may pull off another win or two, but I do not see them doing too much damage in the long run.

Players to watch: Nicholas Livanos, Frédérick Stumpf

Predicted Record – 3-7

 

Warriors (1-4)

Grade – F

Easily my harshest grade and that’s simply because of the expectations I had for these guys before the season started. They have had success in division 5 and 6 in the past and I really thought that because the core of players we’re returning that they would be competitive again this season but nothing has gone right from their very first lost to Hurricane SZN. Their only win comes against a subpar Rednecks team and every other team they have faced has handled them with relative ease. They had a pretty good game against Bobby’s Boys but couldn’t manage to score late to get the win. Michael Solimene is having a down year, throwing for only 13 TDs compared to 9 INTs and Stefano only being available for 3 out of their 5 games has surely had an effect on those numbers. All in all, they have not looked comfortable nor like themselves. We’ll see if they can get their mojo back in the second half of the season.

Players to watch: Michael Solimene, Stefano Solimene, Patrice Lindor

Predicted Record – 3-7

 

Mavericks (1-4)

Grade – C

They have a C grade because they are performing as one would expect when you take into account all of the moving pieces on this team. They rarely show up with the same lineup and only have 1 player in David Beltrami who has played all 5 games. It’s interesting to critique these guys because I sub for them often, and while they have a few athletes who can make a difference, they have yet to gel as a group. The times that I threw for them were polar opposite games. The first went well and Jaylan Greaves bailed me out a few times, but without him the second time around, I couldn’t find any kind of rhythm with anybody else and it was hard to predict the route running and who to trust when throwing the ball. I take some of the blame, but it will be tough for this team to compete without some kind of spark and Jaylan seems to be that guy. It will be interesting to see who makes it out to each game moving forward and if they can gain any momentum.

Players to watch: Jaylan Greaves, David Beltrami

Predicted Record – 2-8

 

Goats (1-5)

Grade – D

Most of these guys are new to FPF and unfortunately it has shown in the first part of the season. I have seen them play twice and while they have the athletes to compete, they have not shown a lot of experience which is to be expected. Simon Martel has had a respectable start to the season numbers wise, but that has not converted to wins. Their receiving corps has been solid with 5 players in double digits for catches, it is Jean-Philippe Dulude who has stood out from the pack. He’s been Mr. Reliable for this team and has even gotten 3 sacks so far. They definitely have a few playmakers and they will only get better as the season goes along. Will it be too late before they figure things out? We’ll see.

Players to watch: Jean-Philippe Dulude, Vincent Laganiere, Simon Martel

Predicted Record – 2-8

 

Conference B

Grand Lionel (6-0)

Grade – A

Have they really been so good so far this year that Los Avocados didn’t bother to show up out of possible fear? Granted, the game was in Brossard on a typical Montreal Winter night, so maybe that played a factor, however Grand Lionel have really showed no signs of slowing down as we hit the half way point of the season. Sebastien Thibault has been fantastic – while he has only thrown for 700 yards in 5 games, he more than makes up for it with his 23/4 TD/INT ratio and his 252 yards on the ground. He spreads the ball almost evenly to his top 4 receivers, most notable Simon Chouinard-Laliberte who has balled on both sides of the ball so far with 5 TDs on offensive and he leads his team in tackles and knockdowns. They have blown out most of the competition so far and I expect them to continue on the same path. I’m excited for their week 10 matchup against Hurricane SZN as they will both be two of the top teams when the dust settles.

Players to watch: Sebastien Thibault, Jeremi Durand-Tremblay, Simon Chouinard-Laliberte

Predicted Record – 10-0

 

Longhorns (5-0)

Grade – A+

It was actually relatively difficult to give these guys an A+ because on the flip side, you can take this to mean that I didn’t expect them to do so well. Well, that’s partly true. I expected them to finish the season as one of the top teams, maybe finishing 7-3 or 6-4, but I definitely did not expect them to be taking over the division. I am particularly impressed with them beating up on Hurricane SZN last week. Jon Moodie has been putting on a clinic and the team as a whole has been showing that experience matters. Jon has thrown 27 touchdowns to only 2 interceptions and is the front runner for QB of the year at this point. He has a plethora of options to throw too and doesn’t ever really zoom in on any specific target. My favorite part about this team so far this season is that they haven’t really stuck to a certain style of play. They’ve been able to adapt their game to whatever the situation calls for and come out on top.

Players to watch: Jon Moodie, Adam Rosen, Patrick Jazon

Predicted Record – 9-1

 

Preachers (5-1)

Grade – B-

To be blunt, this is a team full of studs with an extremely competent QB who already has a championship under his belt. Their first lost came to an undefeated team and I get the feeling that a running QB really got them off their game. Quiviger sits 5th in passing yards in the league and has 5 receivers in double digit catches. Nicolas Saro leads the pack and Alexis Labonte and Maxime Marsan are the dual threats on the squad, there is definitely no lack for talent. They will be an intriguing team moving forward and after a tough matchup against the Finessers, I see smooth sails that follow.

Players to watch: Zacharie Quiviger, Nicolas Saro, Alexis Labonte

Predicted Record – 9-1

 

Finessers (4-1)

Grade – B

Finessers join a group of teams to see their first lost in Week 6, and we’re starting to get some separation between the top 2-3 teams and the rest of the pack. The Finessers have a tough remaining schedule where they play against the Preachers, Longhorns and Hurricane SZN to finish out the year and those will all be real tests to see if they can be considered in the top 2-3 teams or those the follow closely behind. Ryan Kharouf has the chance to be QB of the year if he stays on the pace he’s on and Alex Bachaalani and Nirosh Suresh are dangerous on the field together. Nirosh has been just as spectacular on defense as well as he leads the team in tackles and interceptions and also has 2 sacks. They have been getting away with leaning on these 3 guys, however to really compete with the top teams, they’ll need other players to step up and make a few key plays in important moments.

Players to watch: Ryan Kharouf, Alex Bachaalani, Nirosh Suresh

Predicted Record – 7-2-1

 

Texas BareManz (4-1)

Grade – B+

Firstly, it’s tough to get a great read on these guys because I am not sure that they have team jerseys and they often play without matching shirts and numbers. I know first hand that these are all rule violations and thus, no stats are recorded. Regardless, you just need to watch them play a few times to know that they have a bunch of playmakers on their team on both sides of the ball. The team will go as far as Jaylan Grandison will take them and while they beat a good team in the Finessers last week, they also had a rough outing against the Longhorns earlier in the season. This team is a mix of veterans and new comers and it will be interesting to see if they can continue to improve as the season progresses. There are definitely signs to be excited about with these guys.

Players to watch: Jaylan Grandison, Hennessy Oraye, Tequan John

Predicted Record – 7-3

 

Ghosts (4-1)

Grade – C+

Coming into the season with 4 or 5 highly rated players for this division, expectations are definitely going to be high and so far they are playing as one would expect, hence the grade. Gabriel Wiseman has played well at QB and he has relied primarily on Zach Zwirn, Alexis Gaumont and Jean-Sebastien Roussy. The three of them combine for 19 out of Gabriel’s 22 TDs on the season. Wiseman also leads the team in tackles on defense and has an interception and sack for good measure. My concern with this team is that they haven’t beaten anybody outstanding just yet and lost their toughest game against the Finessers, so I am intrigued as to how well they will fair against the stronger opponents in the league in the latter half of the season.

Players to watch: Gabriel Wiseman, Zach Zwirn, Alexis Gaumont

Predicted Record – 6-4

 

Hurricane SZN (3-1-1)

Grade – D

Just like 10 Guys, One Cup, whenever you have players from the higher divisions, expectations are going to be high. Jarryd Taylor has shown flashes of brilliance as QB of this team and they have a few studs to round up their roster in Andel Thomas-Gordon who captains their defense and Devantie Campbell who does his damage on offense. That being said, they have not really had one particular guy step up and take the spotlight which makes them dangerous as anyone can burn you. Taylor is one of three QBs to be over the 1,000 yard mark for the season so far and has thrown 25 TDs in 5 games, compared to only 2 interceptions. Zachary Dryden has been a nice surprise for this team and Benjamin McMahon has served as more of a check down role. If Taylor doesn’t try to do too much, this team can compete with the best of the Division.

Players to watch: Jarryd Taylor, Zachary Dryden, Brandon Picard

Predicted Record – 7-2-1

 

Les Flamants Fous (2-3)

Grade – C-

The revolving quarterback syndrome seems to plague this team as they can’t seem to get things going so far this season. Interestingly enough, none of their QBs have played poorly, but none have excelled either. Nicolas Schaefer seems to be their guy and has a 13/1 TD/INT ratio, but for some reason he has only played in 3 of their games but is 1-2. Charles-Olivier Lavigne got their first win of the season. Their losses come against top tier teams so there is no reason to panick, just some slight tweaking required. Thomas Coutu leads the team in both receiving categories and tackles and needs some support for the team to improve. They are just about to enter a tough stretch in the season and end on an easier note, so these next few games are extremely important.

Players to watch: Thomas Coutu, Nicolas Schaefer

Predicted Record – 5-5

 

Pigeon Squad (1-3-1)

Grade – D

Their recent tie with Voodoo has kind of summed up the season for both teams in my opinion. They have had a lot of potential but not really done anything with it. Jared Buck has looked average at best and besides Justin Santillo, they have had a hard time making big plays. I had expected more from Alex Grey and Kevin St-Pierre before the season started but ultimately nobody on the team has found a tempo. They have one of the more easier schedules to close out the season so they have an outside chance to finish near .500 and make the playoffs, but I don’t see them going very far based on how they played in the first half.

Players to watch: Justin Santillo, Jared Buck, Kevin St-Pierre

Predicted Record –

 

Bruthers (1-4)

Grade – C

A team that has had an incredibly difficult schedule so far, they are better than their record shows. The problem? 2 receivers make up 73% of the offense and it can be easy for opposing defenses to shake things up and make them uncomfortable. Daniel Adler and Justin Smolar have been excellent and Adam Browman has been a force on defense, but apart from those guys, there hasn’t been anything exciting about this team so far. Morgan Tajfel has had to use his feet a few times to get out of trouble and while that has had some success, they have not been reliable on offense to put together longer drives. After Grand Lionel this week, their schedule gets much easier but will it be too late by then?

Players to watch: Daniel Adler, Justin Smolar

Predicted Record – 4-6

 

Los Avocados (1-4)

Grade – D-

I don’t know the circumstances, but you lose major points for a forfeit. They have also been blown out most games except against the winless Lockdown so there has not been much to celebrate so far this season and I do not expect things to change much. Joshua Vazquez has thrown for about 115 yards/game which isn’t nearly enough and literally the only bright spot on this team has been the play of Thomas Zorko. Zorko is currently 5th in yards amongst receivers and is tied for the team lead in tackles. These guys will need to find some type of spark to save their season. I have a little bit of hope, but it’s fading fast.

Players to watch: Thomas Zorko

Predicted Record – 2-8

 

Weasels & Falcons (0-4-1)

Grade – D

There’s definitely a QB controversy brewing here as Jonathan Lemieux has simply not gotten the job done and Simon Richard has looked much better in a smaller sample size. I rarely give up, but when looking at the rest of the schedule for this team and taking into consideration their play during the first half of the season, their only winnable games will come against Voodoo in week 9. Even though the season has not gone as planned, Jean-Daniel Joly has managed to put together a respectable campaign and is easily this team’s MVP. He leads all receivers by a wide margin and also has 3 interceptions on defense to help keep his team in a few games. But, he can only do so much.

Players to watch: Jean-Daniel Joly

Predicted Record – 0-9-1

 

Voodoo (0-4-1)

Grade – F

Usually the combination of Frank Kaye, Patrick St-Armand and Etienne Vaillancourt is a winning formula but they have been anything but this season which is why the disappointment is reflective in their grade. Kaye has not been himself – the 10 interceptions badly hurt this team as it is difficult to get anything going when you are turning the ball over twice per game. St-Armand has done his thing and will be in the running for receiver of the year and Etienne Vaillancourt has been a great secondary option, but besides those two guys, nobody else has stepped up. Couple that with a down year for Kaye and it spells disaster for this pin yielding group. Best part of the season? I’d have to say the new jerseys. Yup, that bad.

Players to watch: Patrick St-Armand, Etienne Vaillancourt

Predicted Record – 1-8-1

 

Lockdown (0-5)

Grade – D-

It’s not a good look when you don’t even have 6 guys for your team picture. The most puzzling thing about this team, though, is that their closest games have come against their toughest opponents. Although they are winless, they came within 2 points of Smokin Axolotls and 4 points of Longhorns which is more than most teams can say. Pat Riot has actually looked pretty good except for the excessive sacks but the team has struggled when he hasn’t been there but the team has not been able to put together a complete game. Maxime Chateauneuf, Steven Alberico have been excellent on offense but only two players have played all 5 games and that seems to have made the difference. They are definitely better than a winless team and I expect them to get a few down the stretch.

Players to watch: Maxime Chateauneuf, Steven Alberico, Pat Riot

Predicted Record – 2-8