Division 6: Contenders, Pretenders, and We’re Not Sure Yet (Part 1)

Welcome to Part 1 of my annual Contenders, Pretenders, and We’re Not Sure Yet article. The theme of the article is self-explanatory, as I will be ranking all 30 Division 6 teams into one of the three categories based off how they have played so far, and where I see them finishing this season.

As I mentioned in last week’s article, this is something I have done in every division that I have written for throughout my time here at FlagPlus Football, and I enjoy doing it, especially since this post usually generates the most feedback, in the form of both happy and angry responses. As I said on the podcast this week, I like to be proven wrong, so feel free to do so if you don’t agree with where I place your team on the list.

This week will be 15 teams, and next week will be the remaining 15. I tried to leave a balance between categories, while also looking to leave a couple of surprises for next week.

Here we go…

Contenders

Skol (8-1)

They have the seventh best offense and the top ranked defense in Division 6. This team was the lone undefeated squad remaining, but their path to perfection ended abruptly at the hands of a (19-6) blowout loss to Show Me Dem TDies last Saturday night. SKOL, was able to show some resiliency as they rebounded one night later with a (31-0) statement victory over WYD Step Bro’s?

Skol has shown the ability to win close games and one-sided affairs. This tells you that they can control the tempo of the contest and can adapt to what you are doing on both sides of the ball.

Quarterback Hugo Stensland has shown the skill level to make plays both in the short and deep passing game, and he is at his best when he is spreading the ball around and making the opposing defense have to guess where he will be delivering the football.

On defense, except for their loss last week, this unit has been simply incredible. Their aggressive style of play has resulted in a Div. 6 leading 24 interceptions and five defensive touchdowns, three of which have been scored by Alexandre Dumontier, who is the clear favourite for Defensive Player of the Year. Championships are won by this side of the ball. The fact that this team is the only one who has yet to allow 100 points says all you need to know about how serious of a threat they are to win it all.

I expect them to close out the regular season versus the Tex4s Chooches next Monday at Stade Hebert with a win.

Free Agent Squad (7-3)

They have the best offense and a top 10 defense. They also possess a plethora of playmakers on both sides of the ball in Brian Ofori, Dustin Best, Patrick Domsa, Tyler Stewart, and Louis Messier-Lavallee among others.

When you talk about contenders, you always want to look at statement victories, and how they beat teams. Free Agent Squad has the former with wins over Cheat Squad and Demons, and they have won both blowout and nail-biting games.

Just a few weeks ago, only Free Agent Squad was undefeated. In the last month, they have lost three games, to Mutation, Fire & Blood, and the Chomedey Chodes.

Free Agent Squad didn’t have the end to the regular season that they wanted, but this team is too talented, and have done too much this year to be placed in any category but contender.

Pigeons (8-1)

This team is fast, and they can score on just about anyone. On last week’s Calling the Audible podcast, Moe, Iggy, and I talked about the three-headed Quarterback rotation this team had with Mass Chiricosta, Alessandro Chiricosta, and Anthony Del Peschio. The latter shut down all the controversy as he returned from a three-game absence to toss six touchdowns in his team’s (37-18) win over ALLBALL this past Monday, and then two more in their (37-6) victory over the Royals.

At Receiver, this team is led by the trio of Mass, Alessandro, and Luca Chiricosta. The family connection has combined for 23 receiving touchdowns, in addition to the 15 that the first two have thrown for.

On defense this team is led by Rusher Andrea Aquino who has 14 sacks, and a secondary that has recorded 26 interceptions.

The only blemish on their record is a Week 1 (25-19) loss to the Meat Fiddlers. At first glance that is impressive, that if you look a little closer, you will notice that they haven’t really played a team who you could consider a legit contender. That isn’t their fault, as they can only play who is on their schedule, but it also can’t be ignored.

I believe that this team will roll with Del Peschio at QB, and despite the lackluster schedule, I can’t ignore eight wins. The playoffs are the ultimate test, and the Pigeons will have the opportunity to show us exactly who they are. Until then, even though I had to convince myself, I will leave them on the Contender list.

Pretenders

The Mortadel’s (3-6-1)

I had a chance to score keep their game this past Tuesday in Laval against Towers FT, and I can honestly say that I like these guys. They are fun, tight, and don’t take themselves too seriously, which in FPF, isn’t always guaranteed.

This team has a good combination of speed, athleticism, toughness, and some length as well. They also showed some resiliency, as they were down two scores to Towers FT, before they staged their comeback win with five plays left in the contest on a TD reception by Jayden Fuoco. They even added a bit of drama to the victory, as team Captain Jack Ciaravella, elected to put himself in at QB replacing Matthew Vitali on the final drive. I wouldn’t have done that, but it all worked out, so no harm no foul, I guess.

Looking at their schedule, The Mortadel’s biggest win of the season wasn’t even a victory, it was a surprising (13-13) tie versus Show Me Dem TDies.

They closed the regular season out with a deflating and surprising (30-8) blowout loss to the Texas Whales last night in Brossard. I was ready to put them in the We’re Not Sure Yet category, but the loss changed my mind.

A win would’ve punched their ticket to the postseason. Now a spot to the D6 dance will be dependent on what teams like ALLBALL, Cavaliers du Rohan, McGill Swim Team, Texas Whales, Towers FT do, as they all have games remaining, and are all within one to two points of The Mortadel’s. You must handle your business when you get the opportunity to do so. This team clearly did not. Let’s see if it comes back to haunt them.

Cavaliers du Rohan (3-5)

This veteran squad has lost three out of their last four games. In two of those losses, they failed to score more than one touchdown. Come playoff time, that won’t be enough to get it done. The question of course is how can they wake up their offense that has scored only a pair of touchdowns in two of those losses?

There are several other questions that must be answered to get to the bottom of it. Can Quarterback Kevin Hébert-Pedulla who has 13 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions avoid the turnovers down the stretch that have hurt the offense? Who out of their leading Receivers in Antoine Bonin, Clarence Roberge, Gabriel Spazuk, and Alex Badger can step up and make a play when the team needs it, and can their defense which has given up an average of 29 points their last four games make enough stops to give their offense more opportunities to score?

The Cavaliers du Rohan have an opportunity to make the jump to the Division 6 playoffs, but standing in their way are a rapidly improving Cheat Squad, and an up and down Show Me Dem TDies. We have seen several upsets over the course of the season, will we witness another one or potentially two before it is all said and done?

Towers FT (3-6)

This team has the speed athleticism, and size to match up with anyone in Div. 6. Their Quarterback Davide Bartolucci is talented with 27 touchdown passes, and the ability to make plays with his legs, but 18 interceptions, and the over-reliance on throwing across his body and running the same play too many times, has been the bugaboo for this offense, despite the solid play of Receivers Brandon Rowen and Joël Valois-Brunet.

On defense, the team’s inability to stop the deep ball has been their Achilles’ Heel, and it is something they must put an end to if they want to have any chance at advancing in the playoffs.

I feel like Towers FT is better than what their record says they are. They will have a chance to win three out of their last five games when they take on Show Me Dem TDies next Saturday in Laval. Let’s see what happens.

ALLBALL (3-6)

Injuries have killed this team, as the team’s starting Quarterback Viren Patel, is unable to throw due to a wrist injury, relegating him to just playing defense. The team has also missed two-way player Lukesh Prashar, who suffered a finger injury two weeks ago, and is most likely done for the rest of the season.

Looking at a player who hasn’t been affected by injury, rookie Sajeth Manoranjan, has tried to hold the down the fort with a team-leading 10 touchdown receptions and four interceptions.

ALLBALL has lot four games in a row. They will look to end their slide as they take on the Nard Dogs tonight at Marie-Victorin. A win would be huge as they are trying to solidify their spot in the 6D playoffs. Perhaps with a healthier squad, they would find themselves in the We’re Not Sure Yet category.

Les Flag Daddies (1-8)

Their offense has been virtually non-existent the last month plus, as they were shutout in four straight games. How does that happen? Besides the 18 points they put up in their hard-fought (20-18) loss to QUEENS last night, the last time they scored a touchdown was all the way back on February 3rd in their (24-6) win over the Nard Dogs, their only victory of the year.

When you build a team whether it be flag or tackle football, the first thing you need to do is find a Quarterback. Les Flag Daddies didn’t follow that plan, as they have received a combined 12 touchdown passes and 20 interceptions from the duo of Justin Caisse and Alexandre Doucet.

I was the scorekeeper for their game against QUEENS last night. This team doesn’t quit, and while Caisse did make some plays at QB last night, his inability to do so consistently, which was also hindered by multiple drops by his Receivers, makes this a clear position of need this off-season.

With a contest against Jurassic Park Rangers to closeout the year, Les Flag Daddies, have a chance to end the regular season on a high note, play spoiler, and work towards building their roster next year.

Jurassic Park Rangers (4-4)

Their record puts them right in the middle of the playoff pack, but when you peel that layer of skin away, you will soon realize that apart from their signature win over Les Super Turbo Navets, their three other wins have come over teams with a combined record of (6-20), with three of those wins belonging to the McGill Swim Team.

Looking at their four losses, three of them have been complete blowouts, as they lost by a combined score of (115-19) to the Pigeons, Meat Fiddlers, and Mutation, who shut them out (38-0).

This team has some ballhawks on defense in Rémy Paré and Alexandre Szalipszki, to go along with a solid Rusher in Carlos Pardo de Pablo. The unit will need to do their part and then some, as Quarterback Cam Chaput who is second in Div. 6 in interceptions with 20, is currently playing through an injury.

If the Jurassic Park Rangers wants to qualify for the Division 6 post-season, they will need to win their final two games of the regular season, as they take on No Fly Zone and Les Flags Daddies.

Nard Dogs (1-7)

When we reached the midway point of the season, this team had the look of a winless squad that looked all but done for the year. Their offense had only scored more than a touchdown just once in their first five games.

In their three ensuing games since, this team has shown signs of life, as they used a spirited second half effort to almost knock off Jurassic the Park Rangers, came within a point of beating No Fly Zone, and most importantly, earned their first win of the season with a (31-28) with a Chomedey Chodes. The Nard Dogs have a chance to play spoiler as they take on ALLBALL and the Pigeons to close out the regular season.

Andy Bernard’s team fell back to earth a little bit with a (36-6) loss to the Meat Fiddlers last Saturday but considering how this team looked earlier in the season compared to now, you can see that they are improving. Good job.

DG Shootas (1-8)

This season has not gone st planned for this all-rookie squad, as the best they can hope for is a (2-8) finish. Looking at the glass half full, the DG Shootas aren’t your typical one-win team who have gotten run over by their opponents. They came within a couple of plays from beating Flag Dealers, Chomedey Chodes, Royals, QUEENS, and WYD Step Bro’s?

At Quarterback, the offense needs to settle on a top option, as the team has rotated between Marco Forlini, Dario Forlini, and Jordan Cheng. The former Forlini appears to be the best option as he has tossed a team-leading 15 touchdown passes. His 10 interceptions are concerning though, as the rookie has thrown at least one in every game but their Week 9 matchup against the Demons.

Their lone win of the season came over Fire & Blood back in Week 7. Forlini was phenomenal in the (39-30) upset victory, as he threw a career-high six touchdowns and completed 60% of his passes. Reps and experience could be the solution to Forlini’s turnover problem, but the team won’t find out if they keep rotating guys.

This team has shown some promise as the year has gone on. While the playoffs are out of the question, they have a chance to play spoiler as they take on Cheat Squad to close out the season next Saturday in Laval. Will the QB carousel continue?

Flag Dealers (2-8)

I have score kept a few of their games this year including two last night at the Stade de Soccer. Despite their record, this team intrigues me. They have legit big-time playmakers in Jack Hazari, and dynamic Rookie Serge Hayek, who in any other year would be the hands down winner of Receiver of the Year award, if it were not for the production of Chomedey Chodes’ Jonathan Bottazzi, who leads all players in targets, receptions, yards, and touchdowns.

They also have the speedy Snapper Marc Haddad, who is at his best catching drag and out routes, and then turning on the jets to gain separation in the open field.

The only thing holding this offense back is themselves, as mistakes doomed their season. Big time drops have come back to kill drives. As I stood watching them last night, and in Week 8 in St. Laurent during their loss to Fire & Blood, I saw several plays where their Receivers would make fabulous catches, but then would drop wide open gimmie passes at crucial times.

The same thing applies to their Quarterback Roy Khalil. He is a gunslinger who loves to air it out, and with the talent he has around him, it is hard to blame him at times. I have seen him toss some beautiful strikes down the heart of an opposing defense and put the perfect touch on a jump ball in the corner of the endzone. On the flip side, he has been guilty however of missing wide-open guys, forcing passes, and chucking it deep when he has receivers open short, or when the defense is playing way off his pass-catchers.

On defense this team has made plays, and they have been led by ballhawks in Mike Sirhan and Hazari. Despite the 13 interceptions between both players, the unit still needs work as they gave up too many deep ball plays. They also need to be better at tackling, as they allowed too many yards after the catch.

Their season is over, but if this team can work on tackling, play-calling, and decision-making, I think that they can come back and build on some of the positives they showed this year, and possibly make a playoff push this Spring Season.

We’re Not Sure Yet

Tex4s Chooches (5-4)

This team has Lamar Jackson light at Quarterback in Joey Bonarrigo. The second-year player who is playing QB for the first time, has arguably been the most elusive passer in all of Div. 6. Besides Max Guenette, Bonarrigo’s propensity to buy time and extend plays is second to none. His ability to spread the ball around should also not go unnoticed, as he has connected on touchdown passes to all eight of his Receivers this year. That is an impressive accomplishment that not even Division 1 passers are able to accomplish routinely.

Looking at their schedule, this team has signature wins over Show Me Dem TDies, Le Speakeasy and WYD Step Bro’s? The Tex4s Chooches also come into the weekend on a two-game winning streak as they knocked off the Texas Whales and the Winded Warriors.

Now for the negative. They fell by three to Towers FT in Week 10, and have suffered one-sided losses to The Mortadel’s, Salt’s n a Pepper, and Meat Fiddlers.

Put both of those facts together, and it makes it hard to get a proper read on who this team is. A win over SKOL to end the regular season would definitely help us see how good this team really is, and would place them in the Contender category.

Show Me Dem TDies (4-2-1)

As evidenced by their blowout win over previously undefeated SKOL, Show Me Dem TDies, has the talent to beat anyone in Division 6. On the field however, it appears that they play both up and down to their competition. They beat WYD Step Bro’s? by two touchdowns, but then only squeezed by the Texas Whales by six. They then fell to the Tex4s Chooches by one and Salt’s n a Pepper by 14 points. Throw in a (13-13) tie with The Mortadel’s, and what you have is a consistently inconsistent team.

Show Me Dem TDies is on a bye this week, but they finish with three regular season games, against Le Speakeasy, Towers FT, and Cavaliers du Rohan. If they can sweep all three, and knock off Le Speakeasy in convincing fashion, I might have to put SMDT in the contender category.

Demons (7-2)

This team and Towers FT are in contention for the title of longest team in all of Division 6. The difference between the two is that the Demons are a lot better at closing games and not shooting themselves in the foot with constant breakdowns in coverage and dropped passes in crunch time.

The Demons have shown they have the capability to hang with anyone in Div. 6. They also have signature victories under their belt with wins over Cheat Squad and Chomedey Chodes. The only issue I have with them is that both contests took place the first two weeks of the season. Since then, they have beaten the likes of the DG Shootas, QUEENS, Cavaliers du Rohan, Flag Dealers, and yes, Towers FT.

When they have had the chance to add bigger teams to their hit list, the Demons have fallen flat, as they failed to get by both Fire & Blood and Free Agent Squad.

I was the scorekeeper for the win last night versus the Flag Dealers. Besides length, this team has speed, athleticism, playmakers, and a lot of confidence. They also have Quarterback Max Guenette, who is one of the best two-way passers in the division.

They finish off the regular season with a showdown with the Royals next Monday. Even if the Demons win as expected, I can’t ignore the fact that they haven’t beat a team of consequence since mid January. That is why they fall into the We’re Not Sure Yet category.

Tex4s Chooches (5-4)

Now for the negative. They fell by three to Towers FT in Week 10, and have suffered one-sided losses to The Mortadel’s, Salt’s n a Pepper, and Meat Fiddlers.

Picks

No Fly Zone vs Jurassic Park Rangers – Jurassic Park Rangers (Upset Special)

Cavaliers du Rohan vs Cheat Squad – Cheat Squad

Le Speakeasy vs Show Me Dem TDies – Le Speakeasy (My Pick for Game of the Week)

Last Week: (10-2)

Regular Season: (58-28-1)

That is it for this week. Next Sunday I will release Part 2 of Contenders, Pretenders, and We’re Not Sure Yet. As I said last at the top, if you disagree with where I placed your team, feel free to prove me wrong.

Good luck to everyone in their games this coming week. Happy Easter to you and yours if you celebrate it, and even if you don’t, please enjoy the long weekend.

If you liked the article, hated it, or simply felt like I left something out, please feel free to contact me at [email protected], or on the FPF Facebook page.