Division 6 Recap

It is with great pleasure that I come to you with my first article for FlagPlus Football. I’m Roger Emeka (@52isthemike), absolute football fanatic at all levels, be it NFL, NCAA, CIS, CFL, Lingerie, Flag and whichever form of pigskin tossing you can think of. I’m a second year Division 4 player, still getting acclimated to the speed and tactical nuances of flag football. Needless to say, it is quite different than my days as a high school half-back.

 

In any case, I’ll be your man on the Division 6 beat for the rest of the season. Thanks to Brent Bodkin for filling in admirably while I was away on vacation. So without further ado, here is my inaugural piece – a recap of Week 3 in FPF’s Division 6.

 

Week 3 Recap

 

When teams think of the lowest division in the league, they typically scoff at the talent within it. They may take for granted the playmakers and athletes at their disposal. For the teams in Division 6, there are players that no one should be sleeping on. We’re seeing, just after three weeks, that there are some really solid players and at times, the quarterback play has been very good. As you will also see in this recap, there are barn-burners, blowouts and late game heroics. Whether we’re watching the highest or lowest division, these are the types of high-tempo games that we are used to witnessing in the FPF. Let’s take a quick run-through at the action in Week Three.

A Defensive Battle

If there is one thing I love in the typically fast-paced offensive game of flag football, is the propensity to have a defensive struggle every so often. The closest game this week featured the Heismans against JeanGuy. It was a tight affair with a lot of punting. JeanGuy came through in the second half with touchdowns by Carl Doyon and Simon Laporte, sealing the win and improving to 2-1 in the competitive Division 6.

Although the Heismans fall to 1-2, they’ve played in back-to-back close games, losing by one and six points in their last two outings. After a 28-point loss, they’ve shown a resiliency and an ability to hold teams down defensively, with the help of Christopher Chartrand, who already has 3 interceptions. The aforementioned Laporte has been a sacking machine with 4 quarterback takedowns over the last three games.

A Preview of things to come?

 

Run Levy Run made quick work of the Orange Crush, which on a side note, could mean a bad omen for the Broncos as the bright green of their jerseys matches those of the Seahawks. Jeff Rosenblatt has continued his hot streak with another 4+ touchdown performance for the second straight week. In that same time frame, he’s recorded quarterback ratings of 115.1 and 111.0 respectively, showing the poise and passing ability needed in making Run Levy Run, the most prolific offense in the division during the first third of the season. Rosenblatt is at the zenith in quarterback statistics when it comes to passing yards and passing touchdowns (10) and he is utilizing the tremendous receiving duo of Evan Manis and Yoni Lehrer who both have 3 touchdowns apiece. The Orange Crush started the season against teams with a combined 6-3 record, which has conversely led to a rough 0-3 start. Defense has been a struggle as they are the only team without an interception at this point of the season.

 

Venom met its match, at least for one day

 

The Minge completely shutout Venom, defeating them 26-0. A pick-six by Henry Chelhot and four interceptions by Venom quarterbacks were what spearheaded the victory for The Minge. Chelhot was also the beneficiary of two receiving touchdowns and finished with 42 receiving yards on two catches. An FPF veteran, he is already proving to being one of the more complete players in the division with five total touchdowns in the first three games of the season. The Minge improved to 2-1, while Venom falls to 0-3. It’s been tough sledding for Eddie Brock’s symbiote, although they can take solace in Darcy Ferreira who leads the team with nine tackles and two interceptions and Trevin Choo-Foo, who is among the league leaders in sacks with four. 

A quarterback duel like no other

 

In what many would say was the game of the week, Golden Girls and n.W.o dueled it out for two halves, with the “for-lifers” (you’d have to be a wrestling fan to get that) pulling away 31-26. Jason Rossie of Golden Girls and Michael Sanchez of n.W.o were absolutely on fire, combining for nine touchdowns, and zero turnovers. Rossie connected with four different receivers for touchdowns, proving that there is a solid backbone of depth at the receiving position. Sanchez, back at QB after Stephen Tirelli took over in Week Two, was incredibly efficient on his end, completing 15 of 19 passes for five touchdowns. Might there be a quarterback controversy brewing? We shall see. Both teams are now 2-1 entering Week Four.

Unleashing the (Wolf) ‘Pack

The ‘Pack are literally in front of the ‘Pack (yes that pun was intended) with a 33-12 victory over Maccabi (1-2). At 3-0, they are the only team who has yet to lose a game in this unpredictable Division 6. Quarterback Daniel Krebs is quite simply tearing up the league with 15 touchdowns and only two interceptions in his first three games. He has the highest completion percentage (58.3), most yards and best quarterback rating for signal callers with at least 50 passing attempts. On the flip side, Maccabi was able to make it a competitive game in the first half, being only down 6-14 at the buzzer. Quarterback Ofir Levy was efficient but the offense could not muster up any big plays. It is a testament to the ‘Pack’s stifling defense, which has allowed 6, 6 and 12 points in their first three games. Andrew April and Corey Laxer are proving that the old adage of the front end and the back end working in synchronization is still very relevant in football. April has 3 picks and Laxers has 3 quarterback flag takedowns thus far. The ‘Pack may need to add the ‘Wolf’ back into their team name because that is how their defense is playing.

 

Here are my picks for week 4
Venom vs n.W.o.
The ‘Pack vs The Heismans
Run Levy Run vs JeanGuy
Maccabi vs The Minge
Golden Girls vs Orange Crush

I’ve never been great at Pigskin prognostication, so don’t make fun of me if my picks are bad. Let’s just hope we have another topsy-turvy week with surprise wins and great finishes. From my brief scouting of Division 6, this appears to be the most unpredictable in the entire league.

 

Finally, as many of you know, Super Bowl Sunday is a mere two days away. If you want my thoughts on the game, check in to my blog, http://52isthemike.wordpress.com, which will have my keys to victory for both the Broncos and Seahawks. I’m also one-third of the Pick Six Live podcast, where me and my co-hosts, Ricardo and Roberto had our 23rd show to preview Super Bowl 48. You can check that out at http://thepicksixlive.wordpress.com. It should be an absolutely terrific game – an epic matchup between the top-ranked passing offense and top-ranked passing defense.

 

As always, don’t forget to check out The Unclehood podcast with Moe Khan (@MoeKhan19) and David Della Rocca (@DavesRepublic) which can be found at http://www.theunclehood.com

 

Until next time, I bid you adieu!