Division C: Week 1 Re-Cap, Week 2 Preview, Elite 8, Matchups, Ties, And More

Welcome to the FlagPlus Football Division C article. For those of you that don’t know me, and/or are new to FPF, welcome to the league. I am Brent Bodkin, captain of The Commission, and I will be your writer for Div. C this season.

For those of you that do know me, and/or are returning players, welcome back, let’s get started.

In all honesty, I truly think that this is the most fun, and interesting division in all of FPF.

Division. 1/A and Div. 2/B is full of mostly elite players, and great football, but it sometimes gets taken too seriously.

For the most part, the lower divisions, while they are usually fun, (let’s be real, it does occasionally play host to some bad football) are more often than not, a training ground for new and/or inexperienced teams, to get some experience, and work on their game, before moving up to a higher division.

In Division C, you get a solid mix of fun, serious, really good, and sometimes great football. The fact that there are several high division players on just about every roster in Div. C, speaks for itself.

Week 1 is officially in the books, and what a week it was. Season-opening jitters, and chemistry issues aside, we were treated to some solid football.

Last year’s defending Division C champions, The Commission, armed with new additions, in Quarterback Jean-François Marquis, and two-way players Vincent Marquis, Kenny Boutilier, and Alexandre Samson, used a big goal-line stand by their defense, via an interception with under five plays remaining, to beat Friends in Low Places, (25-18) last Sunday, at Stade de Montreal.

While it wasn’t a perfect outing for J.F Marquis, the veteran QB, was able to make a big play when it mattered most, as he hit receiver A.J Gomes, for a 40-yard touchdown with under five minutes left in the contest, to give his team the go-ahead, and eventual winning score.

Fresh off of winning the Division 4A title this past Winter Season, The Alpha-T’s, flexed their championship muscle as well, as they dominated Brocassion (45-13) Tuesday evening in Brossard.

The combination of Jesse Dupuis, and Alexis Gaumont, proved once again why they are one of the most dangerous Quarterback/Receiver duos in FPF, as they combined for 102 yards, and a Week 1 high five touchdowns. Dupuis, would go on to throw seven TDs.

Also having a big game for TATs, was Anthony Lapointe, who caught two passes for 33 yards and a TD, while recording two interceptions on the other side of the ball.

Speaking of championships, Blue Chips, who won it all in Division 4B this past winter, with a solid mix of athleticism, speed, and big-play ability, brought all that and then some to the table, in their Week 1 (38-13) victory over Lights Out.

Blue Chips Quarterback Jordan Mitchell, was his usual duo-threat self, as he threw for four touchdowns, and ran for another.

The evolution of Mitchell as a passer, has been the key to his, and the team’s success. From the 2017 Winter Season, till this past frigid weather campaign, 8-year vet, has transformed from being a QB who simply ran around, chucked the ball up to his athletic receivers, and looked to scramble every second or third play, to one, who can now also beat teams by staying in the pocket, going through his reads, while making smart, and accurate throws. Need more proof? Look no further than his stats, as he has improved in touchdown passes, interceptions, QB Rating, yards per pass, and completion percentage over the same span.

The team’s addition of the versatile Travis Moses, as a Wide Receiver, and Defensive Back, will only make them that much harder to beat.

After losing Wide Receiver Sasha Papich, and Quarterback Neil Etinson, last year’s Div. C Finals runners up, the BearSkins, have comeback with an even stronger roster this time around, as they added FPF family member, and 2017 Hall-Of-Fame inductee, in WR Vinny Gualano, and QB Mark Belvedere. The duo wasted little time making an impact, as they connected for four touchdowns.

A couple of things stood out from this past week.

Firstly, for as many teams that typically struggled offensively in Week 1, due to rust, timing, chemistry, the addition of new players, or all of the above, there were several teams who hit the ground running on that side of the ball. I already mentioned The Alpha-T’s, and Blue Chips, but TOPSZN, Vikings, Mountain Lions, Dirty Dawgs, as well as Jagerbomb, made sure that the league’s IPads were up and running properly, as all seven teams scored more than 30 points.

Secondly, it didn’t take long, but we already had our first tie of the season. In fact, we had two, as Omelette You Finish, and BearSkins fought to a (27-27) draw, while Lobster Dinner, and Braves U finished (25-25) all.

What makes the outcomes even more impressive, is that they all happened to Conference A teams. Come playoff time, that single point can either help, or come back to bite you.

Let’s see what happens this week.

Playing in his first Spring Season, since blowing out a knee in the summer of 2016 during a first round playoff game, Quarterback Jake Applebaum, led the Mountain Lions, to a (34-26) win over the Backyard Bullies, on the shoulders of a five touchdown performance.
Let’s see how Applebaum, and the Mountain Lions, do this Monday against The Alpha-T’s.

 

Matchups

 

In this section, I will look at various matchups between teams, and individual players, that I think will headline the upcoming week.

Kevin Smuda versus Mathieu Houle.

They may not 4.5 40-yard dash guys, but both wide receivers, who are well over 6 ft 3, have the hands, and enough speed, to get by and over opposing Defensive Backs.

Counting last week’s efforts, since the 2016 Spring Season, Houle has scored 70 touchdowns. In the same span, Smuda, has found the endzone a jaw-dropping 84 times. With 154 combined TDs, it’s safe to say that both players know how to score. Let’s see who does it more Monday night in Brossard.

The Commission versus Backyard Bullies

This game features last season’s The Commission, versus this year’s The Commission, as it will see Sean Avraam, and Jordan Allard, who won Quarterback, and Wide Receiver of the Year with TC last season, will be taking on their former team Monday night at Stade de Montreal. Replaced by the aforementioned Marquis brothers, it will interesting to see what duo, and team will come out on top.

Strangers versus TOPSZN, looks like a matchup of old versus new, as the speed and athleticism of TOPSZN, takes on the veteran and championship experience of the Strangers.

With names like Adi Sharma, Gino Di Fazio, Carmine Pollice, Jimmy Coupethwaite, Jeff Brown, and Shawn Haney, the Strangers, are a team filled with several All-Stars, championship experience, and Hall-Of-Famers, that knows what it takes to win, as well as how to identify, and exploit a team’s weakness.

As is typical with the WWE, and with a Di Fazio-led team, the roster is long, and subject to change multiple times throughout the season.
A modern day Bobby “The Brain” Heenan (R.I.P), or to younger fans, the FPF version of Paul Heyman, Di Fazio, who always looks for any inch he can get, could bring out another HOF member, an under the radar player, or even a young stud from FPF Jr. Who knows what aces, or surprises Di Fazio, has up his sleeve. We’ll have to wait to tomorrow night in Lachine to find out.

As we saw in the Winter Season, TOPSZN, with players like Khalil Kerr, Jarryd Taylor, Hasani Worrell, Matthew Canuel, and now with the addition of Quaysie Gordon-Maule, and Justene Edwards, this is an explosive team that can score from anywhere on the field, on both sides of the ball.
The potential matchups in this game are intriguing to say the least.

Another game that has the potential to light up the scoreboard is…

 

Lights Out versus Jagerbomb.

Led by Quarterback Simon Duchesne, and dynamic receivers in Simon Lahie, Cédric Nuckle, Gabriel Moreau-Paquette, and Jean-Felix Daloze, Jagerbomb, is a veteran team that pretty much since their inception back in 2013, has been built to outscore their opponents with a deep and fast-striking attack, that annually leads their respective division in points scored.

The first-year Lights Out squad, is a unique mix of higher division players in Jamal Gittens, Omar Jackson, and Isiah Allard, as well as lower division playmakers in Michael Khazaka, Mickey Marini, Kyle McGuigan, and Myles Keiller.

Don’t let the Div. 6/E history fool you, I’ve covered, and played with and against these guys before, and I can honestly say that all four current and former lower division guys can play as well.

One player who is a rookie, is their Quarterback Drew Keiller. The first-year passer, also made his debut at the same position in Division E. With 2 losses, and 5 interceptions to start his FPF career, there isn’t anywhere to go but up. Armed with some of the aforementioned targets, I expect Keiller to get better. If he doesn’t, might we see Gittens, who threw for The Brotherhood of Div. D-1 last week, and has 43 career TD passes, take over at QB?

Lahie vs Gittens, Nuckle vs Jackson, Daloze vs Allard, McGuigan vs Moreau-Paquette, there are a ton of matchups that will make this a must-watch game.

Lobster Dinner versus Omlette You Finish

The self-titled All-Star Simon Dagenais vs Jonathan Brown, in a battle of solid Quarterbacks.

Playmakers like Justin Blanchard vs Cory Kennedy, Jamie Ojeaha vs Hendrick Ambroise, Meïssa N’Garane vs Charles-Olivier Lavigne. The possibilities are endless. Also, the fact the lobster omelettes taste amazing, don’t hurt this matchup either.

Every week, I will release a power ranking of the top eight teams in the division known as the Elite 8. Obviously, wins and losses will count, but so will strength of schedule.

 

Elite 8

 

1. The Alpha-T’s

2. Mountain Lions

3. Dirty Dawgs

4. TOPSZN

5. The Commission

6. Junkyard Dogs

7. Blue Chips

8. Jagerbomb

 

Picks

Omelette You Finish vs Lobster Dinner – Lobster Dinner

Strangers vs TOPSZN – Strangers (Upset Special)

Les Montagnards Da Browns – Les Montagnards

The Alpha-T’s vs Mountain Lions – Mountain Lions (My pick for Game of the Week)

Junkyard Dogs vs Dirty Dawgs – Dirty Dawgs

Friends in Low Places vs Keyport Lock – Keyport Lock

Backyard Bullies vs The Commission – N/A

BearSkins vs Game Changers – BearSkins

Vikings vs Braves U – Braves U

Jagerbomb vs – Lights Out – Jagerbomb

Broccasion vs Blue Chips – Blue Chips

 

That’s it for this week I will be back next time with a Week 2 re-cap, and a Week 3 preview. Good luck to everybody, and enjoy the long weekend. Twenty-two teams, sixteen playoff spots. Let the fun begin.

If you loved the article, hated it, or simply felt like I left something out, feel free to contact me on Twitter @BADNEWSB51, or by e-mail at [email protected]