LOYOLA FIGHTS BACK – Week 2 Wrap-up

Week two was quite eventful to say the least. From the appearance of the ambulance at Loyola, to the upsets up and down the schedule, week two definitely wrote itself a dramatic sequel to week one. Unfortunately I was present for the doomed (and obviously never welcomed) injury that occurred to Travis Mosses from #Noregard. I don’t know that I’ve ever felt so weak from the legs from witnessing an event like the one that took place, which led to the diagnosis of a broken tibia and fibula. This unfortunately overshadowed what was the beginning of an amazing stretch of games at Loyola on Sunday night!

A night that began with one of best finishes in football that our era will hear about for decades. I’m talking about the Seattle versus Green Bay game. I realize the feelings are probably mixed and saturated among the league, but nonetheless as a fan with no emotional ties to the two teams, I was a satisfied customer. Perhaps some people think the Seahawks got lucky, but one thing is certain: if that’s my team and those are my players, that’s how I expect my guys to finish. I was also very fortunate to go under the radar in terms of the Patriots game. If you didn’t know, The Patriots are my team, always have been and always will be. It would be an understatement to say I was extremely excited to rush home to watch the game I had recorded it and was able to avoid all talks and updates regarding the score!

 

Headlines Div1:

-My game of the week between Montreal’s Finest and D-Boys did not displease. What I thought would be a heated battle of the present powerhouse in division 1, and the perhaps future, did not disappoint me in the least bit. Kishon Thompson looked like a man on a mission after being challenged by an opposing defender; he finished the night with 4 receptions for 102 yards and 3 touchdowns, plus 5 defensive tackles. The impulsive throws for interceptions by Marco Masciotra forces me to maybe regress my statements a touch regarding his future reign at the top of a short list of quarterbacks. Both sides played outstanding defense all night. Leonardo Lanni had a big play on a fourth down to halt a drive and give his team hope late in the game. Unfortunately, I think the lack of adjustments on the D-Boys’ defensive side proved to be the issue. I can’t wrap my mind around why Jamal Gittens is not playing defense for the D-Boys.

– Rainmakers continue their perfect ways. They handed the Express their second loss of the season. Ryan Kastner continues to lead his team; he threw for 210 yards, half of which went to Charles-Antoine Sinotte, and 5 touchdowns, of which 3 were to Sinotte. Express is going to have to find a way to win quickly if they want to steer this ship in the right direction. Perhaps finding a way to get David Polynice more included on offence could be a start. Like I’ve said in the past, I think the Express have what is needed to give teams in division one a run for their money.

-Oh Demons Demons, Demons; although they lost a closely contested match versus a quality team like Flag Moi L’Sac, they brought forth a roster that makes me cheerful. I don’t wish anyone to have an upsetting and dreadful season when you pay to play. The adjustments made by the Demons are a move in the right direction to say the least. That being said, Alex Nadeau-Piuze doubled his yards per pass from last week. He linked with seven different receivers for 215 yards and an average of 12 yards per pass. Alex’s favorite target was his brother, Samuel Nadeau-Piuze; they connected 5 times for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns. The addition of Robbie Robinson to the Demons roster might just be the deep threat needed to create some open space underneath, but only time will tell. Both teams are heading into a favorable week three match up. Will Flag Moi L’Sac end the Rainmakers streak?

-Terror Squad had no answers for DK’s defense. A couple misplaced balls by Tam Vilaydeth led to tips for interceptions, which ultimately ended up deflating Terror Squad’s offense. Serge Pilon had an outstanding defensive game matched up against Patrick Jerome. Although Jerome still had a decent game receiving, Serge finished the game with 7 tackles, 4 pass deflections and 1 interception. Adi Sharma seemed to be in Tams’ mind, calling all the right defenses to fluster his reads. Terror Squad is now 0-2 going into another tough game against D-Boys.

 

Headlines Div2:

-A defensive game to say the least between The Commission and BC et Les McGonagals. If it wasn’t for Zan Symonds’ ability to break the pocket and rush for 60 yards I don’t know how The Commission would’ve pulled through. Raphael Casey and Maxime Dupuis lead a good-looking defense that could use some help from the offence. Joel Joule has the targets to move the ball, they just need to find their groove and get the ball rolling. On the other hand, the addition of Alex Hovington will definitely be fruitful for The Commission’s defense.

– Cold Fusion really wanted to prove me wrong this week and they did so in a dramatic fashion. The game was so heavily contested that the emotions proved to be too much for some. After a little circus of irrational outbursts, Cold Fusion held on to bring home the victory, 28-27 over Chernobyl Circus. Patrick Chenard is going to have to keep the turnovers down to give his team a better chance at future success. It was another night at the buffet for David Polynice who now has 15 receptions and 5 touchdowns in two games. I had doubts in Justin Lavalle’s potential at quarterback, but he proved me wrong this week; let’s hope he can continue on that trend. Nigel Thomas probably disagrees with me about his quarterback as well, who this past week fed him the ball for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns.

-Another pleasant game to watch featured Les Monsieurs Chats and ONS. Seems like just yesterday Samuel Bibeault was returning interceptions for touchdown with a CIS jersey on his back. Now he lines up next to a familiar University of Sherbrooke brother, Alexandre Branco, to completely shut down the right side of the field. Unfortunately, they were up against a Kevin Wyeth in great game form. A rare ankle breaking run by Wyeth on a fourth down for 6 yards up the middle late in the game was the TSN turning point. He put LMC behind the nine ball and they were never able to come back.

-Shakalooinz and Usual Suspects are the first victims of a tie this season in division 2! Another inopportune turn of events that took place at Loyola Sunday night. No one likes a tie but its something that we’re going to be stuck with during the regular season due to the time restraints the league has on its fields. Leon Holder probably had nightmares over his last throw of the game that resulted in an interception. Usual Suspects had three or four plays left in the game when they went for the score and got picked off. Shakalooinz have a tough stretch of games coming up, starting next Tuesday against the undefeated Legends.

-Loyola on Sunday was cursed. #Noregard lost two key players during their game against Flag Football Fantasy. I‘ve already touched on the unfortunate broken leg, but earlier in the game Demy Feelgood dislocated his pinky. I didn’t want to see it but I needed to try and help him. His finger was back inside his hand. Combine me seeing that and later the broken leg, and imagine how badly I wanted the dome to just pop. Pop already so I don’t have to play my two games on this cursed field. Call me superstitious, call me soft, but I wanted nothing to do with Loyola Sunday night after those events. On another note; Benny Goodfriend threw for 227 yards, 6 touchdowns and should’ve had more. He repeatedly missed his targets deep but luckily it became irrelevant. The intimidating duo of Adam Bailey and Moy McDonald combine for 13 catches, 178 yards and 5 touchdowns. Alex Holowach just found out what kind of defenses he and #Noregard will be up against in division 2 on a regular basis.

-Tony Tabet can thank Theo Bekelis for the two interceptions that pushed the Wolverines to their first win on the season over TMT. Wolverines have one of the toughest schedules in division 2 and will most likely be in a dogfight every week. A challenge Tony is not afraid of, but I believe we’ll be able to count the amount of wins on one hand when the dust settles. TMT is also in for a tough ride. They will need to solidify and stabilize the quarterback position; find out who gives you the best chance at success and run with him.

-Frederic Dupuis quickly moved on from last week’s performance and delivered big time versus the Gladiateurs. Dupuis threw for 249 yards and 6 touchdowns. The Gladiateurs added a key player to their roster in Jean Sebastian Gradowski, and he instantly made his presence felt catching 7 balls for 87 yards and 2 touchdowns. Next week CLR takes on the now suddenly depleted #Noregard. Depleted or not, beware of the speed on offence.

 

My Top Freaks in Div1:

QB- Rochdi Benadelkader: 13/13 for 176 yards and 6 TDs. I have to mention the QB rating of 158. Whether you like it or not, when half your throws are for touchdowns. You’re a freak!

WR- Charles-Antoine Sinotte: 7 RECs for 104 yards and 3 TDs. Sinotte accounted for half the offensive yards on his team. Welcome to the elite group of freaks!

DB-Adi Sharma: 2 Tkls 1 SK and 2 INTs. Adi is not likely to forget about this game anytime soon. I can picture him talking about it around the water cooler. Come on in, Adi!

R-Ryan Aridi: 1 Tkl 3 SK and 1 PD. Ryan smelled blood and ate all night! The fact that you did it against such a quick quarterback makes it a FREAKK performance!

 

My Top Freaks in Div2:

QB-Frederic Dupuis: 22/28 for 249 yards and 6 TDs. Bounced back in a freakish way I’m sure the boys from L’Assomption appreciated it! Welcome to the league of FREAKS!

WR-David Polynice: 6 RECs for 98 yards and 3 TDs. Another FREAKK just turns on the freak mode on weekly basis. Welcome back, young stud!

DB-Chris Pinsonneault: 4 TKLs 3PDs and 1 INT. One of the nicest guys in flag plus who goes hard and always under the radar… Glad you can serve a nice slice of humble pie!

R- C’MON man… Two weeks in a row without a freak in the rusher’s category! Step up your game guys.

 

My picks for week 3 and my spread:            

D-Boys (-6) VS Terror Squad

Express (-3) VS Demons

DK (+6) VS Montreals Finest

Flag Moi L’Sac (+3) VS Rainmakers

As it stands after one week of prediction I am 3 in 4 for 75% winners …          

 

My picks for week Div 2 week 3 and my spread:

Wolfpack VS ONS (-7)

Served With Ice (+3.5) VS Gladiateur

TMT VS Chernobyl Circus (-5.5)

The Commission VS Flag Football Fantasy (-8)

Usual Suspect VS Clockwork (-3.5)

BC et Les McGonagals (1.5) VS Wolverines

Cold Fusion VS Les Monsieur Chats (-2.5)

Shakalooinz VS Legends (-3.5)

#Noregard (+3.5) VS CLR Forces

 

After one week of picks I am 7 in 8 for 88% winners.

 

My Game of the Week:

              I really wanted to take a division two game this week but there simply isn’t an attractive game to cover. So back to division one I go with the battle of the undefeated and a big conference game.

 

Flag Moi L’Sac VS Rainmakers

             

Rainmakers have been around for as long as I can remember. They’ve been up and down the rankings but always in the same division. One thing is certain about the Rainmakers, they have seen it all when it comes to flag, and experience is a factor that seems to often be forgotten when evaluating flag players. On the other hand, we’ve got a team that’s starting up their third season together. Although most of these guys have tossed pigskin together before flag, some in front of a thousand screaming fans, flag is not always an easy trade off from tackle football.

              Keys to this match up: Simple, both teams being very good at what they do, the small things are what’s going to make the difference. For both quarterbacks, not forcing a deep ball into coverage when you have a check down that’s open will be important. There are ball hawks all over the field waiting to make you pay for your mistakes. Whoever is rushing Ryan Kastner needs to show up ready to run all night. You will often be sent back to the rusher before you even cross the line of scrimmage. Kastner doesn’t hang on to the ball very often, he loves quick throws and he doesn’t mind doing it all night if it works. JP St-Pierre will have to bring back his Boozer days rushing skills to limit the time Kastner has to throw.

              The amount of talent on the field will be very impressive. Will the men in blue be able to match up against the speedy receivers like Charles-Antoine Sinotte, who’s off to a booming start, 183 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns in 2 games? Other guys like Michael Chitayat and Tim Kramer who are currently flying under the radar, but it shouldn’t be too long before they get their feasting started. It’s blue versus red and if you’re wearing red beware of the brother connection in blue. Do the little things right to stay in the game and pounce on the first mistake. This one might come down to a battle of point afters, which ultimately comes down to a battle of size in the red zone. Although I believe Rainmakers are the favorites to win, I’m going with Flag Moi L’Sac in this one.

Allez, les bleus!

 

Thank you for taking the time to read my article. Once again good luck to everyone! Don’t forget to check out the podcast by G.M Kolethras and I Thursday night around 10:15! Follow me @VinceNardone for very little action on twitter or stop me at the field to chat. Till next time… Get in the gym.