Rehan’s Report (D1) – Week 5

We have reached the midway point of the season and it has been an excellent first half thus far. The only team who has stood their ground is Montreal’s Finest as they are a perfect 5-0. The next four teams are tied at 3-2; they are Hurricanes, Demons, Rainmakers and CLR Forces, in that exact order. Rounding off the bottom of division 1 are Wolverines at 1-4 and Express at 0-5. The standings are close right now and even the Express can jump back into the middle of the pack with a couple of wins. It will be a great finish and I will be there each week to cover it all. With that in mind, let’s start right away with the recap of last week’s games.

 

Week 5 Review

 

Last weekend’s action started with the Rainmakers thrashing the Wolverines by a score of 39-7 and thus covering my spread. The interesting thing about this match up is that Wolverines are a veteran division 1 team and aren’t performing like one, whereas Rainmakers are playing great division 1 football only in their first season. Getting back to the game, there is not much to discuss, Ryan Kastner threw for 152 yards and 4 TDs, all four TDs were caught by a different receiver while his counterpart Jerry Charles threw for 1 TD and 3 INTs. The lone touchdown was caught by Ara Ekmekdjian who led all Wolverines receivers with 21 yards and also had a sack on defense. As great as the Rainmakers offense was, their defense had a great night too by having 11 PDs and also 2 “pick six” specials.

 

Moving to a much closer game in which the CLR Forces defeated the Demons, the final was 33-32. CLR Forces winning their second in a row, made a huge statement by beating the Demons. Essentially this game came down to the last play and Demons went for two to get the win but obviously weren’t able to convert. Carmine Pollice had multiple interceptions in the game as opposed to Frederic Dupuis who only had one. Player of the game was Dominic Lemieux who had 10 catches for 84 yards and 2 TDs on offense while gathering 8 tackles and 2 INTs on defense. We can say all night what if the Demons had converted the two points, the recap would be a lot different right now however they didn’t so it isn’t. CLR Forces are on a mission right now and as I stated in my previous articles, they want to return to the status they once ascribed to in the previous years. After a big win, they now get a break next week while the Demons will play the number one team in division 1, Montreal’s Finest.

 

Speaking of the Finest, they had their first big challenge of the season this past weekend as they took on two-time defending champions, the Hurricanes. Montreal’s Finest won this game in a close affair by a total of 37-34. I know this is a game Montreal’s Finest had circled on their calendar when the schedule was first released. This game also came down to the last play as Rick Nincheri threw a pass in the end zone but was batted down by Nathan Taylor thus securing the game for the Finest. The stat line for both QBs was excellent as both Rick Nincheri and Kevin Wyeth had no interceptions yet the conversions, or lack there of, were a key factor. A lot of credit must be given to Kevin Wyeth who is having an excellent season and is making his case for being the division 1 MVP. However staying in current time, this win shows everyone that the Montreal’s Finest are for real and will take on another great team in Demons next week. Furthermore, I will be the first to admit that I was a critic of Moe Khan’s Finest because I had believed he assembled a roster based purely on athleticism and lacked chemistry however I was wrong and I give props to my panelist on WEPL for putting together a very talented squad. The Hurricanes, on the other hand, will take on the Rainmakers next week who gave Hurricanes their first loss of the season in week 3.

 

 

And that rounds up this week’s review and it is now time to name the 3 STARwars of the week.

 

3rd star: Dominic Lemieux (CLR Forces) played excellent on both sides of the ball. 10 receptions, 84 yards and 2 TDs on offense; 8 tackles and 2 interceptions on defense.

 

2nd star: Fred Dupuis (CLR Forces) 20-29 for 163 yards, 5 TDs and 1 INT.

 

1st star: Kevin Wyeth (Montreal’s Finest) 20-26 for 227 yards and 6 TDs, playing flawless yet again and helping his team improve to 5-0.

 

 

I will do a mid week report in my next article which will look at every team in detail and also what we can expect from them the rest of the way.

 

 

Sarwar’s Spread

 

Last week I went 1-2 however this trend will continue the rest of the season because any given Saturday or Sunday, anything is possible in division 1.

 

1. Wolverines (1-4) vs. Express (0-5): This is an important match up because it is for the last playoff spot so the Express have to treat this game like it was a playoff game. Both teams haven’t had much luck lately in division 1 however one of them WILL make the playoffs. I actually like the Express in this game because I feel after a bye week, they are focused. Andrija Zecevic will have a great game and put the Express in the win column. Express – 3.5

 

2. Hurricanes (3-2) vs. Rainmakers (3-2): Rainmakers will be in tough against the Hurricanes especially since revenge is in question. The key here will be Rainmakers defense playing the same way they did in week 3 and not letting the Hurricane’s offense get into a groove however that will be tough to do and furthermore I think Hurricane’s defense will set the tone early and often. Hurricanes – 6.5

 

3. Montreal’s Finest (5-0) vs. Demons (3-2): The Finest has the best defense in division 1 having allowed only 97 points in 5 games. Given the fact the Demon’s offense has struggled at times, and additionally Kevin Wyeth will exploit Demon’s defense. Montreal’s Finest – 5.5

 

 

Don’t forget next week I’ll be doing the mid-season recap. Well that wraps it up for this week’s report. I will sign off and let everyone get back to their work or whatever it is that you guys do to pass time. If you have any comments/suggestions don’t hesitate to message me on Facebook or [email protected] and I’ll catch you next week same STARWAR time, same STARWAR article.