The Double Dip

Welcome to Week 4 of the FlagPlus Football Spring Season.

Whether you’re at a party, a bar, or watching a game or a movie with a bunch of friends, one of the nastiest things in the world, is when somebody double dips. 

It could be a chip, pretzel, cheesy, or even a carrot or celery stick, it’s disgusting. 

The only time it is kind of ok I guess, is if it is done by someone that you have, or your going to sleep with, girlfriend, boyfriend, wife, husband, mistress, or whatever. Even then, dip, still isn’t at the top of my list of ways I want to exchange bodily fluids and germs with somebody. Maybe it’s just me.

Double dipping in football however, is usually a good thing, and FPF is no different. The Seinfeld episode in Season 4 “The Implant” was another positive example.

As I mentioned last week, due to the Week 1 schedule conflict, a number of teams had to play two games this past week, some within a one or two day span, hence the double dip.

Some squads were able to handle it, while others were not.

One team that took advantage adjusted schedule, was Easy-Jake-Oven, as they finished the week with back-to-back wins.

Tuesday night in Brossard, Easy-Jake-Oven, were able to earn a (32-20) win over GloGang, as they were led by a 4 touchdown performance by Quarterback Jake Applebaum, and Wide Receiver Kevin Smuda.

In addition to the 4 touchdowns, the dynamic duo also connected for a game-high 5 receptions and 101 yards.

Also contributing to the win for Easy-Jake-Oven, was Yoni Loeub. On offense, the veteran two-way player finished second on the team in catches and yards, with 3 and 29 respectively.

The other side of the ball is where the impact of Loeub was really felt, as he finished the game with 2 interceptions off of GloGang Quarterback Brandon Gourgon.

Helping out the cause of Easy-Jake-Oven, was the absence of regular GloGang Quarterback Arno Desjardins, as the aforementioned Gourgon, finished the game completing only 8 of 22 passes.

Two nights later, Easy-Jake-Oven, made it a 2-game sweep, as they were able to knockoff the Backyard Bullies, (31-19) in the Jordan Allard Bowl.

Going against his former team in EJO, Allard, finished the game with 4 receptions for 22 yards and a touchdown, to go along with a team-high 4 tackles and 1 pass deflection.

Unfortunately for the Backyard Bullies, Allard’s play wasn’t enough, to stop them from getting outplayed in the second half, as after trailing (7-6) at the break, EJO outscored their opponents (25-12).

The key to the win for EJO once again, was the play of Applebaum and Smuda, as well as that of two-way players Adam Rockman, and Noah Groper.

In the contest, the former duo connected 3 times for 31 yards, and 2 touchdowns, giving them an impressive total of 5 TDs over their last two games.

The latter duo made some noise too, as they combined for 9 catches for 140 yards and 3 touchdowns on offense, and 7 tackles, 1 INT, and a PD on defense.

All in all, this was a matchup of two teams heading in opposite directions right now.

 

While Easy-Jake-Oven, are making cake on offense (see what I did there!) with 95 points scored through three games, the Backyard Bullies, are looking and smelling, like expired milk on that side of the ball, as they have yet to hit the 20 point mark through 3 weeks, despite having a deep and talented roster, with a ton of championship experience.

The Bullies, who also lost (18-13) to the A-Squad, Wednesday night at Bois-de-Boulagne, will need to figure it out soon, as they face the undefeated Game Changers, this Tuesday in Brossard.

For Easy-Jake-Oven, they will look to move to (4-0) on the season, when they go up against P.O.P, tonight in Lachine.

With their regular QB in the aforementioned Arno Desjardins back in the lineup, GloGang, beat the Dream Breakers, (31-22), Thursday night at Stade de Montreal.
Desjardins, was a model of efficiency, as he completed 13 of 19 passes, for 143 yards, and 5 touchdowns.

Three of his TD passes went to Wide Receiver Alexandre Gravel. The duo was electric all game, as they connected 7 times for 103 yards, all three of which were game highs. Gavel, would also add a sack on defense.

In addition to the sack by Gravel, the GloGang defense played a key role in the win, as they were able to force two takeaways from opposing QB Jasmin Prince, on interceptions by Sifax Kaced, and Tomas Guerrier.

GloGang, will look to make it 2 wins in their last 3 games, when they take on The Commission, this coming Tuesday night in Brossard.

Another team who went a perfect 2 for 2 during the week, was Keyport Lock.
The first victory was a (32-12) blowout win over the Junkyard Dogs.

Keyport Lock Quarterback Jeff Rosenblatt, had a superb game with 5 touchdown passes.

His favorite target was two-way player Raoul Baroudi, who led the way with 3 TDs on offense, and both an INT and PD on the other side of the ball.

The combination of Jeremy Anderson, and Jonathan Lyristis, made their presence felt as well.

Anderson, had 4 receptions for 73 yards and TD, to go along with a jaw-dropping 11 tackles, and 1 PD, while Lyristis, finished the game with 2 catches for 19 yards and a trip to the endzone of his own, and a game-high 3 sacks, plus a PD.

In their second game a night, despite missing starting Quarterback Jeff Rosenblatt, Keyport Lock, were able to easily beat an overmatched KGP team, Thursday night at Stade de Montreal.

Filling in for the absent Rosenblatt, was 2-time All-Star, and 3-time champion Lonnie Johnson. I feel like at this point, Johnson, should make a part-time career as a replacement FPF QB.

 

He did it in the Winter Season with both The BrotherHood and Top Sauce in Division 3, and a host of other teams over the years, like Friends in Low Places, Rich & Famous, and TOPSZN. I must admit, I tried to get The Commission added to that list last winter, but I digress.

In typical Johnson fashion, the veteran passer controlled the clock, took advantage of the opposing teams turnovers, and attacked the weaknesses in their defense, as he hit Baroudi, Kevin Boustany, Daniel Farag, and David Miron for touchdowns.

All together, he finished the game going 18 of 28 for 149 yards 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Not bad for someone who hasn’t thrown since Week 9 of the Winter Season.

Both the Junkyard Dogs, and A-Squad, were able to get a split from last week.

After scoring a huge upset victory over the Backyard Bullies, headlined by an MVP like outing from Riley Pincombe, who led his team with 5 catches for 46 yards and 1 TD, in addition to two interceptions, one of which he ran back to the house on defense.

 

The A-Squad, also got a solid performance from Adil Ijaz, who also caught a TD on offense, to along with 5 receptions for 27 yards, and added a sack on the other side of the ball.

 

Unfortunately for Richie Mondesir’s team couldn’t build off of that momentum, as they lost a (20-19) heartbreaker to the Junkyard Dogs.

This game was unique, in that all of the points were scored in the first half.

Both Quarterbacks in Jason Rossie, and Yacoub Telemaque, had nearly identical, and solid outings, as the former finished 12 of 23 for 107 yards 3 TDs and 1 INT, while the latter was just slightly better, finishing 24 of 30 for 144 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT.

Even on the other side of the ball, both players made an impact, with Telemaque getting the edge, with 3 PDs and a tackle, compared to Rossie, who had 4 takedowns on the evening.

After helping carry his team to a win over the Backyard Bullies, Riley Pincombe, was pretty much held in check by the JYD defense, as they limited him to just 3 catches for 20 yards.

Pincombe’s teammates in Adil Ijaz, and Slick Rick Cummins, picked up the slack for the offense, as they combined to make an impressive 13 catches for 79 yards and 3 TDs.

JYD Wide Receiver Rory Semerjian, picked up the mantle for his squad, as he matched the A-Squad duo in trips to the endzone, as he recorded 6 grabs for 74 yards and 3 TDs of his own.

A big play in the game, waste second half interception by JYD Defensive Back Rob White, which snuffed out a potential game-winning drive for the A-Squad.

Despite finally getting their first win of the year, there is extreme cause for the Junkyard Dogs, especially on offense.

Not only was their win over the A-Squad the first time they cracked the 20 point barrier, it was the first time this year they scored more than 12 points in a game. For a team with offensive weapons like Semerjian, Jordan Rossie, Hinsley Adams, and Shawn Haney, that is inexcusable.

In 2 out of their next 3 games, JYD, plays two out of the top four worst defenses in Div. C, in KGP, and The Huffmen, let’s see if Jason Rossie’s team can capitalize.

There were a couple of teams who had just one game, that managed to make a statement as well.

One of the teams who did exactly that, are Simon Says, as they cruised to an easy (32-19) win over a banged up The Commission squad.

Simon says, had their way in the first half, as they jumped out to a quick two touchdown lead, on scores by Nicholas Groppini, and Justin Lerner.

The Commission, finally got on the board with an interception returned for a score by Kenny Boutilier, but the momentum was short-lived, as TC Quarterback Kristian Cerantola, who was filling in for injured Jean-Félix Marquis, threw his second interception of the first half, which led to another touchdown a few plays later by Simon Says.

Cerantola, struggled in the game, completing 9 of 28 passes, for 87 yards, 1 TD and 3 INTs. His receivers including yours truly, did him no favours however, as each one of them dropped at least two passes.

The Commission defense, which was already without Nicolas Gendron-Vallée, and an injured Michael Young, and also lost Cerantola, late in the second half to a knee injury, settled down in the second half, and stopped the bleeding, but it was too little too late.

After starting the season (0-2), Jagerbomb, got their first victory of the season, with a (37-31) win over All Hooks.

Quarterback Simon Duchesne, who led all Division C passers with 260 yards, also threw 6 touchdown passes in the contest, with two going to Felix Fontaine-Larouche.

Jagerbomb’s Guillaume Miraval, who caught a pair of touchdowns as well, added a crucial interception on defense, of opposing Quarterback Jeremy White.

The Jagerbomb offense also received contributions from Sebastien Dorsonnes, Vincent Benjamin, and Jean-Felix Daloze, who combined to record 11 receptions, 120 yards, and 2 touchdowns.

For All Hooks, the loss was a wasted a good performance on both sides of the ball by the duo of Samuel Emilio Pelchat, and Jean-Christophe Ferland, who combined for 9 catches 78 yards, and 3 touchdowns, and one interception each.

More importantly, the loss for All Hooks, made it two in a row, and the second straight game where they have given up 37 points or more (they surrendered 40 in Week 2).
Can the All Hooks defense rebound tonight against a solid Stoics offense?

 

Great job by the Toronto Raptors in their (118-109) Game 1 win over the Golden State Warriors!

 

Balanced scoring, and strong defense, something the Houston Rockets, and Portland Trail Blazers, don’t have and can’t do, killed the two-time defending champs. Well, that, and 10 days off.

 

If the Raps, can continue to get that balanced scoring, great bench play, more solid  play from Pascal Siakim, Danny Green (told you his funk wouldn’t last forever), and the duo of Marc Gasol, and Kyle Lowry on both ends of the court, there’s a good chance Toronto can go up (2-0) tonight. Hopefully they can.

 

Picks

All Hooks vs Stoics – All Hooks

P.O.P vs Easy-Jake-Oven – Easy-Jake-Oven

Jagerbomb vs Gym Class Heroes – Jagerbomb

Pineapple Express vs A-Squad – A-Squad (Upset Special #1)

Sweat & Beers vs Simon Says – Simon Says

Mercenaries vs The Huffmen – Mercenaries

Backyard Bullies vs Game Changers – Game Changers

The Commission vs GloGang – N/A

Junkyard Dogs vs KGP – KGP

Dream Breakers vs Keyport Lock – Dream Breakers (My pick for Game of the Week and Upset Special #2)

Last Week: (9-4)

Season: (18-9)

 

That’s it for this week.

With the midpoint of the season right around the corner, I will reveal my midseason choices for Quarterback, Receiver, Defensive, and Two-Way Player of the Year, as well as a break down of each team, in my Mid-Season Review.

Good luck to everybody in their games this week!

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

Cheers!