Upsets, Peeze, and Goodbye Kawhi

Welcome to Week 9 of the FlagPlus Football Spring Season.

The regular season is in the home stretch, and some teams are looking to make their last attempt at qualifying for the postseason.

Some teams were able to handle the pressure, while others were not, as we were witness to a bunch of upsets this past week in Division C.

As I’ve been saying multiple times throughout the season, GloGang, is a team to be reckoned with, and this past Tuesday in Brossard, they proved it once again, with a shocking (45-19) upset win over Game Changers.

Led by Quarterback Arno Desjardins, the GloGang offense was lethal, especially in the first half, as they scored 33 points. Although he cooled off in the second stanza, the young QB would end the game with a solid stat line, going 15 of 226 for 199 yards and 5 touchdowns.

The GloGang Receivers did their part too, as four of them reached the endzone, including Malick Meiga, who was making his season debut, had 4 catches, and led his team with 65 yards, and 2 touchdowns.

In defense of the Game Changers they were without their starting Quarterback in Anton Sakiz.

GloGang, however didn’t care, as they took advantage of replacement Quarterback Louis-Philippe Paquette, who threw two interceptions, and was virtually unable to move the offense in the second half, as they were held to a season-low 6 points.

It wasn’t all bad for Paquette, as he was able to connect on touchdown passes to Ludwik Jananji, Guillaume St-Amand, and Alvy Mizelle, who had 69, 59, and 34 yards respectively.

Unfortunately for the Game Changers, the lack of scoring, along with a defense that gave up 33 first half points, were too much to overcome.

 

Congrats to the Gym Class Heroes on getting first win of the season, with a shocking (36-0) win over Sweat & Beers.

Gym Class Heroes Quarterback James Donald, has had his struggles this season, in his first year at QB, but he and the team’s no quit attitude finally paid off, as Donald, played his best game of the season, recording a season-high 6 touchdown passes, on 13 of 20 passing for 191 yards.

The team also got big performances from their Receivers, in Mike Zenobi, Daniel Mancini, and Matthew Da Silva, as the trio each scored at least one touchdown, with Mancini scoring two, and Da Silva adding three, along with a game-high 5 catches for 83 yards.

Despite the stellar offensive numbers, it’s the team’s defense that really stood out.

Led by Donald, who had a jaw-dropping 4 interceptions (how do you keep throwing in his direction after the first two?), they also got a solid outing from Zenobi, who recorded 2 sacks, and 3 tackles. The aforementioned Da Silva, would add an INT of his own.

The most important stat of all, was the always impressive shutout that the unit pitched.

To the credit of Sweat & Beers, they were without their starting Quarterback in Rocco Christiano, and with their Winter Season QB Rob Robinson, unable to throw in Div. C due to his QB rating, the team turned to captain and Christiano’s cousin, Bobby Sepentgis.

The FPF vet, who had prior experience throwing for lower division teams in The Fat and the Furious, and the Consultants, tried his best, but simply struggled, completing only 11 of 27 passes for 89 yards and 3 interceptions against a Gym Class Heroes defense, that despite their record, have a lot of difference-makers on that side of the ball.

The win by Gym Class Heroes, also ensures that no team in Division C, will go winless this season. That’s always a good thing. Good job guys!

Clinging to their playoff hopes by a string, All Hooks, dug their feet in the post-season ground, and held steady, with a (33-32)upset win over the Mercenaries last Sunday at Lachine.

Led by Quarterback Charles-Olivier Lavigne, and Wide Receiver Jean-Christophe Ferland, who connected 7 times for 135 yards (both game-highs) and 2 touchdowns.

Lavigne, would also add a TD on the ground, and an interception as a defender.

All Hooks Receivers Jeremy White, and Samuel Emilio Pelchat would inflict some damage too, as the duo combined for 7 receptions 61 yards and 2 TDs.

In the big picture, the win snapped three game losing streak for All Hooks, and more importantly, it placed them one game behind The Commission, for the 6th and final playoff spot in Conference B.

Speaking of the playoffs, the Backyard Bullies, picked up a major point, and kept their post-season dreams alive, with a hard-fought (19-19) tie versus Keyport Lock, Wednesday night at Bois-de-Boulagne.

The first half of the contest was a bit of a shootout, as both teams scored 19 points apiece, and both Quarterbacks in Jeff Rosenblatt (Keyport Lock) and Rich Humes (Backyard Bullies) each tossed 3 TDs.

Each side also had a dominant Wide Receiver, as Jordan Allard, led the Bullies with 5 catches for 70 yards and a touchdown, while Keyport Lock’s Jeremy Anderson, showed why he is a 4-time All-Star, as he registered a game-high 9 grabs for 126 yards and 1 TD. Talk about impressive.

For as solid as both offenses were in the first half, the defenses on each side woke up in the second stanza, as the Bullies, and Keyport Lock, pitched shutouts.

The 1 point gained from the tie, put Keyport Lock, one point up on the Game Changers, for second place in Conference A, and 1 point behind Easy-Jake-Oven, for first place.

For the Backyard Bullies, the 1 point they earned, separated them by you guessed it, a point from the Dream Breakers, for the 6th and final playoff spot in Conference A.

After losing their first five games of the year, and then suffering a heartbreaking tie with the Junkyard Dogs, in Week 6, The Huffmen, have made it two wins in row, with a (46-12) blowout victory over KGP.

For the third week in a row, The Huffmen, got a solid performance out of their Quarterback, in Corey Walwaski, as the veteran pivot threw 7 touchdown passes, and 244 yards.

The Huffmen Wide Receiver Marco Bertoldi, was a beast as well, with 4 receptions, for a game-high 117 yards and 3 TDs.

For KGP, who was without starting Quarterback Phil Cutler, they turned to former FPF starting QB, and an old friend of yours truly, in the Hebrew Hammer Mike Mendell.

Mendell, who last played in the 2018 Winter Season with Los Avocados, did an admirable job, as he went 13 of 32 for 157 yards 2 TDs and 2 INTs. Hopefully, it’s not the last we have seen of Mendell, who is a solid guy, and might have the biggest biceps of anybody in the league.

 

Finally, on the topic of the playoffs, it was brought to my attention this week, that I have been wrong all season long, as it relates to the playoff format.

All season long, I have been saying that the top 8 teams in each conference get into the post-season. I was basing the information first and foremost, on the FPF website, that stated exactly that, and secondly, on the way we have done things the last few seasons.

Much to my surprise, I was informed that it is in fact the top 6 teams per conference that get into the playoffs, and the top 2 teams in both Conference A and Conference B, receive a first round bye.

My apologies.

As of this writing, the Division C playoff standings are as follows:

 

Conference A:

Easy-Jake-Oven – 14 Points

Keyport Lock – 13 Points

Game Changers – 12 Points

GloGang – 10 Points

Backyard Bullies – 7 Points

Dream Breakers – 6 Points

 

 

Conference B:

Simon Says – 14 Points

Mercenaries – 12 Points

Pineapple Express – 12 Points

Jagerbomb – 10 Points

P.O.P – 8 Points

The Commission – 8 Points

 

 

Elite 8

 

Simon Says (Last Week 3rd)

Keyport Lock (Last Week 1st)

Game Changers (Last Week 2nd)

Easy-Jake-Oven (Last Week 4th)

Pineapple Express (Last Week 7th)

P.O.P (Last Week 6th)

Jagerbomb (Last Week 8th)

Mercenaries (Last Week 7th)

 

Picks

 

Game Changers vs Dream Breakers – Game Changers

Stoics vs P.O.P – P.O.P

Sweat & Beers vs Jagerbomb – Jagerbomb

Pineapple Express vs All Hooks – All Hooks (Upset Special #1)

Mercenaries vs Simon Says – Simon Says

The Huffmen vs Backyard Bullies – The Huffmen (My pick for Game of the Week Upset Special #2)

Gym Class Heroes vs The Commission – N/A

GloGang vs KGP – GloGang

Keyport Lock vs A-Squad – Keyport Lock

Easy-Jake-Oven vs Junkyard Dogs – Junkyard Dogs (Upset Special #3)

 

Last Week: (4-4-1)

Regular Season: (48-23-4)

 

That’s it for this Week. With the final week of the regular season a short 8 days away, in next week’s article, I will break down each and every Division C team’s chances of winning the championship, in my annual Contenders, Pretenders, and We’re Not Sure Yet article.

Before I sign off, I just want to say congratulations to my dude Peeze, on his marriage today. Many of you know Peeze from the podcast, as well as playing with and/or against him over the years. He’s a stand up guy, and always fun to talk to.

His fiancée/bride Natalia, is an awesome, and beautiful person as well, and I’ve always had great time hanging out at their house for their annual BBQ, or kicking her butt, and retaining my title as the best Jenga player in the world!

Congrats to the both of you! I wish you nothing but love, health, and happiness!

Finally, for all the Toronto Raptors fans out here, it sucks that Kawhi Leonard is leaving, but in the words of Tupac, I ain’t mad at cha, especially for going home. You delivered the Raptors, and Canada a championship, united a nation for a few months on a fantastic and crazy run, and made history in the process. Good luck with the Clippers. #thankyoukawhi

 

My apologies for a shorter than usual article. Yes, I, along with the majority of the FPF staff will be at the wedding and God knows, it’s going a long night, so I didn’t want to bank on myself pumping this out tomorrow morning/afternoon on VERY little sleep.

Have a great weekend, and 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!