Week 2 of Coed Action

The big news of the week is that the Women’s division has been split into two tiers. In case you missed the league’s email, here is the breakdown:

Tier 1 has 7 teams and Tier 2 has 4. We designed this template to ensure the matchups made sense and are fairly distributed.  

–       Six Tier 1 teams have one crossover games with Tier 2

–       One Tier 2 team has two crossover games with Tier 2

–       The four Tier 2 teams play their three division rivals twice, and then play two crossover games with Tier 1.

–       The first two weeks of games factored into the above figures.

–       Every Tier 1 teams plays all six of their division rivals at least once 

We also patched up that awkward two and a half week break in the middle of the women’s schedule. It was the result of having to reconfigure the entire FPF schedule post reopening. We now play eight straight regular season weeks, take Easter weekend off, and then immediately start playoffs. 

The playoff schedule will look like this:

There are no crossovers in playoffs, the two tiers are completely separate; two champions will be named.

Tier 1:

Quarterfinals Sunday April 24

Semifinals: Sunday May 1st

Final” Monday May 2

Tier 2: 

Semifinals: Monday April 25

Final: Monday May 2

Now that those clarifications are out of the way, let’s get back into this week’s article. Instead of doing a division-by-division analysis, I will include a predictions segment. I will also try to include power rankings in future articles. If there are certain segments you rather or want to see in my articles, always feel free to let me know by shooting me an email at [email protected]

Week 2 Review

EZFun (19) vs Bishop Sycamore (14) – Coed 1

This was not an easy game for either quarterback. EZFun’s Jeremy White was held to under 100 yards and threw three interceptions while Bishop Sycamore’s Tommy Roadley Trohatos threw just two touchdowns while also turning the ball over twice. The biggest reason behind White’s struggles was the tremendous rushing of Jessica Bositampen. Having played White many times last year, I have seen some of the best rushers in all of FPF struggle to contain him. The fact that Bositampen was able to sack him three times and limit him to 32 rushing yards is one of the most impressive feats I have seen in Coed. Bositampen will be an absolute threat for any mobile quarterback in Coed 1. I cannot wait to see how she fares against the likes of Tam Vilaydeth and other dual threat quarterbacks like Francois Deslauriers 😉. 

Despite the tremendous rushing of Bositampen, White did just enough in this one to squeak out a win. Impressively, he did not complete a single pass to his number one receiving threat. Charles-Olivier Lavigne did not catch a single pass and Jean-Christophe Ferland, the team’s number two receiver only caught one pass for two yards. Since Bishop Sycamore shut down EZFun’s main options, White was forced to turn to his secondary receivers. Maxime Boucher-Cyr stepped up in a big way for his team, accounting for over half of their receiving yards and two of their three touchdowns. The women on this team also stepped up, with Veronique Beaudoin and Maria Argyropoulos accounting for four receptions and nearly 40 yards of offence.

While Ferland might have been kept quiet on the offensive side of the ball, he was a constant headache for Bishop Sycamore and Tommy Roadley Trohatos on defence. He accounted for four sacks and was a big part of why Bishop Sycamore struggled so much. In addition to getting her name on the stat sheet offensively, Argyropoulos also came up clutch with an interception in this one.

EZFun bounced back after their humiliating week 1 loss. However, the biggest question plaguing this team going forward is how Jeremy White will fare against the vastly superior rushers in Coed 1. In the Fall Cup, he was used to literally running circles around the opposing rushers. With the quality of rushers he is facing now, White will need to learn how to throw the ball before the rusher reaches him instead of depending on his scrambling abilities.

3HUNNAS (18) vs La Secte (18) – Coed 2

In a game that left neither team satisfied, 3HUNNAS tied La Secte 18-18. While 3H quarterback Rayan Mezhoudi had a better outing then he did in week 1 versus Y&Y, he still only threw for two touchdowns. He did a lot of things right, completing 63% of his passes on his way to throwing for 142 yards. However, where things got very tough for 3H and Mezhoudi was on third and fourth downs. They did not complete a single third or fourth down all game long, which led to them turning the ball over on downs four times. Against most teams in this division, turning the ball over four times is enough to spell disaster. Thankfully for 3H, La Secte were not able to capitalize on very many of those opportunities. While converting on fourth down might not be this 3H’s specialty, I do love the way they spread the ball. Five different receivers all finished the game with multiple receptions. This team has a solid football knowledge and a talented core of female and male/coed players. Better execution is all that is holding this team back from taking the next step.

As for La Secte, they are very much becoming the Alyson Francillon show. After grabbing the headlines in week 1 with a defensive performance for the ages, this week he impressed with his offensive skills. He accounted for over half of La Secte’s receiving yards and all three of their touchdowns. On defence, he also secured their only interception. While Francillon is a great playmaker, La Secte will need to start finding other contributors. More experienced teams will clue in very quickly to the fact that he is their number one threat and will take him away. If La Secte want to find a way of being competitive against the top teams in Coed 2, they will need to find a way to move the ball when Francillon is taken out of the game.

Strangers (20) vs VC Cubs (27) – Women’s

The VC Cubs had a brutal start to their schedule when they faced off against the extremely talented Gryphons. They clearly took that loss in stride since they rebounded this week to beat the Strangers 27-20 and claim the top seed in the Women’s division.

The special rules, which will be covered in next week’s article, of the Women’s division make life difficult for quarterbacks and that is why I am even more impressed with Lory Ouellette’s performance. She threw for over 200 yards as well as three touchdowns all while only turning the ball over once. If there is one area where Ouellette can improve, it is in the red zone and on third and fourth downs. The Cubs made four trips to the red zone and scored three times. In a division where driving the field is even more difficult than in the rest of FPF, games are won and lost in the red zone. While Ouellette’s red zone scoring percentage might have been 75% , her success rate on third and fourth down was only 33%. If the Cubs want to transform from pretenders into contenders, all of those numbers will need to go up.

Thankfully for Ouellette, she is surrounded by an extremely talented cast of receivers. Emma Townsend-Asselin and Kasey Ennis-Ingerman both have the ability to change the game with a single touch of the ball. In this one, Townsend-Asselin led the charge in terms of receiving yards with three catches for 77 cards. Ennis-Ingerman was the team leader in terms of receptions with five for 71 yards.

While Townsend-Asselin might have been one of the offensive stars alongside Ennis-Ingerman and Ouellette, she was definitely the Cubs’ biggest defensive star. Her pick-six is what ultimately made the difference in this one and secured the win for the Cubs.

As for the Strangers, they were unlucky not to do better in this game. Quarterback Morgane Cosimano-Valois posted a very similar stat line to her rival, throwing for 185 yards, 3 scores and 1 interception. Ultimately the difference maker in this one was the fact that the interception Cosimano-Valois threw was returned for a score while the interception Ouellette threw was not. Apart from the pick-six Cosimano-Valois needs to get her completion percentage up. In this one, she completed just 14 of 34 attempted passes which was good for a 41% completion rate. To be competitive, that number needs to be above 50 and to be elite it needs to be around 60. Thankfully, the solution is pretty easy. Instead of constantly looking to gain yards with big chunk plays, Cosimano-Valois needs to complete the easy passes and let her receivers gain yards after the catch. With receivers like Sandrine Deschenes-Lessard and Marie-Pier Dalpé on the team, that should not be an issue.

Week 5 Team of the Week

Every week, I will name 12 players to the team of the week. If you make the offensive team of the week, you cannot be on the defensive one and vice versa. I will name one team of the week for both Coed divisions combined and a separate team of the week for the Women’s division. You can make the team of the week in both divisions. For the Coed team of the week, there will always be a minimum of two women on the offensive and defensive team.

Coed

Offence

Quarterback: Francois Deslauriers (Party Mix) 19 completions, 204 passing yards, 5 TDs, 0 INTs

Receiver: Marie-Anne Landry-Duval (Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce) 2 receptions, 50 yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Jordan Prezioso (Bishop Sycamore) 7 receptions, 80 yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Constance Millaire (Power Rangers) 5 receptions, 65 yards, 1 TDs

Receiver: Edouard Gagnon (Team Commandos) 4 receptions, 65 yards, 2 TDs

Receiver: Alyson Francillon (La Secte) 10 receptions, 74 yards, 3 TDs

Defence

Rusher: Jessica Bositampen (Bishop Sycamore) 3 tackles, 3 sacks

Defensive Back: Justin Weir (Y&Y) 5 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PD

Defensive Back: Maria Argyropoulos (EZFun) 1 tackle, 1 INT

Defensive Back: Olivier Laberge (Party Mix) 2 tackles, 2 INTs   

Defensive Back: Wade Jr. Shallcross (Power Rangers) 5 tackles, 1 PD

Defensive Back: Joey Taylor (Two and a Half Kittens) 4 tackles, 2 INTs

Women’s

Offence

Quarterback: Sandrine Gobeil-Huot (Les Bleus): 20 completions, 243 passing yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs

Receiver: Caroline Moquin-Joubert (Concordia) 7 receptions, 78 yards, 2 TDs

Receiver: Alexandra Falcon-Korb (The Rock) 2 receptions, 90 yards, 2 TDs

Receiver: Mathilde Sybille (Bleu Proud) 8 receptions, 108 yards, 2 TDs

Receiver: Emma Townsend-Asselin (VC Cubs) 3 receptions, 77 yards, 1 TD

Receiver: Chloe Courtemanche (Les Bleus) 6 receptions, 111 yards, 2 TDs

Defence

Rusher: Meggie Gervais (Brutes) 1 tackle, 3 sacks

Defensive Back: Annabelle Chevrier (Brutes) 5 tackles, 2 INT, 1 PD

Defensive Back: Diana-Janes Landry (Strangers) 4 tackles, 1 INT, 3 PD

Defensive Back: Laurie St-Pierre (Concordia) 3 tackles, 3 INTs

Defensive Back: Stephanie Langheit (Bleu Proud) 5 tackle, 1 INT

Defensive Back: Amélie Durocher (The Rock) 1 INT, 2 PDs

Week 4 Predictions

Party Mix (2-0) vs Two and a Half Kittens (1-1-1) – Coed 1

Party Mix are off to a red-hot start this season. A big part of that is the additions they have brought to this team. Players like Alexis Gaumont and Noah Lachance are elite athletes who complement this team’s experience perfectly. On the other hand Two and a Half Kittens have a very similar combination of FPF talent and experience. Joey Taylor is probably the smartest quarterback in FPF while Zach Zwirn has excelled in every single division.

Ultimately what separates these two teams is the level of the women on their team. Party Mix boasts the second most talented group of women after Power Rangers. Catherine Piche leads PM in targets, receptions and touchdowns. On the other hand Two and a Half Kittens have completed just five passes to their women all season. I have been saying this for the longest time, but the talent level of the women on your team in Coed is what wins or loses you games and, in this matchup, it is not even close.

Prediction: Party Mix

3HUNNAS (0-1-1) vs Team Commando (0-2) – Coed 2

In their first two games, regardless of who was under center for Team Commando, their go-to receiver was Edouard Gagnon. He totaled ten catches, 19 targets, 130 receiving yards and four scores in his first two games against my team, Kiss My End Zone. Even though we knew exactly where the ball was going, he was extremely difficult to stop. To make things even worse, 3HUNNAS just let Alyson Francillon walk over them last week.

3HUNNAS clearly has a difficult time taking away their opposition’s top threat. If they cannot find a way to slow down Gagnon, which I don’t think they will, this is going to be a very long night for the 3HUNNAS.

Prediction: Team Commando

Kiss My End Zone (2-0) vs Fitsquad (1-0-1)

While I generally do not like talking about my own team, when the two last undefeated teams in Coed 2 go head-to-head, it is too tempting a matchup not to analyze.

After tying La Secte in week 1, many disregarded Fitsquad as bottom dwellers. In week 2, they switched quarterbacks and their fortunes changed drastically. After Frédéric Chevarie threw four interceptions in week 1, Felix Goulet took the reins in week two and led his team to victory over Y&Y and threw for 154 yards, 3 TDs and only one pick in the process.

As for Kiss My End Zone, their fate in this one will all depend on how much quarterback David de Andrade has improved. After a sloppy week 1 showing where he completed just 3 passes, he threw for 154 yards and four scores in week 2. While he might have posted an impressive stat line, the execution was not perfect. It was obvious that he was still getting on the same page as his receivers.

This game will probably come down to the defences and who can produce the most turnovers. KMEZ’s defence has been solid through the first few weeks and I trust that they will come up big in this one as well.

Prediction: Kiss My End Zone

Red Nation (0-2) vs Strangers (0-2) – Women’s

The issue for the Strangers so far this season has been turnovers. They have thrown seven interceptions over their first two games while only producing one of their own. Thankfully for the Strangers, the Red Nations defence has not been much more successful. They also only have one pick through their first two games.

Both of these teams also have a similar issue offensively where they are reliant on a single receiver. Sandrine Deschenes-Lessard has accounted for over half of the Strangers receiving yards while Jasmine Bethelmy has nearly triple the receiving yards of the second leading receiver on Red Nation. Both of these teams are very well coached and you can bet that they will each have a game plan to take those players out of the game.

This one could very well come down to who has the better supporting cast, and that is where I have to give the nod to Red Nation. They have done a better job spreading the ball so far this season and Allyson Sobol has good chemistry with quite a few receivers on this roster

Prediction: Red Nation

With that, week 2 is in the 

and week 3 is about to kick off.

Good luck to everyone and see you at the field!