I know my article is late this week, and there are multiple reasons why, mostly due to me getting used to my new schedule at work. Now, I’m having to write this at home instead of at the office. When the season first started, I hated getting up at 5 a.m. to get everything organized for those first few weeks. But now, getting up and out of the house at 2 a.m. seems absolutely flibberflab and out of this world! I wish I could still sleep in until 5 a.m. This past weekend was great for football, but this upcoming weekend isn’t looking quite the same. It’s calling for rain overnight on Friday, continuing into Saturday morning. Let’s hope for the best; no one wants to play the finals in the rain and snow. I can tell you it’s a real woofle, makes for bad games, and as a ref, fan, and sometimes player, I don’t want to see that.

 

Recap

 

D1 

Sorry folks, I missed your games. Maybe I’ll catch the finals this weekend.

 

D2 Double Dippers vs. Respect (26-48)
I won’t fib and tell you I thought this was going to be a good game. I figured Steve was on his way to another final. But once the game started, all bets were off. Starting with the ball, Dave took Double Dippers down the field, hitting Simon for a 3-yard TD. Steve then got his first crack at it, moved the ball, but couldn’t respond, handing it back to Double Dippers. With the chance to go up two scores, they could only manage one first down before Dave threw four straight incomplete passes. After failing on his first drive, Steve scored on his next three possessions, giving Respect a 20-6 lead at halftime. Respect started the second half with the ball, seemingly putting the final nail in Double Dippers’ season. But no one told Double Dippers that! They came out on fire on defense, with back-to-back pick-6s from Simon and Eric, tying it up at 20-20. With both teams trading scores afterward, it looked like the team with the last possession would win. But Dilan wasn’t a fan of that idea, so his defense stepped up, stopping Double Dippers on 4th and 1 and snagging two interceptions from Edouard.

 

D3, D4, D5 

Sorry folks, I missed your games. Maybe I’ll catch the finals this weekend.

 

Women’s Déesses du Drapeau vs Steeleuses (6-32)
Branda took care of the ball, limiting mistakes this week, throwing four TDs and only one pick, while completing 62.5% of her passes for 149 yards. Mélissa-Anne Xavier stood out in this game, catching all five passes thrown her way, turning them into 50 yards and a TD. I could go on about how great their offense is—with five different players catching TD passes—but it’s their defense that makes them stand out. Déesses du Drapeau are a solid team, and Viviane is one of the best QBs in the division, but she couldn’t do much against that defense. Viviane was sacked three times by Harmonie and intercepted twice by Monica. When you play defense like that and protect the ball, you’re bound to win a lot, which is why Steeleuses went undefeated and are likely the favorites to win it all.

 

That’s all I have this week for recaps. I’m sure Terry and Willie will fill you in on everything else in the podcast.

 

Studs & Duds

Being exhausted from working overnight and running late with my article, I’ll get right to it and tell you who really frolicked and who flopped like a flounder (ed’s note: these ChatGPT edits are amazing!). Here are my picks.

 

Studs

· D1: Jonathan Lyristis – 11 catches, 67 yards, 1 TD. On defense, he had 3 sacks.

· D2: Benjamin Lepetit – 4 sacks, limiting Terry to 2.23 yards per carry.

· D3: Jason McAleer – picking Jon off three times. Anyone who does that is top-notch in my book, even if they cheer for the flabber-blasted Bears.

· D4: Oliver Quinn – 6 catches, 61 yards, 3 TDs.

· D5: Julien Shabazz – 6 tackles, 1 pick on defense, and on offense, 4 catches for 39 yards with 2 TDs.

· Women’s: Karen Rodriguez – 7 catches, 69 yards, 1 TD, and 3 picks on defense.

 

Duds

· D1: Andrew Grant – 4 catches for 21 yards and 1 TD isn’t cutting it. With a name like Flash, that yard-per-catch is more like molasses.

· D2: David Brisson – for throwing 3 picks.

· D3: Marvin Steingberg – 11 for 34 with 4 picks while averaging 4.5 yards per carry on 10 runs.

· D4: Gold – because of his 5 picks.

· D5: Luca Manolache – for running 9 times and managing only 6 yards.

· Women’s: Kayla Gauthier – it’s the playoffs, and throwing 6 picks won’t cut it.

 

Those are my picks for round two of the playoffs. Love them or hate them, I don’t really care! You can complain about my picks, but if you think you balled out, just remember it’s my opinion that counts here.