Let me start by apologizing to everyone who had to witness my Antonio Brown moment on Saturday. I know I shouldn't have acted the way I did. The funny thing was, while I was losing my composure, Andrew was laughing and telling me to stay calm and focus on the game. At that point, it was too late, but I’ll act accordingly next time. You might be wondering what happened to make me lose it. I’ll just say I’m sick of getting hit over and over without a call just two feet in front of the ref. I’m not talking about soft contact; I mean when you can’t bend your arm, the rusher is on the floor holding his head, and the other team claims you hit him. This is BS, and we, as refs, need to do a better job of this. As players, we also need to tone it down a bit and take it easy. Someone thinks I’m going to have a heart attack at an early age (Ed’s note: too late!). I mean, that might happen, but it’s not from yelling and screaming; it’s from eating garbage for years.
**Recap**
**D1**
**A-Team vs KOLB (37-32)**
Dave started the game great, leading A-Team on three TD drives to open the game before Simon picked him off on back-to-back drives. At halftime, the score was 19-all, and it looked like the game would be decided by converts. With 5:45 left in the second half, Jonathan connected with sub Justin for a one-point convert, giving KOLB a 26-25 lead. In the past, this is where A-Team would start to bicker. After a bad snap on first down, not a word was said; the very next play, Andrew caught a 45-yard TD, regaining the lead. With five minutes left, Dilan calling the D, A-Team was in a great spot. We all thought that until Justin ran free on a post route for a 20-yard TD. After boring the defense with a few short passes, Dave hit Jeremy over the top in the end zone for another 20-yard TD. Up by five, A-Team went for two but failed, leaving it at five. With only a few plays left, Jon needed to get the ball downfield quickly, but after back-to-back drops from his receiver, he went to Simon twice for 23 yards. This left one play, a pass to the front goal line, where Jeremy batted it out of bounds, ending the game and preserving the win.
**Pocket Rockets vs Iron Wolves (12-35)**
I won’t say much about this game since Willie was in it, and I’m sure he’ll mention something on the podcast. The Pocket Rockets are one star player away from being a team that can compete in D1. Without Alexis, they aren’t the same team and lack a deep threat. How do you hold Manu, Josh, and Meis to six catches and 34 yards and still lose? I forgot to mention they had two TDs as well.
**D2**
**Phoenix vs Bines (12-25)**
Going into the game, Phoenix knew they were all but out of the playoffs, so they just wanted to finish the season and maybe ruin Bines' playoff hopes along the way. In the first half, neither team could score, no matter how close they got to the end zone. In the second half, Bines came out with a 12-play scoring drive to go up by six. This is when I tried to do more than I was capable of by attempting deep throws, leading to turnovers and the game getting out of reach.
**Nice TDs vs Rejects (34-20)**
It’s disappointing when a sub comes in and takes over a game, and that’s exactly what happened here with Francois. He only made four catches, but it totaled 63 yards, two TDs, and three one-point converts. He also made four tackles on defense and batted away at least two or three balls. Francois has been in the league, and most of us know who he is, so getting him at a 75 rating is a steal and allows Andrew to run free with only one defender around him. Dobbs put up good numbers except for three picks, but he was off this game. He had a few players open that he either missed or the ball was dropped. These two teams will play again, and when they do, take Rejects.
**D3**
**Drama Club vs Iron Wolves (26-28)**
With Iron Wolves missing Jon, Josh, Carlos, and JP, Drama Club should have had an easy win, especially since Alex was playing QB. The one player who wasn’t happy about that was Greg, who had to chase him down. Alex ran 10 times for 48 yards, but he also bought time and made a few easy throws on the run. JF went off for two TDs on three catches while racking up 63 yards. Simon kept it short most of the day, spreading the ball between Nico and Ben. Drama Club scored before halftime to go up 14-6 and were starting with the ball. If they could score and control the tempo, the game could have been wrapped up quickly, but they turned it over on downs after four plays. This allowed Iron Wolves to start their comeback, scoring on all three of their second-half possessions. After Ben scored his second TD of the game, Drama Club needed to go for two to tie it up. The play wasn’t good, and they couldn’t give up a first down, or the game would be over. With two passes to Ian for a total of 16 yards, they gained the first down, and the game was over.
**D4**
Missed out on this division; maybe I’ll catch a game this week before the season ends.
**D5**
**Phoenix vs Spartans (18-31)**
JF knew most of the plays I was going to run, which allowed his defense to be aggressive and jump routes. The Spartans needed this game to keep their playoff hopes alive. JF capitalized on short fields, limiting his chances of making bad throws. I didn’t play my best game; I never looked off, I was hurt and couldn’t throw deep, and I was even out of position once or twice on defense. The Spartans played a well-rounded game, and everyone on Phoenix played well except me, which was the difference in this game.
**Women’s**
Missed out on this division; maybe I’ll catch a game this week before the season ends.
That’s all I have for you this week. I know you need more, so look for Terry and Willie on Wednesday, and they will fill you in.
**Studs & Duds**
There is only one week of games left to play, and so far, it’s been a great season with many players stepping up their game, though a few players seem to have taken the season off. Now, let’s see who did what this week and where I placed them.
**Studs**
**D1**
- Jonathan Lyristis: 8 catches, 87 yards, 2 TDs, 5 tackles (3 sacks), and a pick on defense. In game 2, he made 11 more catches for 80 yards and another 2 TDs with 2 more sacks.
**D2**
- Yvan Desjardins: 3 TDs on 5 catches for 39 yards total, plus he had a pick on defense.
**D3**
- David Carlos: 3 TDs and 1 one-point convert on 6 catches for 37 yards.
**D4**
- Simon Torres: 10 catches, 155 yards, 5 TDs, 3 tackles, and a pick on defense.
**D5**
- Benjamin Ohayon: 7 catches, 54 yards, 3 TDs, and 1 one-point convert.
**Women’s**
- Charlotte St-Pierre: 10 catches, 65 yards, and 3 TDs. In her second game, she made 4 catches for 57 yards, 1 TD, and 1 sack on defense.
**Duds**
**D1**
- Meïs Ngarane: After a few weeks off, I expected to see you go off, but 1 catch for 7 yards is not a great comeback.
**D2**
- David Brisson: Threw 4 picks.
**D3**
- Marvin: For being sick in the car. I heard he was hungover from sipping 1 light beer over the course of 4 hours.
**D4**
- Mustard Tigers: For having a 12-player roster and forfeiting the game because you didn’t have enough players.
**D5**
- Kevin Kousaie: For getting kicked from the game for losing my composure.
**Women’s**
- Sarah-Jade Gagné: 7 picks thrown.
There you have my list of players who showed up and balled out, along with the few who choked it all away.
