Word From The Mouth: Breaking for the Baptiste

Wednesday, June 27th Kevin Kousaie

Hello and welcome back. I hope that you all enjoyed the weekend off. We only had 1 game this week, the rest of you were either getting hammered or at a water park in Vermont. You all know where you fit in on this one. So now lets get into the recap of 1 game.

Game Recaps

Revolucion vs Gros Coqs

I didn’t see this one first hand, but I did speak to a certain player after the game to find out what happened. What I heard was to say Revolucion didn’t start off too well is an understatement; they were down 22-0 13 minutes into the game. You throw an INT plus you gave up a safety to Tommy which was 1 of his 4 sacks on the day. How can you expect to win with starts like this? Raph got there early to throw and warm up but none of his team did, he was throwing to me so when you get use to every ball being caught and then you got to go throw to your guys it’s a down grade except for JC that is. After that horrible start they did start to get it together but by then it was too late. They need a few extra possessions but Dominic did a great job with ball protection and kept his INT number to 0. Offensively for Revolucion you need a second guy to step up other than JC who you got? A few weeks ago I thought that Ted might become a solid number 2 but he needs to get the ball more than 3 times a game to help alleviate some of the coverage from JC. C'mon Raph you should know this by now with all those years of experience. For Les Gros Coqs what can I say about my number 1 ranked team? Tommy might go from being last season's defensive player of the year to being this season's top rusher. I also like the way Dom is spreading the ball around. We all know Dom can take off and run around everyone every time, but he wants to throw it around and show that he is a very capable passer. I like what you guys are doing but will you keep it up all season?

Next Weeks GotW: Outlaws vs Krakens

This is a match up between my number 2 & 3 power ranked teams so it should be a good one. First real big challenge for the Outlaws, but I'm sure Steve will have his team ready for the match up. Both teams have a very good shot at walking away with the W and here is what it will take in order for them to win. On the Outlaws side, Steve will need to keep control of the game and of the ball, which means don’t throw near Carmelo. They will also need to stop both Silvio and Smuda from having a field day. Two ways to do that is for Mathieu to get quick and constant pressure on Rob and Vince will need to make every tackle that is close to the line of scrimmage and eliminate the YAC. Now for Krakens to get back on the winning way, Rob will need to keep spreading the ball around and not forcing anything that isn’t open. Really you got Smuda, Silvio, Carmelo, andFrancisco so you should be able to find someone open all day long. Defensively you won’t have to contend with Steve running all over you, if that happens you might have more problems on defense then I thought. Get some pressure on Steve take the first read away and you have a chance to win. This game will be a 1 score game so the least mistakes should walk away victorious. Good luck to both teams and I hope the week off doesn’t hamper all the progress so far this season.

Predictions

With only 1 game last weekend guess who went perfect: this guy. So right now I sit at 12 for 17 or 71%, not too shabby if I do say so. This week will be a little more difficult as we have 5 games on deck.

Outlaws vs Krakens Krakens

Locomotion vs Deep Threat Locomotion

KOLB vs Trollers NA

Locomotion vs Revolucion Revolucion

OG Panthers vs Gros Coqs Gros Coqs

Power Rankings

There isn’t any change from last week since we only had 1 game which the number 1 team won against an unranked team so now we will have our first team at number 1 staying in that spot.

#1 Les Gros Coqs (5-0)

#2 Outlaws (4-0)

#3 Krakens (3-1)

Another week down and almost half way there (Ed's note: this is week 5 of 10, so exactly half way through the season). Next week I am thinking of adding a new section into my weekly article. I hope you stay tuned and see what is coming. Some will like it and some won’t, but remember if you have a problem you can either come see me at the field or play better. Thank you.

Inaugural MFL Hall of Fame Sunday!

Monday, June 25th Jon Evans

Hey everyone, this Sunday, July 1st is the Inaugural MFL Hall of Fame day and we we will be inducting our first members of the MFL Hall of Fame!

We will be playing at Parc Ignace-Bourget instead of Louis-Cyr, as unfortunately we could not reserve Louis-Cyr for the 1st.

We will be playing some pick up games in the morning starting around 11 until about noon when we will be starting our Canada vs Quebec vs The World round robin!

The first game to be Canada vs Quebec and then winner stays on to face The World and then the World will play the other team.

Best record wins the tournament with all the bragging rights that come with it! Tie breaker is points differential!

Here are the rosters for the teams, but feel free to come by and play if you want as there's no cost and all are welcome!

Team Canada

Arthur Schiller
Brian Tinning
Eric Tanguay
Ian Boudreau
JC Ferland
Kevin Kousaie
Max Rosenfeld
Michal Lesniak
Raphael Levy
Rithy Min

Team Quebec

Antoine Kraft-Cloutier
Benjamin Bergeron
Catherine Boucher
Charles Coulombe
Dahic Duhamel
Gabriel Laplante
Mathieu Lacharité
Mathieu Demers
Roxane Potvin
Stéphane Elmaleh-Riel

Team World

Richard Perez (Dominican Republic)
Goldrick Noel (Haïti)
Chrissy Spoormakers (Holland)
Shyanne Stewart (Jamaica)
Francisco Ballesteros (Mexico)
Jon Evans (New Zealand)
Chris Schilling (Switzerland)
Josh Levine (USA)
Kevin Smuda (USA)

Word From The Mouth: Week 4 Surprises

Friday, June 22nd Kevin Kousaie

Here we are almost at the half way point of the season, hope you are all enjoying playing this season. This past weekend was the first week of 3 fields being set up and played on simultaneously. I heard a few complaints about the 3rd field not being up to par. Sometimes we have to deal with what we have to work with, although I heard that Brossard has some real nice fields that we can play on, maybe on a Sunday in the future. Now let me cover the games that happened last week.

Game Recaps

Outlaws vs KOLB

This game was a rematch of the previous week and this 1 was just as good of a game. Outlaws were down again at halftime and yet were able to pull it off. Is Steve the comeback kid or does the guy just depend on his superior knowledge and experience to help pull out close games? I want to know why it is that KOLB can get up and not hold the lead. I know they are young but sometimes you need to slow down and play a possession game. For the Outlaws Mathieu had a good all-around game filling in for Eric who was missing at center, 6 catches for 47 yards with 1 score then on defense 3 sacks which helped relieve some pressure on the back end not having to cover everyone for an exorbitant amount of time. For KOLB, Max seems to have Steves # in back to back weeks with an INT but this week he took it for 6. The other Max had a good game with 2 scores and 8 catches. I’m not 100% sure if Alex was all over the field or if Steve figured out that he was the weak link, the guy ended the day with 7 tackles. This wasn’t the same as last week that came down to converts it ended with a 2 score differential but it was still an entertaining game so good jobs guys.

Krakens vs Locomotion

This one was a shocker in my opinion, who would have thought that my #1 team would fall to a winless team. The Krakens I thought would walk all over Locomotion but from what I heard Alex ran all over them as if he was the meteor that made the dinosaur go extinct. He did one thing and that was end there chance of going undefeated. I have one quick jab hopefully it doesn’t go over his head. Obvious Locomotion learnt how to win. Won’t say who it’s about but if you can read this you should know. I’m sure one of our Refs Jayson knows who. This was a game that could had been a 2 or 3 score game easily when you look at how the 2 teams had played thus far this season. Alex took over the game on both sides of the ball 179 passing with 2 TDs and 1 INT to go along with 103 yards on the ground with another 2 scores, he wasn’t done with just that he also managed to get 8 tackles which was more than the rest of his team combined. Rob put up good numbers and was able to connect with Silvio for 2 scores. Rob did a good job spreading the ball around I would have thought that Carmelo might have gotten a few more balls but maybe he was a little tired from accumulating his 6 tackles which were second on the team behind Mathieu G who got 9. Krakens were up 5 points with 3:30 left in the game which plays right into what they do: waste time and snap ball with only a few seconds left on the clock. Rob made his one mistake of the game and throwing a pick on the very first play of the drive. Locomotion score with under 30 seconds left giving the Krakens a last chance to do what they did all last season and pull it out on last few plays of the game, but it wasn’t meant to be today as Locomotion were able to hold them off. Great game guys, I like to see it coming down to the end, not like most of the games this season. Blowouts are boring and not fun. Keep it up the rest of the way.

Next Weeks GotW: Revolution vs Gros Coqs

This is for 1st place in the Eastern conference, if Gros Coqs win they will have a strangle hold on first place. I can't wait to see how Les Gros Coqs are planning on stopping one of the top receivers in JC. Les Gros Coqs are a very good team who last week wanted to know how they were only number 2 in my power rankings. They want that #1 spot and are planning on show me just how good they are. Truth of the matter is I only know a few of the guys on Les Gros Coqs, but hose players are top notch. The players that they added aren’t slouches either so they are a team to definitely to watch out for. Don’t worry Raph, I haven’t forgotten about you guys. Your team is probably the strongest it’s been in years, so maybe this is your season. LOL. No seriously it all comes down to how long your arm can hold on for it's just a matter of time before it gives out like every other year. Revolution has a solid core of guys that are able to compete, with your new additions who have played well this season you never know where you’ll end the season. Fingers crossed that this turns out to be a good one. Good luck guys. Raph I’m pulling for you guys so the standings stay a little closer.

Predictions

Last week I went 2 for 4 which was my worst week to date, total for the season I have gone 11 for 16 which is great but it’s still a pass at 68.75%.

Revolution vs Gros Coqs Gros Coqs

Power Rankings

Last week I had the Krakens at #1 did they keep that spot even with a loss or did someone else come claim what should had been theirs from the beginning. Lets take a look and see who I put where.

#1 Les Gros Coqs (4-0)

#2 Outlaws (4-0)

#3 Krakens (3-1)

It was close for number 3 but when you lose by 2 points how can I you drop out of the top 3. You want on here then win and show me something.

Hope you all enjoyed this article and this week is a small week due to St-Jean. Everyone not here this week have fun on your long weekend and see you all back in 2 weeks. Remember All-star game July 1 come out and see who wins Canada or the World (Ed's note: Or Quebec!), also who see who will be voted into the very first Hall of Fame.

Word From The Mouth: Week 3 in the Books

Tuesday, June 12th Kevin Kousaie

Hello everyone and welcome back to another fun filled article from none other than me, The Mouth. I hope that you guys are all enjoying coming out to play on Saturday afternoon. As you can all see we have moved up from 2 fields to 3 which makes writing this a little bit harder, But it can and still will be done. This also makes my Saturday way shorter, I now only need to be at the field from 8:30 until 5 rather than 8 to 7:30 (Ed’s note: what a whiner!). Now that the early game is at 10:30 we all get an extra half hour of beauty rest and some of you really could use it. So now I want to let you know I’m adding a new section on to the predictions with a top 3 power ranking. Who is going to make the first ever rankings? Stay tuned and find out!

Game Recaps

Trollers vs Pirates

I’m not going to talk much about my team this season, so this is going to be very short. I want to say that the Trollers final got going with Max return from vacation, but that sub he brought, not so sure about the guy (Arthur) as he cost us the shutout. We knew going in that this was going to be a lopsided game but we still needed to play it. Right from the very first snap the game was ours. Ben intercepted the ball and should have scored but got flagged on the 1 yard line. Two plays later we punched it in and scored. I will give the Pirates a bit of credit. They did get their first score of the season on what is normally a very good defense. They also got an interception off of Max which is quite rare. So who knows maybe the Pirates are better than we think and only need time to figure this thing out. Good luck guys on moving forward. Trollers, this victory doesn’t mean you are the team to beat just yet. Win a few more first then we can talk.

Outlaws vs KOLB

I spoke to Steve from the Outlaws before the game and gave him a few pointer about KOLB and I’m sure that he let his team know what I told him. KOLB wasn’t able to hold on to their 25-14 half time lead and ended up losing by 2 points. Extra points will kill you. They can win you games or cost you one. I’m sure KOLB will be thinking of plays for the converts for next week. Steve was able to put up solid numbers this week spreading the ball to everyone on the field even the other team once. Vince was the leader on both sides of the ball this week (4 catches, 52 yards, 1 score), but what was most impressive was the 7 tackles he had on defense. Keep it up Vince and you might win Best Tackler this season. Jon from KOLB almost put up 300 yards on these guys this weekend I hope that this doesn’t become an ongoing thing for the Outlaws giving up this many yards, but I’m sure they will figure it out. KOLB had 3 guys with over 50 yards receiving and Quentin almost had 100 yards. The thing that is baffling about KOLB is who should you keep an eye on? One guy had 3 catches, another with 4, another with 5, two guys with 6 catches, this is a nightmare to defend against. My only suggestion would be stay in your zones, communicate, and stay disciplined. This might be the only way to slow them down and make Jon force a ball into a tight window.

OG Panthers vs Revolution (last weeks GOTW)

I want everyone to know that this game was filmed by Jora, who will be editing it down so we can all take a look. Jora should be doing other games of the week so stay tuned for future instalments. Remember if you want to get on camera you need to make a play. Not sure exactly how she will being doing this, but it will turn out nice as long as you all keep getting that beauty rest I was talking about in the intro. Thank you Jora in advance.

Next Week’s GotW: KOLB vs Outlaws

Next week’s game of the week is a rematch of a game from this past Saturday. This was a very close game that was settled by converts. This week will Jon be able to throw the ball all over the field again or will Outlaws defense step up? We will have to wait and see. Can Steve keep his team undefeated or will they fall in the rematch? The Outlaws are going to need someone else to step in and fill the void of Kris possibly leaving the team, who will it be? Someone on the roster now or someone from the outside. My bet would be they all step up a little and play as a single unit to accomplish the goal. If I was KOLB I would have the exact same game plan week in and week out. Jon, just hit the open guy like you have been doing and no one will be able to stop it if you don’t force it. KOLB needs to have 1 or 2 really good plays just to run in the red zone and on converts to put them over the top. Is this game going to be decided by a convert or two again? My bet would be both teams learned something from last week and the outcome will be different. I can still see this going back and forth and one turnover could make all the difference. Good luck guys and hope it is as exciting as last weekend.

Predictions

I can’t seem to get a perfect week. Each week I’m going 3 out of 4 which sucks cause there is always 1 team that doesn’t read what I wrote and screws it up for me so everyone read this and play your role so I can be perfect. If I pick you to lose just do it already. If I pick you to win don’t choke from all the pressure.

Outlaws vs KOLB KOLB

Revolucion vs OG Revolucion

Deep Threats vs Pirates Deep Threats

Gros Coqs vs Trollers NA

Krakens vs Locomotion Krakens

Power Rankings

# 1 Krakens (3-0)

# 2 Gros Coqs (3-0)

# 3 Outlaws (3-0)

If you want to make my top 3 you need to win games and prove to me you deserve to be here. This is the first power rankings so things can easily change. Who is going to be the last team undefeated? That’s it for this week stay tuned for next week to see if I have anything nice to say about you team or you for that matter. Lets play safe and have some fun.

Word from the Mouth: Thoughts From Week 2 (the secondest of weeks!)

Thursday, June 7th Kevin Kousaie

It was a beauty day for some football last Saturday. Some teams are starting to show that they might be real competitors and some are looking like duds. We have a few teams that are undefeated and a few still looking for that first win. I am starting to wonder if we will have any team go undefeated or have a winless team. I know it’s early to be thinking that but it’s my article and these are my thoughts.

Game Recaps

Krakens vs KOLB

This one had all the makings of being a great game from what was seen the previous week. Both teams have a high scoring offense which always makes for an exciting game. Everyone knows what the Krakens bring to the table and people are really unsure about KOLB. The game was close to start off each team took their first possession down and scored, then both teams defense stepped up with Carmelo getting an interception off of Jon who recently got a haircut, missed that last week should have been breaking news. Even with the extra possession the Krakens weren’t able to take advantage. Both teams punted back and forth, but on the next drive the Krakens had the ball and Max was able to step in front of a pass and took it back for 6 to give KOLB the lead. The Krakens were able to get there sh*t together and started rolling after that wake up call. KOLB did not know what to do about Carmelo on defense. Keep the ball away from him, he had not 1, not 2, but 3 interceptions! Yes, one of those balls was under thrown and another was on the last play of the game, but come on this is your third game back after 2+ years away and you still got 3. Way to go Carmelo! Huge addition for the Krakens this off season. For KOLB, between Max and Vincent they had 11 catches for 121 yards with 1 TD. If they want to keep on winning they will need to find a third guy or someone else needs to step up. For the Krakens even without Smuda being there you have 3 guy with at least 5 catches and over 60 yards. Only 2 guys scored but had 5 TDs. Good job guys, it was a real close game up until half time when Krakens were able to make a few adjustments. That will come with experience for KOLB.

OG Panthers vs Pirates

Yes, I was there to watch this one and it wasn’t even close, but the Pirates did fight hard right up to the last whistle. I want everyone to know that, yes, the Pirates aren’t that good of a team right now, but they play hard and surprisingly have a decent defense. These guys are new to the game and I commend them on trying to play in Division 1, but you need to find a young stud that can be your workhorse and play all game long. As for OG, they came out and played a solid game. Charles was able to put up good numbers 6 TDs with 1 interception. His favourite target was Dufour with 8 catches for 112 yards and yes 4 TDs. He also seemed to want to get the ball to Dagher, who had 7 catches for 88 yards with 1 TD. On the other side, Joel had a very tough day out there 6 interceptions. The guy hasn’t found his comfort zone yet, he needs to find out who his go to guy is. I have noticed that when he throws the ball it looks a little more like he is shot putting the ball then allowing the ball to come out of his hand smoothly. Defensively for OG it was an all-around performance: 2 Sacks from Terry, 2 INTs each from Dagher & Love, 1 pick from Joel & Simon each for a total of 6. Pirates have a lot of guys that swarm so they seem to know how to tackle well, if these guys had some more speed I feel a few of those tackles could have been turned into picks. I still think in a few weeks these guys won’t be half bad. The question I have about his game is: OG are they this good or was it just a good game against the Pirates. If OG is this good, will they be able to keep it up all year? Should Pirates be this bad it will be a long season that I hope teams won’t run up the score since it’s all about having fun. Pirates, you can and maybe should ask for a few pointers from some of the guys that have been around for a while. Good luck need week guys.

Next Week’s GotW: OG Panthers vs Revolucion

This one is a matchup between two 1-1 record teams going in opposite directions. OG coming off an impressive victory while Revolution coming off a disappointing loss. What intrigues me is who will be playing QB for Revolucion. Will it be Ben or Raph? Both bring something different to the table. If I’m Terry I would much rather rush Ben as he is more stay in the pocket but takes the snap really far back. From a team stand point both are equally good, but Raph has the legs to get outside and force guys to come up which leaves someone open in the back. OG needs to keep an eye on JC he is their best player but that doesn’t mean the rest of them are slouches except maybe Raph. LOL. As for Revolucion, JC will need to get after the QB quickly and not allow Charles to get to his 2nd and 3rd read. Dufour is the guy to watch, but there are a few other guys who can hurt you. Dagher, Terry some of the guys from last season haven’t put up big numbers yet but they are solid so don’t sleep on them. I really hope I get to see this one first hand it will be a fun one to watch.

Crystal Ball (Picks of the Week)

In case anyone isn’t keeping track, I went 3 for 4 again last week. For the season I’m at 6 for 8, 75% isn’t so bad soon I see it getting to 100% (Ed’s note: literally impossible).

Krakens vs Locomotion Krakens

Pirates vs Trollers No pick

Outlaws vs KOLB KOLB (upset pick)

Revolucion vs OG Panthers Revolucion

Gros Coqs vs Deep Threat Gros Coqs

With my final thought this week let’s keep it classy and act like you’ve been there before. As a ref we don’t want to be throwing unsportsmanlike penalties and an ejection on last plays of the game. It doesn’t look good for you when that happens, doesn’t matter how well you played during the game this will always overshadow what you have done. Don’t be that guy. That’s a reputation you don’t want to get. Remember go out and have fun and good luck to every team on Saturday.

	Teams	GP	W	L	D	PTS
1	OUT	0	0	0	0	0
2	IW	0	0	0	0	0
3	BSH	0	0	0	0	0
4	ATM	0	0	0	0	0
5	CHF	0	0	0	0	0