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To be perfectly honest, I don’t even know what week it is. I was going to say “Welcome to Week 3” but in actuality it’s Week 5. But whatever, the point is, despite an extended off season I saw some top notch performances out on the fields this past week. All those practices and pick-up games I kept hearing about have really paid off. Some of you look to be well into mid-season form and I commend your dedication. What really stood out to me this week were the baller plays from our female teammates. Sure you guys had your moments too but it seemed like everywhere I looked one of the ladies was making a huge catch down field or a big defensive stop. Color me impressed.

First of all, it should come as no surprise to you that one of the females making plays offense and defensively was Taylor Pagano. I don’t know for sure how many TDs she had for SITE but it was numerous. And I’m not talking they got down to the 2 yard line and flipped it to her. If any teams in D2  don’t know by now, Taylor is a huge deep threat and is always good from some highlight-reel plays. Now add to that a huge pick for the Angels in their game later on and you can definitely say this girl had herself a day.  

Another female making noise was Robin Makula for Lenny’s Ladies. She put the defense on her back with 3 picks, the last of which got her team the ball with enough time for the game-winning drive. Not only did she get the Ladies the much needed turnover, she also ran it back to the 5 yard, making Jeff Easton’s job that much easier.

Also during the Lenny’s Ladies game, I saw Marla Calabro make an amazing catch in which she leapt through the air over a defender then reaching behind her pulled in the rock for a touchdown. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you make your QB look good.

Don’t worry guys, I didn’t forget about you completely. I need to give a shout out to the QB of Graves Bros in their game against BiPolar Express. He finally took the advice of me, the Godfather, the Rant and anyone else who ever played a gender team for multiple seasons and utilized his female players. I even heard some disgruntled male receivers calling for the ball in the huddle (a big no-no in my book, but I digress) but QB put them in his place and came away with the win. BX had some uncharacteristic drops throughout the game and they were missing their fearless leader Gordon. Travis stepped in and in another inspired move, Graves Bros put in Baby Gronk to rush, taking away his scrambling-for-five-minutes advantage.  

Nick Wendt made his debut of the season this past week for Tight Ends in Motion and didn’t seem as if he missed a beat. I witnessed him high point a ball in the end zone during a tight match up against Public Enemy. Anyone who has played PE knows their defense is nothing to shake a stick at and Nick straight up levitated to get that ball.

Unfortunately for Nick and TEIM they did not string together enough big plays to come away with the win. Mike Boccio had himself a game in both this game and their earlier match up against Marketing Mayors. PE was missing about half their roster for their later game against TE but Boccio answered the call, catching the game tying TD with no time on the clock. Now step in Joe Z, retired/free agent (I’m not sure which) came off the sub list straight up to D1 and brought in the game winning conversion to send TE home with a heartbreaking loss. You both love and hate to see it.

GRYFFINDOR WINS, GRYFFINDOR WINS!!! (All you Harry Potter fans out there for sure just said that with a British accent). This game wasn’t exactly riddled with big plays but the fact that Joey Batts and co finally popped their D1 win cherry was worth noting. And don’t get me wrong, there were absolutely some highlights. The two new young guns the Gryffs brought on really stood out in this game against (Pete-less) Why So Serious?. They showcased some impressive speed and solid hands. Is this the hurdle the team needed to get over to really hit their stride? Their game next week against D2 Sticky Bandits will be a nice test.

Another team with a notable mention is Family Feud and Some Dudes. A new team to the league, these guys had a double header against both D4 gender teams, nightmare fuel for anyone who has had to play against either of these female juggernauts. Added to that was their earlier game against Uncle Rico’s. To those familiar with the division, that just plain sucks. But FF managed to come away 1-2 on the day, pulling out a 53-44 win against the Cunning Stunts. Additionally, they were able to put up more points than any other opponent so far this season against UR. Maybe not this season, but I will have eyes on these guys with a couple years’ experience.

To wrap up this week’s highlights, I bring you Nick Buczek. If you ever want to see some top notch game play on both sides of the ball, look no further than Nick. If you can’t find him, just listen (I jest, but seriously, he is yelling pretty often). He can; however, back it up. Nick uses every inch of his 6’4 plus arm span range to Moss defenders and receivers alike. Sure, Garret Beesing gets most of the press but Nick has always been the unsung hero of any team he’s been on. I did see one rare dropped pick but we will pretend that didn’t happen…Between Nick and Scotty Drosendahl, Frodo Swaggins has proven you’re going to need to score at least 40 points to beat them.

That’s all for this week. I’m really looking for new teams and new faces to watch and make plays. Sure big plays happen in D1 almost at least once a drive, that’s why their QBs get ranked the highest. But I know every division has superstars and I can’t wait to see them do something amazing. Until next time, I’ll be watching…

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