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Welcome to the Week 3 edition of the Sentinel! Did you do something amazing this week? I have to say, I couldn’t watch as many games as I wanted to this week but the people were certainly talking. Anyone hanging out at the bar seemed to have at least one big play or series to talk about during their games. I was giddy with excitement. Even in my limited time allowed on the fields, I caught some serious feats of athleticism. That said, here’s what went down.

Early in the morning, Tight Ends in Motion took on Sloppy Seconds. I’m not a betting man, but if I were, I would bet that this game was circled in Alex Buchalis’ planner since the schedule came out. SS are basically the Best of the Rest when it comes to the Tight Ends/Sticky Bandits friendship alliance. If they could squeak out a win against the proverbial Uber-athletic Big Brother, it would give them bragging rights for the season and probably into the summer as well. Alas, the Cinderella story was not meant to be this week as TE came away with the win 52-20. We did see the return of Lindsay Stoddard, much to the chagrin of SS. Stoner Dave also showed up big for TEs on both sides of the ball. Despite the loss, SS showed they have the talent to compete. Ryan Hogan is a name you will probably hear mention again as he showed some serious speed and field awareness. Buchalis apparently already knew this as he showed 100% confidence sending him deep to the endzone where Hogan made a one-handed catch for a 40 yard TD. 

Later in the day Sloppy Seconds were back to take on Eyes Downtown. Not to throw any shade on SS but this game was surprisingly close. At this point in the season, talk is D1 is a 3 horse race, especially with Why So Serious taking a forfeit this week due to continued attendance issues. SS came out strong and took an early lead against the newest version of ED. ED could not get a cohesive defense going, leading to some wide open plays for Ben Stack and Co. Despite being down 16, Bobby McConnell was able to right the ship in the second half and pull away with a 43-40 win. Next up, they faced Public Enemy. We all would have preferred both teams to be fresh for this game but with SS giving ED a run for their money, they came up short against their long time rivals and finished the day 1-1.

Slytherin the Endzone was back after a Week 2 bye. They took on Scared Hitless, who have had a slow start to the season but no one is ruling them out. Matt Newman made his 2021 debut and put all the QB controversy questions to bed. He was hot out the gate taking the quick passes when the defense gave it to him and not hesitating to take a shot down field. One particular toss that caught my attention was a bomb to Dawson Broad who brought it in with his fingertips. Taylor Pagano also added a pick to her stats on a failed pitch. D2 is still wide open as many teams already their bye so most teams have only played 2 games. Being the most recent addition to this competitive of a division, no one expected SH to run away with it. Dylan Day is seeing defenses that he’s probably not seen too much of but from what I saw of them last year I think they will be right in there with everyone else as the season progresses.  

The match-up between Wasted Potential and Show Me Dem TDs was one of the highlights of my day anyway. Both teams have faces I recognized but there were plenty of receivers making plays whose names I did not know. QBs Jay Jaskier and Tim Zielinski were both dialed in. WP came away with the win, leaving SMDTs sitting at 1-3 but 1-2 points their way and they could very easily be looking at 3-1. I wish I could say more about this game as a whole but until I learn the names of the players I saw making plays, you’ll just have to take my word for it that both these teams are poised to establish themselves as contenders sooner rather than later.

Blitzkrieg is showing no mercy to the gender teams in their division. They opened the season against Victorious Secret with a win and beat Lenny’s Ladies this past Saturday, 35-28. Offense has continued to struggle but they showed they can find the endzone when they need to. Allie Metzger made a sick juke to score a TD on 6^th down catching LLs off guard as they expected a deep bomb attempt. LLs were able to rally back and bring the score within one. Robin Maluka came up with a big pick in the final minutes, giving her team a chance to take the game. With no time left on the clock, Joe K tried to fire a ball into the Joy Thompson but the Blitzkrieg defense came through and knocked it away.

I said the WP/SMDTs game was one of the highlights of my day because Peachy Platoon versus Mountain Dew Me was also up there in terms of excitement factor. These teams balance out well. While Dean Thompson has the edge over Joey Batts in agility and speed (especially as I’ve noticed a significant decrease in Joey’s speed as of late), Joey takes the title for play calling. Both teams have their quick receivers and both teams utilize their females well. In fact, I would argue these two teams are in the Top 3 for how well-utilized their female receivers are (I’ll let you ponder who the third team is). The McGregor/Thompson duel was back and forth; both teams had picks, highlight reel TDs and big stops. Scott McGregor had a goal line pick 6 that may or may not have been a tag but if the ref doesn’t see it you play to the whistle and not many people are catching this guy in the open field. Leseaon Washington answered back with another pick the other way, broke Joey Batts’ ankles and took it to the house. Not saying it’s 100% Joey’s fault but I am saying that play pretty much sealed the deal and PP took the win 32-25 (so yes, I am saying it’s Joey’s fault).

Early D3 favorite TopShot took on a struggling Grey Hair Don’t Care following their win against WolfPack. TS has been a force to be reckoned with so far this season. Granted, they probably would have done fine in D2 but it’s looking like next year we will get to see that. Dylan Jaloza has plenty of weapons to work with and he is using them well. Frank LaRue isn’t talked about as much but he is making a name for himself as TS appears to be running away with the division early on. Dave Eickoff seems to be having some trouble rekindling the fire we saw from them just a couple seasons ago. So far this season, GHDC has only managed 45 points through 3 games, placing them in the bottom 5 teams in the league for Score For.  They had a tough strength of schedule so far, but I hope moral can stay up long enough to get back on course.

Ladies and Gentlemen…Darryl Carr is back!!! The TSL universe finally feels back in alignment now. Cobblestone started the season with 2 bye weeks but now all is well and right in the world. That said, Darryl and Co were pummeled in their first game back by a bigger, faster, and stronger Practice Squad. B led his team to trounce CB, 40-8. Obviously not Darryl’s fault. Sam Lattuca was back as well and the Darryl-Sam connection was as strong as ever. PS looks right at home in D4 already. Watching this game really got me thinking…Everyone talks about Renee Lantz this and that, but unless my highly trained, watchful eye does deceive, it appears as though Kenny is moving to take the title of Best Lantz. This is a competition I encourage everyone to keep an eye on. GOOD NEWS! Darryl got a second chance on the day and fared much better against Not So Sticky (albeit I heard reports of some mid-game cramping). CB looked much more like the team we have come to know and love. Chris Carr had a big pick on Ricky Reckio late in the game, while Sam was given the rock and dropped dimes as if they never missed a beat. Defense was lock down and they came away with the win, 46-7.

Top 5 Notables from Week 3:

1. All the Mom’s who are involved in the league in any way possible. Whether it’s playing, supporting from the sidelines or picking up your adult children later at night we appreciate you all are amazing and we appreciate each and every one of you! Happy Mother’s Day!

2. Nicole Keller- speaking of moms, Nicole balled out for Lenny’s Ladies and Universal Waste Management. Her stat report showed at least 15 catches on the day.

3. Marissa Thompson- I knew the Thompson’s were quick but when Marissa triple deked her way to a pick 8 against XTC last week and it was honestly magical to watch

4. Garrett Beesing- Proved he can run with the big kids in D1 with an impressive TD catch for Sloppy Seconds, QBed a win against All We Do is Quinn, refs on a regular basis AND I even spotted him helping out the TSL Field Crew with check in. Garrett deserves recognition for not only his athleticism but his upstanding character as well.    

5. Darryl Carr- He’s back and we are all better off for it (except anyone who wanted a Corona later in the day)

Until next time, I’ll be watching…

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