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Round 1 Review

Details: Category: The Sentinel; Created: Tuesday, 22 June 2021 14:34; Published: Tuesday, 22 June 2021 14:34; Written by Patrick McGovern; Hits: 5409

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Greatest Co-ed Sports League in the Nation, welcome to your Round 1 Playoff review. Playoffs are always a time to come out hard and that is precisely what went down this past Saturday. Early in the year, I talked about “mid-season form” but “playoff form” is altogether a whole new animal. Teams put it all out on the line; for some, that ended in victory, for others, a bitter reminder that sometimes your best isn’t good enough. But hey, that’s why we play the game. Without further ado, let’s get into the games.

First up was Public Enemy versus Why So Serious. It was no secret PE was going to be missing some key personnel. Coming off a loss the previous week to this same team at full strength, what would have been a no brainer became a “it could happen”. But alas, though WSS did have their full rank of capable athletes, overcoming the reigning champs twice in as many weeks was not in the cards. PE’s performance was not flawless, I saw some big drops and miscues on defense, but it was good enough to get them a 48-30 win and a ticket to the semis versus long time rival Eyes Downtown. PE was fortunate to get Jake M back from injury, an unexpected surprise. WSS had Greg Chadwick back for when it mattered so having another speedster in him and Pete Nguyen was huge. Terrell Bolden was throwing for WSS but he was having trouble finding his receivers. Maybe it was the great equalizer, the wind, but he threw several balls 5 yards short of the intended target or 5 yards over their heads. Whatever magic, chemistry or maybe just old fashioned luck WSS had last week, it ran out a little too early for them this week.

Sticky Bandits and Sloppy Seconds was a little closer of a game, with both teams playing solid defense, making stops and trading picks back and forth. Brian Stevens had an early pick for SB to set the tone but after going almost full-field, Ben Stack answered with his own pick. SB took an early lead and held on until the half. SS made some adjustments and Amy Taylor had a phenomenal catch and run in traffic. Alex Buchalis rallied his team back to within a score but Mike Thomas was able to punch it in with time ticking away. The SB defense dropped back to defend the deep pass and SS were not able to get passed them, making an early exit with their 18-30 loss.

Losing Streak took out Slytherin That End Zone, much to no one’s surprise. I don’t know if the inconsistent QBs was the problem but looking at the cast they had, that’s really the only explanation for their fall from grace I can think of. On the other side of the ball, LS looked like they have had their eye on the championship since Week 4. This team is full of guys with speed, height and football IQ, a QB who can sling it and females who know the game and have solid hands. They are going to be a tough out for any team they come up against.

Speaking of a team they are coming up against, Bullet Club shocked the world by knocking out #1 seed Peachy Platoon. In probably the biggest upset of the day, BC squeaked into the playoffs after losing 7 straight games. Scotty Dro FINALLY showed up and showed off what we have all been waiting for him to do. He was able to hit his receivers perfectly and had 2 picks to boot. PP seemed to be sleeping on Gordon Kus and it cost them dearly. Rawdog was out but Todd Halas took over, catching everything thrown his way and some thrown a little out of his way. He had an extraordinary TD catch to put his team up 10 with under 2 minutes in the game. PP just had a bad day to have a bad day. Their usually sure-handed females had a few uncharacteristic drops and they didn’t have the magic they usually come with. I’ve heard rumors Mr Thompson tore it up in Breakfast Club; maybe he was the missing link there.

A&A also made an early exit for the playoffs, getting bounced by When Doves Cry. These teams played each other the week previous with a significantly different outcome. The difference? Topper’s team showed up this week. He had his ladies back as well as Drew and Devin Linder who were out when they faced off last time. Topper utilized his team average height of 6’5 to move down the field then found his females to punch it in for a gender score. A&A’s defense could not find an answer. Matty Ice found his kryptonite in the wind as well, with numerous deep attempts getting carried off or falling short of their targets. Some untimely drops and a 15 yard sack by Brittany Clark pretty much sealed the deal for A&A and their playoff hopes.

Yet another D2 upset was XTC taking out the younger, faster squad of Mountain Dew Me. Bottom line, MDM had a case of the drops. As much as it pains me to say it, Joey Battaglia is one of the best in the game when it comes to play calling. Yep, that tasted like vinegar and I didn’t even say it out loud. He will take those 10-15 yards every time. Unfortunately, when your team has drops like they did this week, your QB needs to try the deep ball now and then to make up some yards. That is where Chris Cole excels, but Joey falls short. Sans last year, Dubey is usually his most “on” during playoffs. He can hold his own in any division, and has leaps and bounds more football IQ then most anyone else on the field at any given time. And yet, it almost wasn’t enough. XTC tried to hit Eric Flynn on a slant but Joey made a play on the ball and MDM took over. But wait! Joey’s non-throwing shoulder is hurt on the play. He rallies to drive his team down the field and ties up the game. XTC had a chance to end it but a questionable play call results in OT. Dubey was able to find Flynn for a TD in the first drive but they did not get the conversion. MDM takes over at the 10. Joey finds Jill Battaglia in the endzone for what most think is the win but nope! Kelly Sabo gets in for the sack and 1 yard loss. XTC switches to a guy rushing, Joey looks for Jill again but Jill runs out of real estate and Sabo is right there to bat it down. MDM has one last chance but Joey throws it out of the back of the endzone and XTC moves on to next week.

Garrett Beesing arrived late for Frodo Swaggins after missing his Sloppy Seconds game completely. Apparently Friday night was a rager. He never seemed to be really comfortable whereas All We Do is Quinn finally had their full roster show up. Vince Taverna has been getting some heat from either not coming or not performing as well as we expect of him but he turned it on when he had to. Mike Gelz remained a solid target and Kacey Thur has been a top receiver for them all year. FS just could not find a rhythm and their championship aspirations died well before most thought they would. On the bright side, Beesing met his goal for his sister’s MS fundraiser and made good on his promise to shave his head, which happened later on at the bar.

The Angels fell to WolfPack, who continue to impress us. The Angels got off to an early lead and tensions seemed to be mounting among the Pack. Matty Ice took advantage of the mismatches and both teams played solid defense. Ward Blewitt was able to use the height advantage his team has and Cindi Bell played outstanding on offense. Anthony Barnessi has become a top target for Blewitt and now that everyone seems to be getting the hang of the league and play calling, this team could be poised for another upset next week.

Freeballers took out the Cunning Stunts meaning neither the Angels or the Stunts will be around for semis, possibly for the first time since the teams were formed. The game was never really close as the Stunts had no answer for Sean Weisendel. The Stunts stuck it out but couldn’t overcome the FBs who apparently had no QB controversy as George Lombardo was given the rock. Typical media overexaggerating just for a story line.

Show Me Dem TDs had a season to forget and their loss to Breast Friends means they can now start forgetting. The score indicates this game was closer than it was but BF were up 42-0 at the half. SMDTDs played with 3 females and tried out 4 different QBs, all of whom threw at least 1 pick. Tim Zielinski (who we heard is recently engaged, Congratulations Tim!) tried to rush Travis Cleavenger to cut down on scrambling time but that didn’t do the trick. I will hand it to them for not giving up and making it closer than the beginning would have predicted.

Spinelli’s Plumbing trounced Lenny’s Ladies 44-0. I wish I caught the name of the girl making serious play for SP but all is know is it was not Katie Swanson. She had picks and huge catches all over the game. Nick Hawes has been playing well all season. Robin Makula was an absolute weapon for LL but Joe K and Co could not finish a drive. SP takes on Travis Henry’s Kids next week, who they had no trouble with in their first meeting.

Last but certainly not least was the First Ever Eggplant Bowl! For those of you new to the league, the story is simple this: Once upon a time there was a team loved by all named 3^rd and Schlong. Started by the man, the myth, the legend, Scott Keller Sr and populated by his family, everyone in the land knew 3^rd and Schlong and they even had their own line of merchandise with their recognizable eggplant logo (if you don’t get why they use an eggplant, google “eggplant emoji meaning”). One day, an evil villain named 40 Year Plan Guy, who was disgruntled by his lack of game both on and off the field, decided he was no longer happy playing on the happiest team in the league and defected. This resulted in the end of the 3^rd and Schlong era and dark days in the TSL. Now fortunately, the Keller’s stayed in the league, albeit dispersed and forced to play under new banners. Then, along came a new team. Enter Not So Sticky. Due to a team quitting late after the schedule was set, the powers that be needed a replacement. Jeff Krol took up the challenge, bringing together familiar faces but playing them in unfamiliar positions. Not a problem in and of itself but then we see the bright yellow jersey have a very distinctive logo on the pocket. To add insult to injury, the eggplant is crossed out! The disrespect was almost too much to bear. In his final attempt to get back into the good graces of the Kellers (or seeing his opportunity to name a new villain), Evil 40 Year Plan Guy teamed up with Mr Keller and issued a challenge. B’s Brothers dropped the gauntlet saying the former 3^rd and Schlong team will play for the rights of the eggplant logo (and shots because that’s always part of a bet here). Not So Sticky accepted the challenge, I was there to witness it:

Because I know you all are wondering, the first TD in Eggplant Bowl history was scored by none other than Jeff Krol, the mastermind of the imposing team himself. The conversion was successful putting Not So Sticky up 7-0. 3&S scored on their drive but failed to convert. After that, both teams started to lose some of the adrenaline they had going into the game. NSS rallied on the last drive of the half to go up 15-6. In the second half, things got interesting. Paul Scinta made a couple of his signature catches, Katie Keller caught everything, even when “accidentally” hit in the face by the defender, and Scott Keller Jr threw a deep TD pass to Austin Weber over the head of Ricky Recckio. Plenty of excitement, but it came down to the last few minutes. 3&S trailed by 9 with mere minutes on the clock. They need a gender TD, they get a gender TD. Of course, they go for the win…they make the 2-point conversion! 3&S take a one point lead with time winding down. But NSS will not go silently into the night! They march down the field and Recckio finds a wide open Mike Thomas with 26 seconds left. Time out 3&S. The Kellers regroup, they have one play to become legends. The pass is made…NSS gets the stop and becomes the first ever Eggplant Bowl Champs! It was a game for the ages.

There is nothing else that could top that excitement so I will leave you with your Playoff Top 5 Notables and let you all mentally prepare for the big dance next week.

1. Scotty Dro, Bullet Club- finally played up to his potential and secured a spot in the semis for his previously 0-7 team

2. Practice Squad Defense- It’s not easy holding Buffalo Vice to 12 points when they average 40 a game but PS brought their A game when it counted most

3. Breast Friends- the only remaining gender team going into semis next week

4. Eric Pochylski, Wasted Potential- had a pick and TD for his team in their upset victory over Puckett All Stars

5. Rylee Moser, Itches and Ohs- I said last week she doesn’t get enough cred so here I will give her her due. I didn’t see enough of the game to report on it but I saw some plays and TOX had no answer for Rylee.

Until next time, I’ll be watching….

Week 8 Review

Details: Category: The Sentinel; Created: Monday, 14 June 2021 18:48; Published: Monday, 14 June 2021 18:48; Written by Patrick McGovern; Hits: 5730

Well my friends, we have made it through the regular season. No rainouts, “anonymous” calls or even Covid this season which I think we all would say, is a win. On the contrary, we had beautiful weather, minimal drama and our relationship with the bar has never been better. Week 8 had the playoff vibe already in the air with many teams facing off against potential playoff opponents. We had our fair share of upsets this week so let’s take a look at how things ended.

Slytherin That End Zone has had one of their most disappointing seasons to date. They dropped a close one to Peachy Platoon, 32-34. Miscues, drops, missed passes and a couple calls not going their way ended their season in 7^th place. Peachy was short so called in Joe K to take over the TE role while Dean Thompson did his usual scramble around for 5 minutes then launch it to any WR. Peachy is the current D2 favorite but I wouldn’t be surprised to see an upset out of SITE if they can get some heart and early momentum this week.

Frodo Swaggins put on a show against Top Shot this week, giving them their first loss and proving to the universe they are mortal. TS was missing Blasé DaLuca but they had Chris Nelson, Adrian Cannon and QB Dylan Jaloza so attendance could not be blamed for their loss. Frodo Swaggins played an all-around great game. Nick Buczek and Josh Schneider put on great performances while Derek Pew had a couple big catches to put up 48 points against a defense known for being stingy. Finishing in the Top 2, both these teams should have a fairly easy go of it in the first round of the playoffs so it’s highly likely we see a repeat of this game in the championship.

Possibly the upset of the day, Why So Serious put up 48 points as well to take the win over Public Enemy. It took until Week 8 but we finally got to see what WSS could do when they have everyone in attendance. Terrell Bolden was back at QB and he had most of their receiving core to throw to. Public Enemy was missing Paulie Johnson and Jake M but based on their dominance in seasons’ passed, that shouldn’t equate to a loss to a previously defeated team. But like I said last week, any given Saturday, any one can pull off a win or blow it. Chris Cole played a solid game and put up a respectable 43 points. These teams face off again next week when word around the water bucket is PE will be missing some key players. If WSS can pull off another win, I would love to see momentum carry them to the championship. That said, regardless of missing personnel, I can’t see the veterans of PE dropping 2 in a row to the same team.

Losing Streak took it to XTC, 62-14. I did hear this game ended early so it could have been much more painful than even that. Ralph Finney had an All-Star performance, I’ve even heard mentions of a possible D2 MVP candidate. Joe Robison had a big contested TD catch, pulling out all sorts of athleticism to prove he maybe should have been getting some more pub this season. Jordan Lawson has had his share of publicity this season, but Rylee Moser most certainly has not. I saw Lawson thread the needle to rocket a pass to her through 3 defenders that she stuck, no problem. Solid hands and great field awareness are things hard to teach and Rylee’s got them in spades. On the other side of things, XTC was missing Brandt Dubey. Instead of getting a QB off the sublist, they gave the reigns to Eric Flynn. It’s safe to say that little experiment did not work. Honestly there was little to even report on aside from the multiple pick 6/8s that XTC had no chance of coming back from. That loss dropped them down into 6^th place meaning they take on the Swedish Speed Demons, Mountain Dew Me next week.

Grey Hair Don’t Care took on The Angels for the 3^rd time this season due to some weird scheduling match ups apparently. Dave Eickhof and Co took another win, though looking at the standings, the point differential get smaller and smaller each time. Matty Ice was back under center for The Angels and brought back the spark we are so used to seeing from these ladies. Emily Curry was missing due to some poor planning for her bachelorette party but the Angels had a solid cast there along with their fearless leader. It seemed like the game was back and forth throughout with no one taking a major lead at any point. Both teams seemed to know each other well as they each played their style of play and did not let the opponent influence them. The Angels had a chance to secure the victory with minimal time on the clock and 6^th down on the 10. Matty Ice found Val Bernal in the back of the endzone, but she dropped the pass. Eickhof found Jon Von deep and GHDC were able to come away with the win and moved up to 3^rd place.

Speaking of Matty Ice, his 3^rd game of the day was for A&A against Scared Hitless, who had nothing on the line but pride. SH were missing their QB and Brandon Farr; A&A were missing Delano and had no one else on the side line so I’m guessing some others were missing as well. A&A got off to an early lead then all hell broke loose. I saw 3 different QBs for SH, the last of which actually played a solid game. A&A could not get their defense organized and failed to score a point in the second half. They finished in 4^th place but don’t look like they have any momentum whatsoever going into playoffs. SH on the other hand, probably could have used this win to push them towards an upset, unfortunately there are 10 teams in D2 so their season ends this week. I must commend them though on moving up, not having a great season but maintaining sportsmanship and poise throughout. Looking at their matches this year, all but 2 losses were within a score so they might not have been a success story right away but I would love to see what they can do next season with some upper-tier experience under their belt.

Buffalo Vice seemed to turn it up this week with a win over WoodPeckers and Freeballers. The Peckers actually had one of their better games of the season, showing a boatload of improvement since Week 2. Sharrone aka really tall guy that isn’t Dan Farinucci, no-showed so Joe Buscaglia played defense which didn’t help their cause but also wasn’t detrimental. Andy Clark was just on his game, looking more like the player we are used to seeing. Unfortunately for the WoodPeckers, their season came to an end. More devastating was Dan Farinucci was hurt while subbing later in the day. We wish this Rookie of the Year nominee a speedy recovery. The Freeballers game got heated from within according to the rumor mill. Word on the street is Sean Weisansal’s performance impressed his teammates enough to take the QB1 spot from George Lombardo. So far, it’s all speculation so if someone from Freeballers wants to weigh in, be sure to let the Godfather know the 411 before his article comes out.

The last game I will talk about for Week 8 is University Wealth Management versus Show Me Dem TDs. UWM got themselves their second win of the season, pulling ahead of their opponent in the rankings. Scott Keller Sr was back to throw for his squad so of course they were able to ride that high to a victory. SMDTDs had QB Tim Zielinski get called away on urgent business just before game time so they put Jackee Thompson in charge. She had a rough go at it for her first start at QB, resulting in several picks. All around, SMDTDs did not have the personnel to run with any team and UWM took the win, 29-6.

That’s all for the regular season. If you don’t think you, your team or someone on your team has been highlighted enough this year, well, do something amazing. I declined the opportunity for an email address because this is all about what I see. Sure, I don’t see everything but hey, the more cool shit you do, the more likely it is I’ll see some of it. That’s just basic probability there. I know playoffs are upon us now so everyone will turn it up. Can’t wait to see who’s been holding back and what everyone has left in the tank. I’ll leave you with my Top 5 Notables for Week 8:

1. Katie Swanson- Lenny’s Ladies suffered a loss to TMA but Swanson took over at QB to make the game stay fun for everyone

2. Heather Simano- did a great job filling the shoes of all the females missing for When Doves Cry, scoring 2 TDS against A&A

3. Jeremy Olson- probably wasn’t in the original game plan but he has played D often this season and was solid this passed week

4. Dave Eickhoff- I talked about his game versus the Angels which was an impressive performance but Dave has led his team back from a rocky start to the season to a 3^rd place finish and ready to make a playoff run

5. Dave Walter- really the epitome of what this league is about, Dave is there every week with a smile and a drink for anyone who gets too close

Week 6 Review

Details: Category: The Sentinel; Created: Tuesday, 01 June 2021 12:28; Published: Tuesday, 01 June 2021 12:28; Written by Patrick McGovern; Hits: 2896

Week 6 has come and gone if you can believe it. I personally feel like this season is flying by. Only 2 weeks remain in the regular season yet there are teams with only 5 games under their belts. Smells like double headers in the coming weeks. This past weekend was a bit chillier than we’ve been getting accustomed to but luckily we missed out on the torrential downpours Friday night and were able to enjoy some dry, albeit softer, fields for our Memorial Day weekend games. Let’s take a look at what went down this week.

At 9:00, Sticky Bandits took on Public Enemy in a rescheduled game that was scheduled for next week. In their second meeting against the reigning champs, SB showed they may not be 100% ready for D1 just yet but once they know their opponents, they have what it takes to make it a fight. PE had Chris Cole back and SB had the unfortunate luck of catching them after their subpar performance the week before. SB scored early but it went back and forth until the half. Kevin Zack got a pick and which he converted to a gender TD. The scoreboard continued to sway back and forth with each team taking then losing the lead. It came down to the final minutes when PE came up with a stop then proceeded to march down the field as they do so well and put the game away, 43-34.

All We Do is Quinn pulled out a win against Untouchaballs, 30-24. Joe Schwab had fire in his eyes as he made plays both on offense and defense while Mike Gelz utilized his height efficiently to put points on the board for his team. The Untouchaballs were without their usual QB and had Scott Keller Jr subbing as receiver. Their back up played decent but they definitely missed him as a receiver where he really thrives. With playoffs looming and all D3 teams getting a ticket, Untouchaballs needs to get some momentum going and fast if they want to be the Cinderella story of this season.

Freeballers spanked Itches and Ohs, 51-0. And they did it in less than the allotted 50 minutes of regular play. After a dismal first half, I&Os QB threw a handful more picks to start the second and the game was called with approximately 16 minutes left. Freeballers did put on a good show for their fans though. George Lombardo played well at QB, with Sean Weisansal taking a few pitches as well to show-off his duel-threat status. Steve Moser was complaining about something or other but after a while it just becomes old news.

Frodo Swaggins narrowly defeated Vaspian, 27-23. Garrett Beesing played a solid game at QB and in my humble opinion, should be moving up that Power Ranking. All the big names on FS played well. Vaspian did not have Drew again but they honestly didn’t need him (yes, obviously I know they lost and he could have been the difference-maker but Vaspian looks like they are really coming together and stars are being born not named Drew). Brian Orzechowski is coming into his own as QB. The speedy guy who wears the black headband is also making a name for himself (once I learn his name). If Vaspian could pull ahead of Untouchaballs and get a rematch against FS in the playoffs, things could get interesting.

Public Enemy played again against Sloppy Seconds at 11:00. The game got heated as words were slung back and forth between plays. I was really impressed with the ladies of SS as most of the team’s TDs were gender scores. Emily Gawlick found the end zone twice for her team while Amy Taylor and Sarah Kapenek each tallied one of their own. PE’s offense kept coming, scoring with 1 minute left on the clock. Mike Thomas tried to find one of his females deep but Greg Osika was able to come up with the pick and PE took a narrow 44-43 victory.

I didn’t see a lot of the Peachy Platoon/Scared Hitless game but Marissa Thompson had an incredible deep catch for a TD on a broken play. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, part of what makes PP so dangerous is Dean Thompson is not afraid to use his ladies no matter where they are on the field.

TOX took on WoodPeckers, who rested Joe Buscaglia at QB and put in back-up Andy Fagan. Andy played well and took on the leadership role this team seems to need. Dan Farinacci is quickly catching notice aside from the fact that you literally cannot miss him (he’s got to be at least 6’6). Not only is he physically a specimen of a human being, he also possess that rare trait called being humble that we don’t see very often in these parts. In the absence of Topper, TOX had Jeff May in at QB who was able to pull out the win 28-21.

XTC had their climb to the top come to a quick pause after a 17-20 loss to Slytherin that End Zone. Dubey had a rough game while his receivers recorded some big drops. Seth Molisani was in at QB for SITE so XTC answered by rushing a guy. Ashley Bower is a newcomer to the league and has shown solid hands and field awareness on defense. The play that sticks out to me though was at the end of the game. Molisani tossed the ball up to let his receivers go get it. Eric Flynn of XTC was right there. The ball went through his gloves, into the hands of Sal Gandolfo for the TD. Overall, it was just not XTC’s day and they slipped to 7^th in the highly competitive D2.

Travis Henry’s Kids took on TMA in another back and forth action game. Both teams played solid defense, particularly in the red zone. John Langley caught my eye again as he continues to be a catalyst for the wins this team has earned so far. His arm has to be among the strongest in the league. THK got their first win against one of the tougher teams in the division by punching in a TD with under 30 seconds in regulation time to put them up by a score.

Itches & Ohs came back later in the day to take on WoodPeckers and were much more in sync than earlier in the morning. WP put Joe Bucsaglia back in at QB. Their defense; however, could not stop I&Os. Jeremy Parsons is another newcomer to the league. He recorded at least 2 touchdowns and a pick on the day. WPs were missing Melissa Walters, which is a big loss for them. I&Os came out with the win 34-28.

I will leave you with my Top 5 Notables for Week 5. Remember to make whatever arrangements are necessary to hang out this coming week as it will be Lenny and Rameer Day! Topper has some great entertainment planned. You won’t want to miss it!

1. Kevin Zack- every week, this guy puts his body on the line making diving catches and pass break ups. This week, he had the aforementioned pick 8 AND a safety.

2. Dan Gonzalez- took over for Buffalo Vice in their game against Not So Sticky with full field TDs. NSS had no answer for him.

3. Andrew Alessi- played exceptionally well for both Frodo Swaggins and Cobblestone. Doesn’t get a lot of hype but is another of those with that rare mixture of talent and modesty.

4. Joe K, Jeff Krol and Travis Cleavenger- While our fearless leader was out gallivanting elsewhere, these 3 stepped up and made sure everything from field assignments, refs, unruly players, and whatever else there is that needs monitoring, ran smoothly.

5. In honor of Memorial Day, we at Topper Sports would like to thank and remember the service members and their families who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

Until next time, I’ll be watching….

Week 7 Review

Details: Category: The Sentinel; Created: Tuesday, 08 June 2021 18:18; Published: Tuesday, 08 June 2021 18:18; Written by Patrick McGovern; Hits: 8639

Well TSL, we have made it to the last week of the regular season. I took a look at the standings as they are now to see if there were any “sure things” for the upcoming playoffs and, honestly, I’m going to say no. Sure, TopShot is the odds on favorite in D3 but that’s easy to do when you stack a team and insist on playing in a lower division. Every other division can go a number of ways. D1 has had some shake ups to make things interesting but it’s ultimately still down to the Big 3. D2 could see any of the Top 5 making a playoff run and I’m not counting out XTC despite a sub .500 record. Itches and Ohs took over the number one spot in D4 after handing Cunning Stunts their first loss of the season. It’s hard to count anyone out that makes the playoffs in this division. Everyone makes the playoffs in D5 but Zack Attack looks to be the talk of the town. Breast Friends sit at second but they have 2 forfeit wins and rumors around the water cooler are that they will be getting another one this week. In my eyes, D5 is open to (almost) anyone. Spinelli’s Plumbing came out of no where to become a D6 power house this year. Tater Tots, Travis Henry’s Kids and TMA are all right in it, but Spinelli and Co have the momentum. Lenny and Rameer Day was a roaring success both on and off the fields. Let’s take a look at what happened.

Puckett All Stars took on Wasted Potential early in the day. I missed the first half but was told it was quiet. WP took an early lead while the cast of PAS took their time getting to the fields. PAS’s Kyle Printup had some big defensive plays while both TJ Ferguson and Jay Jaskier played solid at QB, not hesitating to throw the deep ball. PAS has been on since week 4, putting up 30+ points a game, makes you wonder why Ferguson is not on the Power Rankings?? It came right down to the end when a PI called gave WP the ball at the 3. A potential game winning gender TD pass is dropped in the endzone but Jaskier is able to find a guy to bring them within 1. WP goes for the win but Printup breaks up the pass and PAS holds on to take the win, 34-33.

Wolfpack pulled off an upset over All We Do is Quinn, 31-20. Ward Blewitt has made leaps and bounds improvements since his debut this season. He is reading the field, spreading looks around and trusting his receivers to come down with the ball. “Jay” had a couple deep contested catches over a defender and was real good at getting lost behind the defense. AWDIQ had plenty of big plays on defense and offense but Vince Taverna is not playing up to his usual standard. Joe Schwab and Bryan Quinn both had some highlight reel catches, including a pick by Schwab that was pitched to Max Wittig for 2 points on the conversion. Wittig also had a couple big defensive plays but Jake Dunne’s rushing must have threw Taverna for a loop as they could not punch it in the endzone.

I mostly watched the aforementioned game so I didn’t see a lot of Bullet Club versus Peachy Platoon but it looked like Peachy had control throughout the game. I did see Marissa Thompson make a phenomenal catch from across the back line of the endzone for a gender TD. Barring their shaky start to the season, PP has been the class of D2 while Bullet Club has been underwhelming considering their free agent signings in the off season. BC currently holds the 8^th spot for playoffs but unless they can pull off a win against Mountain Dew Me, their fate rests in the hands of A&A beating Scared Hitless this coming Saturday.

The Sticky Bandits/Why So Serious game was not great television to be honest. Chadwick started at QB and proceeded to throw 2 picks. Terrell Bolden went back in but continued to have difficulty finding his females. Pete Nyugen put himself at QB for the rest of the game. WSS looked like anything but a cohesive unit. SB had a rough first half on offense but were able to right the ship. Defensively, they came up with a pick on pretty much every drive and walked away with a 51-16 win.

I said in my intro that D5 is the hands of Zack Attack but open to almost anyone. I don’t know if you picked up on it but the “almost” was referring to Show Me Dem TDs and University Wealth Management as neither team has shown me they can run in this division. BUT WAIT! UWM pummeled ZA, 37-8. This is why we play the game, ladies and gentlemen. Because any given Saturday an 0-7 team can absolutely embarrass the 7-0 juggernaut. Sure, ZA looked off at pretty much every position but guess what, come playoff time, all that matters is the scoreboard. UWM’s QB played his heart out, putting up big points against a historically stingy defense while his defense shut down Zack Elphick and Co’s offense.

In my perusal of the standings, I had to double check that I read it right when I saw Buffalo Vice sitting in 6^th place. Seasons passed, at this point, we are usually talking about them, The Angels and Cunning Stunts fighting it out for the number one spot, with maybe one other team lurking in the shadows. They slipped following a loss to Jabronies this week, 32-23. Jabronies is on the upward trend of late, but finishing the season against Freeballers and Cunning Stunts will be a nice glimpse of where they belong. Also with a double header in the last week, BV is going to need to go 2-0 if they want to prove to the rest of us that they deserve a look in the playoffs.

BiPolar Express versus Lenny’s Ladies is always a fun game to report on with Gordon Kus going against Joe K, especially when they are neck and neck in the standings. Despite BPX coming off a hard-fought loss against Travis Henry’s Kids, they had enough left in the tank to take the win in the gender team match up, 19-16. It was a close game that came down to the wire and ended with some controversy. LL were up 16-10, BPX has 6-0 with the ball on the 10. Elisha Reimers of LL rushes in on Gordon, we hear a whistle blow, game over, right? Wrong. The whistle was from the next field over. Gordon starts arguing that he did not get sacked, the ref states he did not, in fact, blow the whistle so BPX gets another shot at it that they capitalize on. LL gets the ball with enough time to march down and steal the win back. Joe K throws a pass to Katie Swanson but doesn’t put enough on it to slice through the gale force winds and BPX’s Emily Belfield gets the pick to end the game. Ya hate/love to see (dependent on if you are Team Joe K or Team Gordon because you can’t be both).

That’s all for this week. Can’t believe we are already approaching the last week of the regular season. Where does the time go? Seems like a good number of double headers for this week and based on the early weather reports, it’s going to be another beautiful day. Good luck to all of you in the hunt! I’ll leave you with my Top 5 Notables for Week 7:

1. University Wealth Management- I try to save the Top 5 for people who didn’t get a shout out in the article but to have your first win be that decisive and against the 1^st place team deserves double recognition.

2. Kacey Thur- saw her catch a TD for AWDIQ but what got her on this list is being bribed $100 to go in the dunk tank then donating the money to support Garrett Beesing’s MS fundraiser. Great job Kacey!

3. Sean Weisansal- took over for George Lombardo at QB this week and put up 36 points on TOX. Not a bad day at the office.

4. Cookie Monster and Elmo (and the other celebrity guest appearances this week)- finally got to see them back out shaking hands and kissing babies (figuratively of course) and the wheel came back! It occurred to me the Godfather nonchalantly said he would be in town this week and there were a good amount of notable alumnus at the fields…interesting…

5. Angry Buffalo- I haven’t acknowledged the bar recently for allowing us to spend 12+ hours with them and not throwing us out. This week, they let us have a dunk tank which was awesome too!

Honorable Mention: everyone who went in the dunk tank. Honestly I was going to just make that my list this week but 1) there were more than 5 and 2) I was drinking and don’t remember/know everyone who did. So here’s a shout out to all I did see/remember: Topper, Dave Walters, Hearn, Travis Cleavenger, Drunk Meg, Ricky Recckio, Kacey Thur, Megan Mallon, Cookie, and Topper’s niece Quinn.

And remember, I’ll be watching…

Week 5 review

Details: Category: The Sentinel; Created: Tuesday, 25 May 2021 18:16; Published: Tuesday, 25 May 2021 18:16; Written by Patrick McGovern; Hits: 5269

Ladies and gentlemen we have passed the halfway point of the season! I took a quick look at the standings to see how things would be looking if the season ended this week. With their win over Public Enemy this week, Tight Ends in Motion jumped up to that top spot. Not super surprising to see Peachy Platoon in the 1 seed of D2 but what is going on with last year’s runner-up Slytherin That End Zone? They sit at 7 with 8^th place Bullet Club right on their tail. TopShot has proven themselves a top contender for D3 but Grey Hair Don’t Care is coming hard as the season progresses. D4 is all about the ladies of Cunning Stunts but the second half of the season will really prove to me where they fit in. Practice Squad is lurking in that 2^nd seed spot right not and is poised to make the jump to #1. Zack Attack remains on top of D5 but all their games have been within one score. Look for any of the other teams (besides University Wealth Management) to make the mid season playoff push. In D6 it’s all about the Tater Tots. The usual suspects are right there within 3 points though. Spinelli’s Plumbing have shown improvements in spades from last year and are currently sitting pretty at #2. But let’s look at what happened this week.

The Tight Ends versus Public Enemy game was touted as a “much watch” match-up but turned out to be anything but. For those that didn’t see the game, I’m going to Tarantino this story by telling you now the final score was 35-1 in favor of TE. Yes, you read that right. PE was missing Cole and Heather so had the Battaglia’s fill in but don’t stop there and think that was the reasoning for the demolishing. Jill played great, as always. I will say, Joey did not cost them the game (although his noticeable decrease in speed resulted in MULTIPLE sacks). PE had more drops than I’ve ever seen this team make, ever. Their 1 point came from Greg Osika returning an extra point attempt. Bro and TEs played a solid game and shut them out on defense. Did Cole miss this game intentionally so TE couldn’t learn their tendencies for the playoffs? I wouldn’t put it passed him.

The Angels/WolfPack game did turn out to be among the highlights of my day to watch though. Bro filled in for Matty Ice at QB and it looked like both him and the ladies needed some time to get used to each other. Ward Blewitt played a solid game at QB, taking his advantages and what was given. The game seemed to be pretty back and forth. WP held an early lead while tensions continued to rise. A deep bomb to Katie Salisbury turned the momentum of the game in favor of the Angels. WP had a chance to steal the win with a Hail Mary. Russ Santucci took control but it fell short and The Angels stole the win.

Sticky Bandits came away with a big win in D1 against Eyes Downtown. Both teams seemed to be missing some key elements but they also both had enough there to work with. They traded leads the whole game with neither team getting up by more than 6 until the final seconds. Mike Thomas had a pick early but was the epitome of accuracy after that. Bobby McConnell celebrated his birthday early with at least 2 signature deep balls right on the money. The SBs showed what heart can really bring to a football game. Andrew Kicak, Dean Thompson, Ricky Recckio; They left it all on the line for this game. Kevin Zack had the game-sealing touchdown catch, diving to the front corner where Thomas put it so only he could get it. The perfect throw and catch. SB came away with the win 36-26.

I mentioned Spinelli’s Plumbing has shown improvements all season and the glimpse I got into their game this week proved that to be true. They took on Travis Henry’s Kids and took it to them on offense. Peyton Spinelli had a stand out performance during the game with a deep touchdown, complete with the extra point. THK QB John Langley has some serious chemistry with the Guy in the Neon Orange Shirt. They hooked up for numerous TDs, unfortunately the THK defense could not find an answer and PS came away with the win 55-24.

Passed Our Prime finally had their roster show up! This is what we have been waiting for. Finally an answer to the question of “Are they in the wrong division?” Turns out, no they are not…when everyone shows up. This week saw the return of James Celletto and a solid cast of female athletes. Andy Heftka had a highlight reel pick, high-pointing the ball over a Slytherin That End Zone defender. As I said, SITE is struggling. A seemingly constant rotation of QBs could be to blame. Despite a pick by Taylor Pagano, SITE could not slytherin-that-end-zone enough (see what I did there?) and POP took their first win, 43-21.

Lenny’s Ladies took on Juiced and handed them their 6^th loss of the season. Jamie Warren made her return much to the excitement of Joe K. She didn’t look like she missed a beat, making big plays on both sides of the ball. Juiced looks like they are getting in the groove on offense, having put up a respectable 169 points on the season. QB Tom Dybas is reading the field well and even came up with a pick that he pitched back for a gender TD. Defensively though, they continue to struggle. Joe K and the ladies took full advantage and came away with a 51-41 win.

All We Do Is Quinn has only played 4 games so far and are sitting in 5^th place with a 500 record. Attendance issues have plagued them all season. Troy Boller caught my eye last season with solid hands and deceptive agility. Unfortunately for them, TopShot is on a crash course for that D3 title. Their defense is shutting teams down, allowing only 68 points over 5 games. Adrian Cannon is making a name for himself on both TopShot and New Eyes Downtown. The speed and average vertical of this team should have all the D3 teams worried.

I didn’t see a lot of the Show Me Dem TDs versus The Bambs game this week. I wanted to watch it but both teams had the same shade of blue on and I was confused. Maybe I can ask the Power Ranking Committee to make a chart of team colors so everyone can check for themselves (or just bring a contrasting color). But anyway, plenty of talent on the field during this game. Jackee Thompson was showing that solid hands is not her sole attribute. Her football IQ is up there with the best of them and Tim Zielinski would do well to listen. The Bambs are have only played 3 games this season so they still may have some rust to wear off. Derek Sekuterski is picking up right where he left off. The Bambs did come away with the win but their time away from the game showed harshly when they got to 5-2 and threw a male TD. Luckily for them, they had commanding lead and came away with the 28-16 win.

The Cunning Stunts are the current class of D4, putting up big numbers on offense. They took on Cobblestone this week in another back and forth battle. Cobblestone had victory in their grasp until Darryl Carr threw a pick to Joey Batts who then brought it down to the 10. The Stunts had 1 minute and 6 downs to score. Anyone who has seen this team play knows most every team would be hard pressed to make a stop on defense here. Sure enough, the Stunts were able to punch it in and rip the victory away. They went on to play Not So Sticky at 3:00 (and got poured on). Another great game by both teams, Ricky Recckio played his best game to date at the QB position. Brandy Clark and Kelly Liddle had huge performances, keeping the score close throughout. Karl Smith recorded approximately 6 sacks on a slower, less in shape Joey Batts. Nevertheless, Joey had enough in the tank to carry his team to their second win of the day.

Top 5 Notables from Week 5.

1. Jeff Krol- sure he lost his Breakfast Club debut BUT he had a pick AND Sticky Bandits rallied to beat Eyes Downtown which I’m positive was mostly his doing. He even made it to his wedding shower afterwards so Go Jeff!

2. Kyle Fiegel- Doesn’t get a lot of press but makes outrageous catches every game. Helped get his team 2 wins this week despite Renee Lantz’s 3 drops

3. Melissa Walters- always a solid player for WoodPeckers, she played her first game with Sloppy Seconds, adding a pick and a nice 20 YAC run to her stat line.

4. Aaron Balcerzak- played 4 consecutive games with Topper sending him deep pretty much every play and didn’t crumble to the ground afterwards, Aaron’s endurance earned him his spot here

5. Mr. Thompson- the patriarch of the Thompson finally had a huge TD catch from Cheryl Julicher in Breakfast Club

Until next time, I’ll be watching…

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