With the midway point behind us wins become ever more important as teams jockey for playoff position and one look at the standings show just how crucial each week is. With CNDF and Lennoxville seemingly pulling away from the pack, the rest of the playoff seedings are completely up for grabs. With only two points separating third place through seventh and five games to go points will definitely be at a premium.
Last week was actually a good week for the CFC CEGEP PICK ‘EM as we looked at the top four games of the week and got them all right. The 4-0 mark from last week pushed us to 13-4 on the season. Unfortunately that as they say is history, so here we go again with this week’s edition of the “CFC CEGEP PICK ‘EM”
CFC CEGEP PICK ‘EM 2015 WEEK 5:
#1 LE NOTRE DAME DE COLLEGE NOTRE DAME-DE-FOY (CNDF) (5-0) @ LES NOMADES DU MONTMORENCY (3-2) – Friday Sept. 25 20h00 – Collège Montmorency
THE MATCH UP: The top ranked team in the RSEQ Collegial division take to the road to do battle with 3-2 Momo. Les Nomades have been in and out of the Power 5 so far and a good showing here would serve notice to the rest of the league and instil added confidence heading into the home stretch. Make no mistake about it les Nomades believe they can win and quite frankly nobody has looked unbeatable in 2015. However, if anyone has been close to unbeatable it’s been CNDF. Offensively Notre Dame is balanced and deep. QB David Pelletier looks anything but a first year guy and has led the CNDF attack with great precision, of course having one of the leagues best ground games doesn’t hurt either.
CNDF PLAYERS TO WATCH: REC Jérémie Sauvageau, REC Alexandre Gailloux, QB David Pelletier, RB Alexis Côté, RB Luca Perrier, LB Yvan Hakizimana, DB Christophe Bouchard, LB Alexandre Paré, LB Jean-Philippe Hudon
MONTMORENCY PLAYERS TO WATCH: #CFC100 QB Eric Parr, REC Félix Laflamme, #CFC100 REC Bruno Labelle, RB Kevin Dubois, DB Raphaël Ntumba-Muntu
WHAT WILL HAPPEN: With Lennoxville up next for CNDF, this has all the makings of a classic “trap” game and les Nomades are more than talented enough to pounce if CNDF comes out flat. But they won’t. CNDF was seconds away from advancing to the Bol d’Or in 2014 and with plenty of vets back they haven’t forgotten and are on a mission. Montmorency will put up a good fight but CNDF goes to 6-0
FINAL SCORE: CNDF 33 MONTMORENCY 14
#2 CHAMPLAIN-LÉNNOXVILLE COUGARS (4-0) @ LES PHÉNIX D’ANDRÉ-GRASSET (2-3) – Saturday Sept. 26 20h00 Collège Notre-Dame
THE MATCH UP: The Cougars will try to improve to 4-0 and avoid looking ahead to their big clash with CNDF next week. With a first round bye awaiting the regular season champ, the Cougars know how vital each win is at this stage and should be focused on the task at hand. André Grasset comes in at 2-3 and desperately need a win to keep pace with the pack and create a little breathing room between them and the last playoff spot.
ANDRÉ-GRASSET PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Alex Campeau-Perrault, RB Samuel Makwanda, REC François Rocheleau, LB Bruno-Philippe Desfossés-Simard, DL Philippe Lemieux-Cardinal, DB Bruno Lagacé
LÉNNOXVILLE PLAYERS TO WATCH: #CFC100 QB Mike Arruda, #CFC100 REC Marc Antoine-Pivin, DB Khadeem Pierre, LB Samuel Brodrique, RB Guillaume Conraud-Ares, RB Philippe Lessard-Vézina, DL Cheikhe Sidy Sow, #CFC100 DB Adam Auclair, LB Alain Cimankinda
WHAT WILL HAPPEN: This one will be closer than expected, the Grasset defense is as good as any at D1 and they keep les Phénix in every game. However shutting down the Cougars is a very tall order and although they should slow down Champlain, they won’t completely stop them. The Cougars offense is too deep and balanced and as good as the Phénix defense has been, their offense won’t keep pace with the Cougars.
FINAL SCORE: LÉNNOXVILLE 24 ANDRÉ-GRASSET 14
#5 LES SPARTIATES DU VIEUX MONTRÉAL (3-2) @ #3 LES FAUCONS DU LÉVIS-LAUZON (3-2) – Friday Sept. 26 19h00 – Cégep de Lévis-Lauzon
THE MATCH UP: Two 3-2 teams do battle in a game where the winner will have the inside track to a home playoff game. Les Faucons have the ability to score a pile of points, but do they have the defense to make a run? The defending champs looked on the ropes last week and bounced back with a 24-7 win over Montmorency. Unfortunately there is no time to dwell on that one as this week’s game is as or more important.
VIEUX MONTRÉAL PLAYERS TO WATCH: REC Joël Soucy, #CFC100 QB Frédéric Paquette-Perrault, RB Dynell Pierre, LB Enock Makonzo, LB Umar Temoor,
LÉVIS-LAUZON PLAYERS TO WATCH: DB Jean-Philippe Lévesque, LB Raphaël Faucher, DB Guillaume D’Anjou, REC Antoine Mailhot, REC Jonathan Breton-Robert, RB Vincent Breton-Robert #CFC100 OL Samuel Lefebvre, OL François Côté
WHAT WILL HAPPEN: Les Spartiates struggles in the redzone will haunt them in this one. They will move the ball but will not be able to keep pace with the Faucons offense. This one should come down to the fourth quarter.
FINAL SCORE: LÉVIS-LAUZON 38 VIEUX MONTRÉAL 26
JOHN ABBOTT ISLANDERS (3-1) @ #4 LES GÉANTS DE SAINT-JEAN (4-0) Saturday Sept. 26 20h00 – Stade Alphonse-Desjardins
THE MATCH UP: Two teams at the top of the D2 pecking order undefeated Saint-Jean hosts one-loss John Abbott in the featured game at the D2 level this week. Two very talented and efficient QBs lead two high-octane offenses in what should be an exiting affair. Géants QB Dimitri Morand has gone off so far, firing 23 touchdown passes and only two picks while his Islander counterpart Adam Sinagra has a 10-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
JOHN ABBOTT PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Adam Sinagra, REC Raoul Baroudi, Nori Volny, REC Joey Vizzi, RB Samuel Dupuis, LB Jermaine Ogilvie-Wright, LB Jean Exume, DL Allan Fields
SAINT-JEAN PLAYERS TO WATCH: QB Dimitri Morand, REC Kevin Duprey, REC Hugo Dupuis, REC Jordan Duprey, RB Kevin Dubois, LB Noel Côté, LB Marc-Antoine Bellefroid,
WHAT WILL HAPPEN: Saint-Jean has played a glorified “preseason” schedule as their first four games have been against the bottom teams in the division, but make no mistake they are the team to beat in 2015. The Islanders are a talented team and could easily make a run to the championship game, expect them to exchange a few early punches but les Géants have too much on both sides of the ball. This one will be decided early in the third as Saint-Jean keeps on rolling.
FINAL SCORE: SAINT-JEAN 46 JOHN ABBOTT 24
Last Week’s Record: 4-0 Season Record: 13-4
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