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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….

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