FPF Fall Semi-Finals Preview

The FlagPlus Football Tier 2 Semi-Finals kickoff tonight, which means we are down to the final four teams playing for a chance to compete for the championship this coming Saturday in Laval. The top teams Idaho Udapimps and Camping Boutin received byes, while Hard 8, and Flag Slayer Corp advanced after Quarter-Final wins last Monday night over KGP Origins and Les Verges Folles respectively. Who will punch their ticket to the Finals? Let’s find out.

In the first meeting, the Camping Boutin defense took advantage of three interceptions from Hard 8 Jeff Rosenblatt and turned them into two touchdowns and a game-ending play in the nine-point victory. 

In the rematch eight days later, the Hard 8 defense forced some turnovers of their own, as they intercepted Joey Notaro twice, returning one for a touchdown, as the All-Star Receiver was filling in for starting Quarterback Marc-Andre Reeves, who arrived to the game with about 10 minutes remaining in the first half. When Reeves did show up, he promptly threw an INT during his second drive. 

While both Camping Boutin Quarterbacks had trouble protecting the ball, the Hard 8 offense had no such problems, as in addition to Rosenblatt who threw four touchdown passes, the teams also got two TD throws from Paul Lapierre, and one from Sanders Armand, as the unit scored a season-high 57 points.

Both teams essentially squared off yesterday afternoon in Co-Ed 1, as The Merge with Reeves, Victor Boutin, and Mickael Forest, took on Lego My Flag’s Rosenblatt, Armand, and Lapierre. The former would get the victory on the last play of the game in controversial fashion. Needles to say, the latter will be looking for retribution tonight. 

To get the win, Camping Boutin will need to get another big performance out of Felix Hudon. The third-year Receiver who missed the first game against Hard 8, more than made up for it in the rematch, as he posted a team-high six receptions for 82 yards and two touchdowns. If he can put up similar numbers, he will open up the offense, and allow his team to somewhat match the size and length presented by the Hard 8 defense. 

On defense, Camping Boutin will also need Rusher Emile Descoteaux to make an impact. Slowly elevating his game and jumping onto the radar this year for his ability, the second-year player has a sack and a pick-six vs Hard 8 this year. He will need to use his length once again to deflect balls and disrupt the timing of Rosenblatt. For that to happen, Descoteaux will need his defense to eliminate the short passes that are a staple of the team’s offense, as outs and slants over the middle are the two main routes that Hard 8 goes to in the redzone and short yardage situations.

For Hard 8 to advance, they will need to make sure their tackling in the open field is superb. The easy observation is to say that they will need to limit the rushing damage of the speedy Reeves. While that is true, the defense must make sure they take away the yards after the catch of players like of Marvin Renaud, Serge Pilon Jr,. and Victor Boutin. The trio is slippery when the ball is in their hands. They have been bludgeoning teams all year by making would-be tacklers miss. While they aren’t allowed to lower their shoulders into the chest and stiff-arm defenders (that would be fun to watch) they are great at using their speed and power to make you miss, and fight for extra yardage. Hard 8 will need to put a stop to that. 

On offense, Hard 8 will need to make the Camping Boutin defense pick their poison. Rosenblatt will have to either make them pay for cheating down to eliminate the slants, out, and hooks to Lapierre, Jakob Sacksner, and Felix Clairmont, by taking deep shots to Daniel Mancini, Ahmed Boubacar, Adam Malinoff, and Armand, or do the opposite. Luckily for this offense, all their Receivers can excel in the short and deep passing game. 

When looking at X-factors, for either side, I am picking Malinoff for Hard 8, and Descoteaux for Camping Boutin. The duo can make plays on both sides of the ball, and while they haven’t yet established themselves as elite playmakers in the higher divisions like some of their teammates have, both players are coming, and they can use tonight to stamp their names into that conversation with standout efforts. 

As we saw in both regular season meetings, turnovers will play a role in this game. The Quarterback that protects the ball more will get the win. 

Despite their regular season records, I think that Hard 8 is the better team from top to bottom. While I don’t see the rubber match reaching the 85 points we saw in the last meeting, I still think we will see some offensive fireworks.

The first meeting was a rough and rugged affair that literally went down to the wire. The result saw Flag Slayer Corp walk away with an upset win that came via a controversial defensive stop at midfield on an onside pass attempt.

The rematch went a lot differently, as the top seed in Tier 2, laid an 18-point beatdown on their opponents, dominating Flag Slayer Corp on both sides of the ball.

To get the last laugh, Idaho Udapimps will need a repeat performance of Week 12, where they intercepted Flag Slayer Corp Quarterback Ryan Kharouf a season-high four times. Led by the underrated Sam Anastasopoulos, who had a game-high two interceptions, the unit baited Kharouf into several bad throws, some of which was done by switching the coverage from man to zone and vice versa post-snap.

On offense, the formula is simple. The team must do two things. Firstly, newly crowned Quarterback of the year Brady O’Hanessian, will need to air the ball out. In the first meeting, the QB connected on TD passes to Danick Coulombe on 35, 32, and 40 yards. There are holes in the Flag Slayer Corp defense. I expect O’Hanessian to find them early.

Secondly, when he isn’t airing the ball out, the QB must also continue to take advantage of the timing routes and precision passes that are a big part of his game, as he likes to take advantage of the speed and route-running of his Receivers in Manu Allard-Roy, James Nguyen, and Justin White.

For Flag Slayer Corp to advance, they will need to do two things. First, they must match the physicality they brought in Week 9. Fighting for balls, breaking tackles, jumping routes, and simply being the aggressor on both offense and defense will be crucial.

The second thing is easy. Kharouf, needs to protect the ball. He knows it, as does his team. As I said earlier, being aggressive is key, but you must be smart when doing it. The strong-armed passer has talented playmakers in Nirosh Suresh, Fred Juneau, Karim Madji, Jeffrey Lubin, Jean-Samuel Cournoyer, and Jizreel Botat. Not every pass needs to be a deep shot. Give them the ball in space and let them operate. 

This matchup has so many similarities. Two athletic QBs who are also game changers on defense. They both have nine tackles, two interceptions, and at least three deflections. We also get to witness the top two Receivers in Tier 2, as DonnDre Borden the reigning Receiver of the Year, take on Suresh, who was my pick for the award. Both offenses like to air the ball out early and often. On defense, in addition to Kharouf and O’Hanessian, each side has playmakers who can steal momentum with a big play on that side of the ball. 

When I look at X-Factors, I see Allard-Roy and Cornoyer as my top two choices. Both players are fast, have great hands, possess the versatility to make plays both sides of the ball, and are a big reason why their respective teams are one win away from the Finals. Cornoyer made several big second half plays as a Rusher, in his team’s Quarter-Final win over Les Verges Folles last Monday.  

As we enter the rubber match, the main question will be which teams will show up tonight? Will it be the aggressive win at all costs Flag Slayer Corp team that scored the upset, or the one that look like a bottom-half team who barely got in the playoffs in the second meting? The same question applies for Idaho Udapimps. Will we see the squad who looked like the top seed in Week 12, or the one that suffered through several dropped passes, repeated blown coverages on defense, horrible tackling, and got out-muscled on multiple plays?  

I expect tonight’s matchup to be somewhere in the middle of both games. Say what you will about Flag Slayer Corp, but they have embraced the underdog role. A part of their acceptance of that label has been shown in their ability to beat higher-ranked opponents, as they did versus Idaho Udapimps, and in their comeback Quarter-Final victory over Les Verges Folles.  

This Idaho Udapimps squad are a talented and deeper team. They do have a lot of pressure on their shoulders however, as they are the number one seed, and as has been pointed out repeatedly by Quaysie Gordon-Maule on the FPF 1st & Goal podcast, O’Hanessian will need to prove his critics wrong in a win or go home scenario.

It should go without saying who the better team is. I respect Flag Slayer Corp. If they play a near perfect game, I could envision them puling off the upset. Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening. 

Flag Slayer Corp vs Idaho Udapimps – Idaho Udapimps

Hard 8 vs Camping Boutin – Hard 8 (Upset Special and my pick for Game of the Week) 

That is it for the Semi-Finals. I will be back later this week with my Finals preview. Good luck to all four teams tonight.

If you liked the article, hated it, or simply felt like I left something out, please feel free to contact me at [email protected], or on the FPF Facebook page.