Before last Saturday, we had 12 teams fighting for a spot in the Championship in a few weeks. Right now, we are down to the final 8. Four Divisional Round games took place from last Saturday to Monday.

The higher seeds on Saturday, CATCH & FLEX and McGill Swim Team, came out with wins. On Monday, we saw both lower seeds, Deep Zone Penetrators and Les Mangeux de Beignes, continue their respective runs and advance to the quarterfinals.

With those matchups not taking place until next Saturday, we’ll spend this week going through the recent games before getting into the previews later next week. I also never gave shoutouts to the Division 5B All-Stars who were nominated a few weeks ago.

The All-Star festivities are happening this Thursday at Concordia, so even if you have games on Saturday, I encourage everyone to come out for a great event. Here are the Division 5B All-Stars below.

Division 5B All-Stars

Divisional Round Results

CATCH & FLEX def Angry Birds 39-38

❌ Prediction: Angry Birds def CATCH & FLEX 30-27

The highest-scoring game of the playoffs so far came down to the wire in the final minute. This game was chippy, featured a fast-paced offence from both sides, and included big defensive plays as well.

If the box score is correct, starting QB Alex O’Neill did not play, and Jadon Francis took his spot in this big playoff game. Francis needed only 8 completions to cover 164 yards, throwing 4 TD passes along with one on the ground. On the other side, Domenico Manno threw for 258 yards with 5 TDs.

Each team recorded a pick-six, as Muyiz Idris and Luca Castellano returned their respective INTs to the house. Catch & Flex were down by two scores on two different occasions but were able to respond quickly.

In the final minute, Manno found Alessandro Barazzoni to cut the lead to one. Instead of playing for OT, Angry Birds went for the win, but the unsuccessful convert ended their season. Two-Way Player of the Year Lucas Crivello scored three times in the loss.

A second straight heartbreaking playoff loss for Angry Birds is a tough pill to swallow. I would expect O’Neill to return for the quarterfinals, but the offence looked solid in limited action with Francis.

McGill Swim Team def P.I Central 28-18

Prediction: N/A

Starting QB for McGill Swim Team, Vaughn Vanslet, was not able to make this game, so I ended up suiting up at QB against P.I Central. The game started terribly for us, as the first play was picked off by Denzel Thompson, who returned it to the end zone for a pick-six.

Both Jeffrey Medeiros of P.I Central and I traded INTs before Arnaud Bernard got a pick-six of his own. Our team knew the offence would struggle, so our defence needed to be lights out—and that’s exactly what happened. I ended up getting a pick-six on the following drive, and Bernard added an offensive TD this time to close out the half.

Matthew Teixeira led the game with 12 receptions, scoring a TD on the final play of the half. McGill Swim Team rusher Jackson Veinot made an impact on both sides with 2 sacks in the second half and a receiving TD. Kyle Shibata also had two INTs in the win.

McGill Swim Team won the game 28–18, with the defence recording 7 INTs. This game was sloppy for both teams, but my guys were able to pull through as we await our starting QB’s return.

Deep Zone Penetrators def Empereurs Retraités 31-12

✅ Prediction: Deep Zone Penetrators def Empereurs Retraités 32-20

Empereurs Retraités started the season strong at 7–1–1, but their past two games have been underwhelming, largely due to the team not being at full strength. In this game, the Empereurs Retraités offence struggled, as Mathieu Duchesne finished with only 9 completions and two TDs.

Deep Zone Penetrators continued their run, controlling the game from the start. Samuel Langlais picked apart the Empereurs Retraités defence, finishing with only 4 incompletions. Tallec Baptiste and Eliott Bourque each scored twice, while Langlais added another TD on the ground.

For Empereurs Retraités, the game started in the worst way possible, as Yann Dika-Balotoken picked off Duchesne on the first play. Alexis Trudel provided an early spark for the offence, scoring to make things interesting. Outside of that first-half score, the Empereurs Retraités offence was non-existent.

Deep Zone Penetrators went on to score four straight times, leading 19–6 at halftime. It was a dominant performance by Deep Zone Penetrators, who will look to knock out another powerhouse.

Les Mangeux de Beignes def Swiffer WetJets

❌ Prediction: Swiffer WetJets def Les Mangeux de Beignes 19-13

The second upset of the night saw Les Mangeux de Beignes hold off a Swiffer WetJets second-half comeback to win 32–25. A dominant first half resulted in Les Mangeux de Beignes taking a commanding 26–6 lead at the break. At that point, Xavier Delisle had thrown 4 INTs in the half.

For Swiffer WetJets, Andrew Chin was struggling, with only one TD in the half and trailing by 20. Even with that deficit, the game was far from over. The first play of the second half saw Andrew connect with his brother Alex for a 40-yard TD to open the half.

An INT by Paul Nasr led to another deep TD from Alex, and Gregory Stefanidakis added a deep TD of his own, bringing the game within a convert attempt to tie. Unfortunately for Swiffer WetJets, the convert attempt was unsuccessful.

Les Mangeux de Beignes then got a chance to run down the clock on the ensuing possession, and after a 4th-down stop, Swiffer WetJets got the ball back at their own 13-yard line, hoping to produce a game-winning drive. Their comeback attempt fell short, as Rafaël Clément sealed the game with a pick-six on the final play.

A tough loss for Swiffer WetJets, who were just a few plays away from a huge comeback, while Les Mangeux de Beignes continue to make noise in the 5B playoffs.

Closing Remarks

Here you have with the Division 5B Divisional round recap. Next week we will have the remaining 8 teams play in Brossard on May 2nd. I will have my preview and predictions done before then. As always, if you didn’t get a chance to respond or want to be included in future pieces, you can reach me on Facebook or Instagram @keyoncyrus.