Last weekend, we had the final four teams in Division 4A face-off with a spot in championship weekend on the line. In the end, both higher seeds would win comfortably. Trapstars would beat The Penetrators 39-18 and Ambush would end Dak To The Future’s season with a score of 37-19. I will recap those two matchups before giving my finals preview and predictions in my final article later next week.

Semifinals Recap

Trapstars def The Penetrators 39-18

✅ Prediction: Trapstars def The Penetrators 

In the regular season matchup, Trapstars won a nail-biter over The Penetrators 35–34. I believed that the chemistry and overall play of Trapstars would prevail in this one, but I thought The Penetrators would put up a better fight.

A huge component was how locked-in Ryan Garber was, along with how the Trapstars defence created huge problems all game for Justin Goodman. Even after a very early INT by Ethan Cohen on Goodman, The Penetrators were always within reach on the scoreboard.

Despite the early INT, The Penetrators had a chance to tie the game at the end of the half, but two sacks by Kris Schicchi in the final minute ended the half, keeping the game at an eight-point difference.

Cohen opened the second half for Trapstars by scoring on their first drive. Playing with more urgency, The Penetrators tried to keep the game close, but Noah Lieblein grabbed a nice INT, swinging the momentum back to Trapstars and keeping The Penetrators away from a comeback, even stopping their onside attempt.

Lieblein scored three times in this game and has now totaled 20 TDs in 11 games this season. A red-zone target that will surely have Ambush focused  heading into the championship game.

Ryan Garber also continued his efficient season, currently holding an insane 84.2% completion rate this postseason.

Ambush def Dak To The Future 37-19

❌ Prediction: Dak To The Future def Ambush

When I made my prediction last weekend, it was under the assumption that two-way Team Canada player Gab Champagne would not be there due to the Selection Camp occurring during the weekend. I later received news that not only would he fly back into Montreal on Sunday, but he was also going to play in the semifinals for Ambush.

My argument for Dak To The Future was based on the absence of Champagne, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Looking at the results now, Champagne continued his reign of terror defensively this postseason, picking off Justin Gauthier three times and returning one of those interceptions for a TD.

In three playoff games, Champagne currently has 8 INTs, which is tied for the FPF playoff record. A pure example of his playmaking ability on the defensive side of the ball.

Champagne was also able to bring that same energy when throwing the ball to his receivers. After speaking with Phil Roberts this past week, he described Gab as being on “another level in that game”, showing no signs of fatigue after flying back from Manitoba.

Ben McMahon scored 3 times in this one, and Yann Dika-Balotoken played a big role with 2 TDs, as Matteo Girardi missed this game.

For Dak To The Future, it was a rough outing for Gauthier, as his opening drive resulted in the first of five interceptions in the game. In a last-ditch effort to keep the game within reach, Gauthier found Stingers teammate Samuel Morissette to close the gap to a two-score game.

The Ambush attack continued, ending the game with a 37–19 victory. Ambush are now in the finals after scoring at least 35+ points in each of their playoff games so far. They will need to continue that against Trapstars in the championship game.

Closing Remarks

Here you go Division 4A with this quick read. Congratulations to both Ambush and Trapstars on making the finals next weekend. The time and date haven’t been announced yet but expect my final article headlining that matchup to be up next week! 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.