Inside the Redzone (D4) – Round 1 Playoffs

 

AND THEN THERE WERE EIGHT! The first round of the playoffs in Division 4 is in the books and the teams who deserved to win have advanced. Does that mean that Cowboys weren’t upset? It was definitely an upset, however I give a lot of credit to Team Ditka who were ready in all aspects and showed that they can no longer be seen as the underdogs. In the playoffs, teams have to elevate their game to a new level because there really is no tomorrow. The word of the day is ‘clutch’ which simply means having the ability to make big plays in pressure situations. The interesting thing will be to see which of the remaining eight teams will prove to be clutch before I can discuss the second round of the playoffs, I will quickly recap the first round.

 

Playoffs Recap (Round 1)

 

Conference A

 

Gators easily disposed of Green Machine by a score of 33-13. Kevin Marlow threw for 144 yards and 4 TDs and had every player on offense contribute. The Gators defense picked off Patrice Blouin twice, one of them being a ‘pick six’ special. Needless to say the Gators were definitely the better team in this game and moved on quite easily. The Eagles defeated Those Guys, the final score being 43-31. This was the Jonathan Goyette (QB of Eagles) show as Those Guys simply had no answer for him. He only threw for 40 yards, but had 4 TDs with 2 INTs. What stood out was how he rushed all over Those Guys’ defense with 148 yards and 2 TDs. To top it off, he also had an interception on defense. Honorable mention also goes to Maxim Tremblay who had 64 receiving yards and 3 TDs. This Eagles squad got it done offensively and shut their opponents down on defense when they had to.

 

Moving on, Team Ditka disposed of the Cowboys for a second time in as many weeks. I will personally like to give Team Ditka a lot of credit because they came to play. Billy Seretis and Jonathan Makris put on a show. Billy Seretis, Team Ditka’s pivot, was 14-22 for 204 yards with 6 TDs and 1 INT. Jonathan Makris caught 5 balls for 108 yards and 3 TDs. By halftime it was 32-16 for Team Ditka and they never looked back. Honorable mention for the Cowboys goes to Vince Mancini who had 92 receiving yards and 3 TDs while also collecting an interception on defense. Again, hats off to Team Ditka for playing some great clutch football and advancing to the second round. Last game in this conference saw the Trojan Knights defeat VPC by a score of 32-8. More impressive than the Knights offense was their defense, they picked off the usually accurate Louis Richard five times. Norman Weekes and Luigi Di Ciaccio had two interceptions each. On offense Weekes played like his “norman” self by throwing for 161 yards and 5 TDs. It was a complete domination from beginning to end against a strong competitor in VPC.

 

 

Conference B

 

The tightest game in Conference B was between the Cobras and the Triple Sixers, in which the former won by a score of 26-20. Alex Lever, QB of the Cobras, played  phenomenally and managed the game quite well. He led the Cobras down the field in the last few minutes and connected with Fred Searle for the eventual game winning TD and picked off Karim Chaoual on the next drive to seal the deal. He proved that the QB of the year award he won by edging out Chaoual was well deserved and he definitely possesses the ability to be “clutch”. Jean Francois Trudeau and Frank Grenier also had great games on offense. Next up, the Dirty Birds defeated the Raiders by a score of 39-26. Surprising enough, the score was 19-19 at the half. The Raiders started with the ball in the second half and scored to take the lead however the Dirty Birds came right back and stayed close. Raiders up 26-25 for the most of the second half however the defining moment was a key dropped ball by the Raiders on 4th down in the end zone. On the ensuing offensive drive, the Dirty Birds scored and were up 31-25. From that point on, the Raiders just fell apart in which Jon Young sacked Mario Choueiri for a safety and scored again, making the score 39-26. Jon Young is another player who possesses clutchness and that was clear  by looking at his numbers: on offense as a QB he threw for 156 yards with 5 TDs, on defense, he had 4 sacks and 1 INT which was returned for a TD. Quite the “Two-Way player”. Dirty Birds are showing that their 10-0 season was no fluke and they are ready to contend for the championship. Special credit should be given to Choueiri and his team for the evenly-fought battle they gave a 10-0 team in the first round of the playoffs as an eight-seed.

 

Moving on, the Marauders beat the Flying Weasels by a score of 26-12. Roger Beauregard, fill-in QB for Marauders, did a great job stepping in for his brother but more importantly this game saw the return of Stephane Lavoie, star player for the Marauders who was seriously injured earlier in the season. Receiver of the Year, Jeremie Roussin had 2 receiving TDs and 3 sacks on defense. The Marauders wanted to show everyone that they are not a team anyone should overlook. They did a great job defensively on Weasles’ QB Jonathan Lemieux and are ready to take on their next opponents. Last game in this conference saw Chaos lose a close game to the Snookers, final score being 21-13. Chris Politis, QB for Snookers, didn’t have his best game as he only completed half of his passes for 95 yards for 3 TDs but it was enough for the win. Eric Kavaldjian also attempted 3 passes but 2 of them were intercepted so they definitely dodged a bullet there. Eugene McLaren, mr. everything for Chaos, had a very tough night passing against a good Snookers defense. He only managed to throw for 76 yards and 1 major, while rushing for a sub-par 21 yards and 1 TD. The receivers didn’t seem to be all in sync and on the same page which made it a frustrating night for the entire Chaos team. Snookers know they got away with a win from a mediocre effort but need to step up their game if they intend to get far into the playoffs in their first season.

 

Now you’re all caught up in the Division 4 playoffs.

 

 

Playoff preview (round 2) – Aside from previewing the next round, I will be throwing in an additional category: X-Factor (players who will have to step up and make a big difference) and Clutchness Meter (from 0-10 with 0 being a choker and 10 being Robert Horry)

 

Conference A

 

(1) Gators vs. (7) Team Ditka

 

Key match up: Gators defense vs. Billy Seretis, Jonathan Makris and Adam Lancione

 

Gators

 

Their defense has to stop Jonathan Makris and Adam Lancione, something a lot of teams haven’t been able to accomplish. Furthermore, Kevin Marlowe needs to continue to put up points on the board which will in fact make Team Ditka play catch up.

 

X-Factor: Dave De Silva

Clutchness meter: 8.5

 

Team Ditka

 

So far they have used a lot of creativity in their offense which has made it difficult for opponents to defend so they must continue to stay creative and use their assets wisely. On defense, they usually play a very loose 3-2 therefore they’ll need to show Kevin Marlowe different looks and change up their defense often. Otherwise it could be a long night.

 

X-Factor: Jonathan Makris

Clutchness meter: 6.5

 

(5) Eagles vs. (6) Trojan Knights

 

Key match up: Francois Imbeault vs. Norman Weeks

 

Eagles

 

Jonathan Goyette had his best game of the year against Those Guys and needs a repeat performance. He will need all of his receivers to step up against a Knights defense that held VPC to only 8 points last week. Defensively, they have to get to Norman Weeks early and get him off his game. They allowed 31 points against Those Guys, they can’t afford to do the same against the Trojan Knights.

 

X-Factor: Jonathan Goyette

Clutchness meter: 6

 

Trojan Knights

This is a personal game for many of the Knights players as they all remember the thrashing they received in week 5 when Norman Weekes wasn’t present. With him back, the Knights will need to score on every possession and make the Eagles play catch up. Defensively, they’ll have to make sure Jonathan Goyette doesn’t run all over them as he did last week and furthermore, they will need many players to come up big.  

 

X-Factor: Antonio Zappia

Clutchness meter: 6

 

Conference B

 

 

(1) Dirty Birds vs. (4) Cobras

 

Key match up: Jon Young vs. Alex Lever (and vice versa)

 

Dirty Birds

 

Jon Young will definitely need to control the offense because he needs to keep the dangerous Cobra offense off the field. Furthermore, receivers other than the Bisharas will have to come up big as they will be the prime target by the Cobras. On defense, they will need to make sure Frank Grenier and Jean-Francois Trudeau are covered tightly and make the Cobras earn every reception. Jon Young will also have the responsibility of rushing Alex Lever in a battle of excellent athletes, it should be a treat for everyone watching.

 

X-Factor: (Coach) Joe Birds

Clutchness meter: 9

 

Cobras

 

Alex Lever has to play exactly like he did against the Triple Sixers in which was probably his best performance of the season. He’ll have to make sure he has a few reads (other than Frank Grenier and Jean-Francois Trudeau, who might be decoys) available. On defense, the Cobras will need to play smart football and can’t let Jon Young run out of the pocket because the more time he buys for himself, the more trouble it is for the Cobras. Even though their defense has been up and down all year, this is the time to show their ‘clutchness’.

 

X-Factor: Frank Grenier

Clutchness meter: 8.5

 

(2) Snookers vs. (3) Marauders

 

Key match up: Jeremie Roussin vs Andre John (offense), vs. Chris Politis (defense)

 

Snookers

 

Chris Politis will have to do a much better job than he did against Chaos last week. Marauders don’t give you a lot of room on offense and definitely won’t give you any freebies. Furthermore, Andre John should be covered well so other receivers have to be ready to make big plays. On the defensive side of the ball, they’ll have to contain Receiver of the Year Jeremie Roussin, and will likely match him up with Defensive Player of the Year Andre John. The Marauders still have other great receivers (now that Stephane Lavoie has returned) who can cause damage so Snookers will need to dig deep.

 

X-Factor: Eric Kavaldjian

Clutchness meter: 7

 

Marauders

 

Denis Beauregard, who returns after missing last week’s game, will have to make sure to keep the ball away from Andre John. There is a strong possibility that Jeremie Roussin will be a decoy so other receivers such as Nicolas Caron, Stephane Lavoie and Pierre Giguere can step up and make plays. On the defensive side, they have to play like they did against Flying Weasels by not giving Chris Politis any easy options. If Jeremie Roussin can get to Chris Politis early in the game, it should be an easy win for the Marauders, who are looking to get back to the finals for the second straight Winter season.

 

X-Factor: Stephane Lavoie

Clutchness meter: 8

 

 

A Second with Sarwar

 

I had received some feedback this week regarding the ALL STARWAR SQUAD. I was asked how I selected my squad and if this would be the final selection for the ALL STAR game. First of all, there are rumors that I had received some funds which persuaded my decision towards the players who were selected however nothing can be further than the truth and there is definitely no evidence to prove otherwise. I don’t look at the stats because I believe that they don’t tell the whole story. Instead, I look deep down in every individual’s soul (kind of like Lord Rayden from Mortal Kombat) and not many were STARWAR worthy. The factors include game sense, ‘clutchness’, talent and being a class act. A lot of scouting and countless nights were spent in making some tough decisions but after carefully reviewing all the possible candidates (30 in total), 12 were selected. Does this mean that the remaining 18 aren’t STARWARs? Yes and No. They are STARWARs but they aren’t ALL STAR-WARs, there is a difference and it is as big as Rostyn Castleton’s juiced up bicep. Additionally, I have had talks with EA Sports regarding a Flag Football game so my ability to put together an impeccable squad is vastly being recognized. After all, my nickname is Jerry Jones. Second, my selection will not be taken into consideration when being selected for the ALL STAR game however I can assure you that my squad can take on anyone at anytime (especially with me behind the bench) and it won’t be pretty for the other team. Last, on a side note, I almost had T-Shirts made for all the winners however my sponsor (whose name I cannot disclose at this present time) backed out last minute so for now the honor of being a winner shall do.

 

 

And that is it for this week’s edition of Inside The Redzone. Next week I’ll recap round 2 while previewing the conference finals. If you have comments/suggestions don’t hesitate to contact me on Facebook or via email at [email protected]. This is Rehan “J.J” Sarwar signing off and I wish you all luck in your playoff match ups. I’ll catch you all next week but until then, Stay Classy Division Four!